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Groups > alt.comp.os.windows-10 > #186846

Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser

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On Mon, 18 Aug 2025 00:20:15 -0000 (UTC), Marion wrote :


> How to add Socks5 to your Windows 10 browser sessions:
> 1. Start Psiphon & make a note of the SocksV5 port in the log output
> 2. Start Freecap & add the Socks5 port for Brave into the settings
> 3. Add Brave (or any browser) into the Freecap settings
> 4. In Freecap, add any command-line performance flags for the application

OMG. Everything I touch in Windows has needlessly unnecessary complexity.

I should note that you'd think we could just set the proxy inside the
browser, and, well, um, er, we can, in some browsers. Like in Firefox.

However, Brave doesn't have native proxy settings inside of it.
Neither does Ungoogled Chromium. Bummer.

For the three browsers, things have to be done different ways: 
 a. Firefox has its own manual proxy settings native to the browser
 b. Ungoogled Chromium can use Windows command-line proxy settings
 c. But Brave has to use Windows proxy settings (or FreeCap to proxify it)

Psiphon dynamically assigns proxy ports for each session, for example... 
 SOCKS5: 127.0.0.1:1080 (the port changes each instance)
 HTTP/HTTPS: 127.0.0.1:8080 (the port changes each instance)

Once you have those ports, here's the manual Firefox setup:
 Firefox:Settings > General > Network Settings > [Settings]
 Configure Proxy Access to the Internet > Manual proxy configuration
 SOCKS Host = 127.0.0.1
 Port = 1080
 (o) SOCKS v5
 [x] Proxy DNS when using SOCKS v5
 Note: Firefox can also make use of the FoxyProxy Extension.
 Firefox handles DNS via SOCKS5 if the box is checked, 
 but other apps may leak DNS unless proxified.

Ungoogled Chromium can be launched directly using those proxy flags.
 C:\> ungoogled-chromium --proxy-server="socks5://127.0.0.1:1080"
 C:\> ungoogled-chromium --proxy-server="http=127.0.0.1:8080"


Brave is easiest to set up with a proxifier such as FreeCap.
 Freecap3.18:File > Settings > Default proxy > Proxy settings 
 Default proxy > Server = 127.0.0.1  Port: = 1080
 Protocol (o) Socks v5
 This sets Psiphon'[s SOCKS5 proxy for apps launched through FreeCap.

Or we can set up Windows globally to use Psiphon's SOCKS5 proxy.
But Windows 10 does not natively support SOCKS5 in its GUI proxy settings.
Windows 10 only supports HTTP/HTTPS proxies directly. Aurgh.

Here's one way to set up SOCKS5 proxy globally in Windows 10.
 Win+R > control 
 Internet Options 
 Click the "Connections" tab on that "Internet Properties" dialog
 Click the "LAN Settings" button near the bottom of that display
 This brings up the "Local Area Network (LAN) Settings" form
 [x] Use a proxy server for your LAN
 Click the [Advanced] button in that LAN Settings form
 Uncheck [_]Use the same proxy for all protocols
 Socks = 127.0.0.1 Port = 1080
 [OK][OK][OK]

In summary, once you have the SOCKS5 proxy ports defined, you can set up
your web browser to use it, but each browser does it differently.

Sigh.

And if you think that's confusing, guess what else is confusing?

The Windows 10 LAN Settings method let you enter SOCKS5, but Windows
doesn't actually honor SOCKS5 in that dialog. 

Windows 10 only applies HTTP/HTTPS proxies.

So while you can enter the SOCKS5 values into that Windows 10 dialog,
Windows 10 won't use the values for most apps unless those apps explicitly
support SOCKS5 via system proxy (which is rare - but which is what Brave
does).

Oh, and if you think Windows 11 is "better", guess again!
You cannot select SOCKS5 in the Windows 11 built-in proxy GUI.

Even if you enter a SOCKS5 address in the Windows 11 Manual proxy setup,
Windows 11 will treat it as an HTTP proxy and fail to route traffic
properly. OMG.

Did I mention everything I touch in Windows is unnecessarily complex?

Here's the summary (and yes, I'm still confused, but I think it's right).
 Windows 10 GUI limitations:
  You can enter SOCKS5, but Windows doesn't honor it
  Only HTTP/HTTPS proxies are applied system-wide
 Windows 11: 
  No SOCKS5 support
  SOCKS5 entries are treated as HTTP proxies and fail

That's why you essentially need a proxifier, such as FreeCap is.
(Or Proxifier, WideCap, SocksEscort, ProxyCap, etc.)

So now we're back to Brave, which natively supports a system proxy, but
Windows doesn't support SOCKS5 system-wide, so Brave actually can't use
SOCKS5 unless proxified (which is where FreeCap came into play).

Sigh. Why is privacy so hard to achieve. :)

I'm just beginning to learn this stuff, so if anyone out there is familiar
with using SOCKS5 for IP-address obfuscation, please add your value.

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Thread

Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-07-29 02:25 +0000
  Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser "Allan Higdon" <allanh@vivaldi.net> - 2025-07-29 08:38 -0500
    Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-07-29 22:41 +0000
      Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-07-30 05:42 +0000
        Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-07-30 21:01 +0000
          Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-01 02:42 +0000
            Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-07 03:31 +0000
              Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-09 02:57 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-09 19:35 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-12 20:13 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-18 00:20 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-18 16:42 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-18 19:10 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-19 11:00 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-19 15:17 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-20 18:27 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-21 04:11 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-22 09:45 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-23 17:14 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-24 14:54 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-08-29 05:41 +0000
                Re: Tutorial: DIY build your own lightweight chromium-based privacy web browser Marion <marion@facts.com> - 2025-09-02 04:06 +0000

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