Enable SOCKS 4a/5 in Internet Explorer

Question

For anonymity purposes we would like to use a changing proxy server. While searching for that we stumbled over the TOR-project which works perfectly for normal browsing.

However we also need the proxy for a software. Sadly this 3rd-party software uses the internet-explorer as basis so we can't use the recommended browser.

Even worse seems to be that IE doesn't support SOCKS4a or SOCKS5 in its proxy settings. Or I can't seem to find them.

Is there any way to enable SOCKS4a or SOCKS5 in IE? If not what would be the best alternative? Keep in mind that we want that the IP is changed on a daily basis if possible.

Thank you for your efforts and help in advance!

Answer 1

No, Internet Explorer does not support SOCKSv4a: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ieinternals/archive/2010/10/08/socks-proxy-support-in-internet-explorer-and-wininet.aspx

If you'd like, you can use Fiddler to bridge between a "classic CERN proxy" and a SOCKSv4a proxy. Use the following rule to point incoming requests to the TOR system.

In Fiddler, click Rules > Customize Rules. Add the following inside the Handlers class:

public static RulesOption("Use TOR")
var m_EnableTOR: boolean = false;   

Then, inside OnBeforeRequest, add the following block:

    if (m_EnableTOR)
    {
        oSession["X-OverrideGateway"] = "socks=127.0.0.1:9150";
        oSession["ui-backcolor"] = "#EFEF9F";
    }

After you do this, simply click the Enable TOR option on Fiddler's Rules menu, and all inbound requests (from IE, etc) will be directed to the TOR instance running on port 9150.

Answer 2

Internet Explorer does support SOCKS proxies.

Tools > Internet Options > Connections > LAN Settings > Proxy Server > Advanced