I've lost count of how many times I've needed an app to go through a proxy, only to find it has zero proxy support built in. Desktop apps, games, CLI tools — most of them don't even have a proxy setting. Proxifier solves this.

What Proxifier Does

Proxifier installs a network driver (Windows) or uses a network extension (macOS) that intercepts every outbound connection on your machine. Before the connection reaches the network, Proxifier checks its rules and routes it through the appropriate proxy.

The app never knows it's being proxied. It just works.

Installation

Windows: Download from proxifier.com and install. The 31-day trial is fully functional.

macOS: Same link — the Mac version is a standard .dmg installer.

Configuration

  1. Open Proxifier
  2. Go to Proxies → Add
  3. Configure:
    • Address: gw.snowpad.io
    • Port: 9999
    • Protocol: SOCKS5
    • Enable authentication: Yes
    • Username: Your Snowpad username
    • Password: Your Snowpad password
  4. Click OK — Proxifier will test the connection
  5. Go to Rules → edit the Default rule
  6. Set Action to Proxy SOCKS5 (the proxy you just added)
  7. Click OK

That's it. Every app on your machine now routes through Snowpad's SOCKS5 proxy.

Creating Per-App Rules

The real power of Proxifier is its rule engine. You can create rules that apply to specific apps, target hosts, or ports.

Example rules:

  • Chrome → Proxy: Route all Chrome traffic through Snowpad
  • Slack → Direct: Let Slack use your real connection
  • Localhost → Direct: Exclude local development traffic
  • ***.snowpad.io → Direct:** Don't proxy connections to Snowpad's API

To create a rule:

  1. Go to Rules → Add
  2. Set the application name (e.g., chrome.exe or Google Chrome)
  3. Set the action (Proxy or Direct)
  4. Optionally add target host/port conditions

Connection Log

Proxifier's connection log is invaluable for debugging. It shows every connection your machine makes, which proxy it went through, and how long it took. Open Log → View Log to see real-time traffic.

Testing

# On Windows (CMD)
curl http://httpbin.org/ip

# On macOS (Terminal)
curl http://httpbin.org/ip

No proxy flags needed — Proxifier intercepts automatically. If you see an Indian mobile IP, everything is working.

For a primer on what a proxy server does, read What Is a Proxy Server?.