How to set up a GPO to force proxy use with Internet Explorer 10 and 11.

Objective

Set up a GPO to force proxy use with Internet Explorer 10 and 11. We'll configure the proxy in part using registry keys.

Steps

Step 1 - Configuring the proxy in Internet Explorer

First of all, you need to initialize the registry keys that will be used. This means manually configuring the proxy in IE (IE version is irrelevant here). To bypass the proxy for certain URLs, add exceptions directly in IE.

Step 2 - Prevent the user from modifying the proxy

1. In Group Policy Management, add or select an existing GPO, right-click and modify.
2. Go to Policies > Administrative Templates: define Policies > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer.
3. Enable rule: disable modification of proxy settings Note that the GPO may not begin with "Disable" but with "Prevent".

The other options will be configured via the workstation's local registry keys. To continue, you'll need to configure the proxy in your Internet Explorer browser.

Step 3 - Activate and set the proxy

Still in the Group Policy Editor, go to Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry and add a registry item.

Select " HKEY_CURRENT_USER" > Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

Add the ProxyServer, ProxyEnable and ProxyOverride keys. If IE is set correctly, the keys are already filled in.

• ProxyServer: allows you to set the proxy.
• ProxyEnable: enables the proxy (the cross in the browser when you want to activate the proxy).
• ProxyOveride: enables proxy bypass for specified domain/IP.

The result should then be similar to the following image:

Once the policy has been applied, close the browser and run the gpupdate /force command on client workstations, or restart the session.

Validation

If all has gone well, the Proxy option should be greyed out with the parameters set in the administration template.