Should Automatic proxy setup be on or off?

How does auto proxy discovery work?

As an example, I have a network at the workplace which is behind a corporate firewall.

My laptop (also at the office) does not have an active internet connection; it connects to our ISP via a router. My home computer has a wired internet connection.

My laptop can not access any content unless I put in an IP from the outside world (eg. Via a hotspot on my phone). If I put in the IP address of my home PC, my laptop can access the outside world with no problem. When I browse to my workplace website from the laptop, the internet connection goes through the proxy; my laptop can reach the web server and all is well. However, if I use my home pc as a gateway between my laptop and the outside world, so that I have both my laptop AND my home pc, I can access everything ok, but some websites (the website in the internal network) do not work if the connection is going through the home pc rather than the laptop. In this case I cannot access them on the laptop with no problem as they are set up as an internal, company-only webpage.

This is where my understanding/guessing is failing me. How does the home pc discover which is the better option: my laptop's external IP or my home PC's internal IP? If you think I should add anything more info please ask and i'll edit my question.

Thanks again and best wishes! Answer:auto proxy discovery. Auto Proxy Discovery basically means that when your browser connects to a website using that IP it goes through a proxy to make the connection easier as in most cases it may be through a more complicated route. The main thing to do in order to solve this is for your home pc to allow for port forwarding. Basically this allows incoming traffic through to a given port which then goes out through another port on the same or different pc. To explain this is rather difficult, as its only really relevant if you have a desktop and a router (or modem and router) connected to it (you could also have a cable modem and router connection, but it would be a cable modem alone).

To do this, you need to connect your pc(s) to the router as either a LAN or DMZ connection.

Should I leave my proxy on or off?

I'm currently using a US proxy to watch Netflix from outside the USShould I use it?

It's currently on, but should I leave it on? I'd prefer not to get charged for the data I'm using if I don't have to, but I'm wondering if I'd still get charged even if I don't use it. Re: ? I think it depends on what your data usage is like. If you're using a lot of data (ie the kind of data that would make someone want to charge you) then you should turn it off.

I use a VPN to bypass the region restriction, so it's off by default. I think if you're just watching something from the UK and the UK content is restricted to the UK, then you can just keep it off. If you're just watching something from the UK, and there's no restrictions, then it's probably fine.

My ISP has a bandwidth cap for what they call 'extra services' (which I assume means that if you go over it, they charge you), so I have to set the browser to use a proxy that I can control to avoid going over the cap. If I set the browser to use a proxy, and I know I won't be going over the cap (which I've never actually been able to do), then I don't turn the proxy on. Otherwise, if I'm just browsing the web and I'm not downloading anything, then I turn it on. If I'm just using an app that is not downloading content, then I turn it on. If I'm downloading something, then I turn it on. The only time I've ever turned it off was when I was using a VPN that was not in my country. If you're not going to be over the cap, then you should probably leave it on.

Should Automatic proxy setup be on or off?

When I enable the "Automatic Proxy Setup" feature in Internet Options, I use it.

But when I close Internet Options, it doesn't always load the last used proxy settings. So I have to open the program again and set the proxy server and port. Is this behavior normal?

No, it's not. The Auto Proxy Settings feature should work just fine, without having to open the program and reload your proxy settings every time. Can you try downloading and installing the latest version of Internet Explorer from Microsoft's website? IE 8.0 Beta 4 It might solve the problem.