Windows has had proxy settings since the dial-up era, but they've never really worked the way you'd expect. After years of fighting with Windows networking, here's what actually works.

The Built-in Way: Windows Proxy Settings

Microsoft hides the SOCKS5 proxy configuration in the legacy settings panel. Here's how to find it:

  1. Open Settings → Network & Internet → Proxy
  2. Under Manual proxy setup, toggle Use a proxy server on
  3. Enter gw.snowpad.io as the address and 9999 as the port
  4. Check "Don't use the proxy server for local addresses"
  5. Click Save

If Windows prompts for credentials, enter your Snowpad username and password.

The Problem: Windows Proxy Is a Lie

Here's what I've learned from years of debugging Windows proxy issues: the built-in proxy settings are essentially browser-only. Here's the breakdown:

Respects Windows system proxy:

  • Chrome, Edge, Firefox (with system proxy setting)
  • Some .NET Framework apps
  • Internet Explorer (if you still use it)

Ignores Windows system proxy:

  • UWP / Microsoft Store apps
  • Games (Steam, Xbox, Epic Games Launcher)
  • Most desktop apps (Spotify, Discord, Slack)
  • Command-line tools (curl, wget, git, npm)
  • PowerShell and Windows Terminal

This isn't a configuration issue — it's how Windows is designed. Most apps implement their own networking and never check the system proxy.

Browser-Specific Configuration

If you only need proxy in your browser, configure it directly:

Chrome/Edge: Settings → System → Open your computer's proxy settings (same as system settings above).

Firefox: Settings → Network Settings → Manual proxy configuration → SOCKS5 host gw.snowpad.io, port 9999. Firefox has its own proxy settings independent of Windows.

The Proxifier Solution

For true system-wide proxy coverage, I use Proxifier. It installs a network driver that intercepts connections at the kernel level, before apps even know what hit them.

Proxifier setup on Windows:

  1. Download and install Proxifier
  2. Open Proxifier → Proxies → Add
  3. Address: gw.snowpad.io, Port: 9999
  4. Protocol: SOCKS5, enable authentication
  5. Enter your Snowpad credentials
  6. Go to Rules → set Default action to route through your proxy
  7. Optionally create per-app rules to exclude specific apps

Proxifier shows a live connection log so you can see every connection your machine makes.

Testing

curl --socks5 gw.snowpad.io:9999 -U username:password http://httpbin.org/ip

If you see an Indian mobile IP, everything is working.

For a deeper understanding of how SOCKS5 differs from HTTP proxies and why it's the better choice, read the SOCKS5 vs HTTP proxy comparison.