How to set your computer to stop using the University web proxy

What are these instructions?

If you use a third-party Internet Provider (someone outside the University) when you visit the University of Bristol website or a journal website you may find that you are prompted with a request for a username and password. This is the off-site proxy, which is a useful way of accessing websites such as journals which are normally only available within the University. However if you don't want this you can remove the proxy settings. People who want to remove the proxy settings fall into two main groups:

• People who used ResNet in University accommodation but are now moving out and switching to another Internet Provider
• People who used to use the off-site proxy but want to stop doing so.

Follow the instructions below depending on your web browser:

Internet Explorer

If you use Internet Explorer we have a removeproxy (exe, 116 KB) program that will remove the proxy settings for you.

Please download the removeproxy (exe, 116 KB) program, close all Internet Explorer windows, then run the program.

This will remove the proxy settings for LAN or Wireless LAN. It doesn't touch the proxy settings for dialup or VPN connections.

Firefox

To remove proxy settings for Firefox, click Tools, Options, Advanced, Network, Connection Settings, choose "Direct connection to the Internet" or "No proxy" and click OK.

Other web browsers

Follow the instructions for browser configuration, but reverse them (eg if they say 'put a tick in the box marked use a proxy server' then remove the tick, or tick the direct connection option).

Please contact us if you have problems by mailing service-desk@bristol.ac.uk.