XPost: alt.comp.software.firefox   
   From: marion@facts.com   
      
   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.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)