Disable Proxy on Windows

There may be a scenario where you may find the need to bypass a Proxy in order to test an internal application or just basically get out to the internet. In most organisations the Proxy is usually set via Group Policy and in order to bypass the proxy you would usually move the computer account to another Organisation Unit within Active Directory. In order to action this the new OU would need to have identical group policies applied except for the proxy.

Well, you can easily bypass a proxy, as long as you have local administrator access to the client machine. I came over a scenario with DirectAccess where I required the removal of the Proxy in order to test the Microsoft CPA scripts which hardened the solution. A simple and effective way to do this is to delete the below registry location. Do not worry, it location will be re-created once you fire up Internet Explorer or Edge. A restart is not required, just close down all your IE windows and re-open the change is instant. Do not reboot as the policies may be applied again via group policy.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings