XPost: alt.comp.freeware
From: marion@facts.com
On Sun, 24 Aug 2025 14:55:27 -0000 (UTC), Marion wrote :
> Apologies for the long-winded response but that's the status of my testing
> in a nutshell, in the fewest words that still convey accurate assessment.
UPDATE:
Name: psiphon3.exe
Size: 10402576 bytes (10158 KiB)
SHA256: DB1BAF76F0333F4743919A86F35037559F9E7DA7DF14982DFC16FB8DC0BE6BE2
Install location C:\apps\network\proxy\{psiphon,sockscap,freecap}\
Software archives C:\software\network\proxy\{psiphon,sockscap,freecap}\
Pullout menu C:\menus\network\proxy\{psiphon,sockscap,freecap}\
Once you run psiphon3 free socks proxy, you start thinking of all the ways
Windows sucks at proxies, and then you try to fix each of those ways.
Sigh.
Below is what took me all day today to build a modular proxy control system
that handles all three Windows proxy layers: WinINET, WinHTTP, and
PAC/AutoDetect. It launches Psiphon, waits for proxy ports to initialize,
and then runs pac.cmd to sync everything.
Because they hate encryption, the PAC file bypasses Gmail, Amazon, &
Copilot domains, while routing all other traffic through Psiphon's SOCKS
proxy.
These scripts support diagnostic modes, silent execution, & full reset
functionality. Since I love the Windows "App Paths" registry key, I've also
optionally integrated App Paths for seamless Win+R launching, and included
clear usage instructions, versioning, and logging.
It might not be perfect, but I designed it to be portable, maintainable, &
extensible. I'm sure there is more to do, but I'm done for today.
================================================================
Step 1: Launch Psiphon
Step 2: Wait for proxy ports to initialize
Step 3: It will then run pac.cmd to sync WinHTTP & apply PAC
Optionally run proxy.cmd for diagnostics & configuration
================================================================
To run "proxy.cmd" using the Windows taskbar-pinned "Win+R" RunBox:
Runbox > pac
Which calls the named App Paths key
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\pac.exe
Default=C:\data\sys\apppath\link\pac.lnk
Rightclick C:\data\sys\apppath\link\pac.lnk > Properties
TARGET=C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c "C:\data\sys\batch\pac.cmd"
================================================================
To run "pac.cmd" using the Windows taskbar-pinned "Win+R" RunBox:
Runbox > pac
Which calls the named App Paths key
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\pac.exe
Default=C:\data\sys\apppath\link\pac.lnk
Rightclick C:\data\sys\apppath\link\pac.lnk > Properties
TARGET=C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /c "C:\data\sys\batch\pac.cmd"
================================================================
psiphon3.lnk
TARGET=C:\data\sys\batch\psiphon-launch.cmd
Win+R > gvim C:\data\sys\batch\psiphon-launch.cmd
@echo off
REM psiphon-launch.cmd v1.1 ¡X 20250901
REM Launch psiphon3.exe freeware & apply 3-way proxy sync/PAC
REM C:\data\sys\batch\psiphon-launch.cmd
REM Step 1: Launch Psiphon (which only syncs 1 of 3 Windows proxy types)
REM Step 2: Wait for proxy ports to initialize
REM Step 3: Run PAC setup (sync + PAC logic)
REM Note there are 3 different Windows proxy types. Sigh.
REM Type 1: WinINET ¡X used by IE, Edge (legacy), MS Office & most apps
REM Type 2: WinHTTP ¡X used by system services like Windows Update
REM Type 3: PAC/AutoDetect ¡X used by browsers like Chrome, Edge, & Firefox
REM (but Mozilla browsers have to be set first to respect system proxies).
if not exist "C:\app\network\psiphon\psiphon3.exe" (
echo ERROR: Psiphon executable not found.
exit /b
)
start "" "C:\app\network\psiphon\psiphon3.exe"
REM Wait a few seconds for Psiphon to initialize
timeout /t 5 /nobreak >nul
if not exist "C:\data\sys\batch\pac.cmd" (
echo ERROR: pac.cmd not found.
exit /b
)
REM Run PAC setup silently
start "" "C:\data\sys\batch\pac.cmd" /silent
================================================================
Win+R > gvim C:\data\sys\batch\proxy.pac
/* proxy.pac v1.0 ¡X 20250901
Bypasses proxy for:
- *.google.com, *.gmail.com, *.amazon.com
- *.copilot.microsoft.com
All other traffic routed through SOCKS proxy at 127.0.0.1:1080
*/
function FindProxyForURL(url, host) {
// Bypass Gmail and Google services
if (shExpMatch(host, "*.google.com") ||
shExpMatch(host, "*.gmail.com") ||
shExpMatch(host, "mail.google.com")) {
return "DIRECT";
}
// Bypass Amazon
if (shExpMatch(host, "*.amazon.com") ||
shExpMatch(host, "amazon.com")) {
return "DIRECT";
}
// Bypass Microsoft Copilot-related domains
if (shExpMatch(host, "*.copilot.microsoft.com") ||
shExpMatch(host, "*.bing.com") ||
shExpMatch(host, "*.microsoft.com")) {
return "DIRECT";
}
// Everything else goes through Psiphon SOCKS proxy
return "SOCKS 127.0.0.1:1080";
}
================================================================
Win+R > gvim C:\data\sys\batch\pac.cmd
@echo off
REM pac.cmd v1.5 ¡X 20250901
REM Sync WinHTTP proxy & apply PAC logic for selective domain bypass
REM Used after Psiphon starts to align all three Windows proxy layers
REM ---------------------------------------------------------------
REM Step 1: Sync WinINET proxy into WinHTTP (used by system services)
REM Step 2: Apply PAC script & enable Auto-Detect (used by browsers)
REM ---------------------------------------------------------------
REM Usage:
REM pac Sync WinHTTP & apply PAC
REM pac /silent Suppress final pause
REM pac /status Show current proxy settings
REM pac /test Run diagnostics only
REM pac /nopac Disable PAC & Auto-Detect
REM pac /help Show usage instructions
REM ---------------------------------------------------------------
REM --- /help flag: show usage instructions ---
if /i "%~1"=="/help" (
echo Usage:
echo pac Sync WinHTTP & apply PAC
echo pac /silent Suppress final pause
echo pac /status Show current proxy settings
echo pac /test Run diagnostics only
echo pac /nopac Disable PAC & Auto-Detect
echo pac /help Show usage instructions
exit /b
)
REM --- Log start ---
echo [%DATE% %TIME%] Running pac.cmd >> C:\data\sys\logs\proxy.log
REM --- Check for proxy.cmd ---
if not exist "C:\data\sys\batch\proxy.cmd" (
echo ERROR: proxy.cmd not found.
exit /b
)
REM --- /status: show proxy diagnostics only ---
if /i "%~1"=="/status" (
[continued in next message]
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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