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Application-Specific Configuration

Problem Statement​

Organizations require specialized proxy configuration for non-browser applications including email clients, development tools, and command-line utilities to ensure comprehensive security coverage across all network applications. Many applications do not respect system-wide proxy settings or browser-specific configurations, requiring individual application configuration to ensure complete traffic interception and security enforcement. Application-specific configuration provides detailed setup procedures for diverse application types while maintaining functionality and performance.

Key Benefits​

Comprehensive Application Coverage: Application-specific configuration ensures all network applications route traffic through SafeSquid, providing complete security coverage without relying on system-wide or browser-specific proxy settings. This comprehensive approach eliminates security gaps caused by applications that bypass standard proxy configurations.

Maintained Application Functionality: Specialized configuration procedures maintain application functionality while enabling proxy connectivity, ensuring applications continue to operate normally with security enforcement. This approach balances security requirements with application performance and user experience.

Detailed Implementation Guidance: Application-specific configuration provides detailed, step-by-step procedures for diverse application types, enabling administrators to configure complex applications with confidence and ensuring consistent security enforcement.

Prerequisites​

Client-Side Preparations: Ensure applications are installed and configured with appropriate permissions for proxy configuration changes. Verify network connectivity between applications and SafeSquid proxy servers.

SafeSquid-Side Setup: Configure SafeSquid proxy services with appropriate authentication and policy configuration for non-HTTP protocols. Ensure SSL inspection is enabled if HTTPS traffic requires inspection.

System Requirements: Client systems must have applications installed with appropriate configuration access. Network connectivity must be established between applications and SafeSquid proxy servers.

Call to Action​

Email Client Configuration​

Microsoft Outlook​

Configure Outlook Proxy Settings:

  1. Open Outlook → File → Account Settings
  2. Select email account → Change
  3. Click More Settings → Connection tab
  4. Configure proxy settings:
    • HTTP Proxy: 192.168.1.100:8080
    • HTTPS Proxy: 192.168.1.100:8443
  5. Enable "Use proxy authentication"
  6. Enter proxy credentials if required
  7. Click OK to save settings

Outlook Advanced Configuration:

  1. Configure separate proxies for different protocols
  2. Set bypass list for internal mail servers
  3. Configure SSL/TLS settings for secure connections
  4. Test email connectivity and proxy functionality

Mozilla Thunderbird​

Configure Thunderbird Proxy:

  1. Open Thunderbird → Preferences → General
  2. Navigate to Network & Disk Space
  3. Click Connection Settings
  4. Select "Manual proxy configuration"
  5. Configure proxy settings:
    • HTTP Proxy: 192.168.1.100:8080
    • SSL Proxy: 192.168.1.100:8443
  6. Configure No Proxy for internal domains
  7. Click OK to save settings

Evolution (Linux)​

Configure Evolution Proxy:

  1. Open Evolution → Preferences → Mail Accounts
  2. Select account → Edit
  3. Navigate to Receiving Email → Advanced
  4. Configure proxy settings:
    • Proxy Type: HTTP
    • Host: 192.168.1.100
    • Port: 8080
  5. Configure authentication if required
  6. Test email connectivity

Development Tools Configuration​

Git Proxy Configuration​

Configure Git HTTP Proxy:

# Configure HTTP proxy for Git
git config --global http.proxy http://192.168.1.100:8080
git config --global https.proxy http://192.168.1.100:8443

# Configure proxy authentication
git config --global http.proxyAuthMethod basic

# Configure bypass for internal repositories
git config --global http.proxy http://192.168.1.100:8080
git config --global http.noProxy "*.local,*.company.com"

Configure Git SSH Proxy:

# Configure SSH proxy via ProxyCommand
git config --global core.gitProxy "ssh -o ProxyCommand='nc -X connect -x 192.168.1.100:8080 %h %p'"

npm/yarn Proxy Configuration​

Configure npm Proxy:

# Configure npm proxy settings
npm config set proxy http://192.168.1.100:8080
npm config set https-proxy http://192.168.1.100:8443
npm config set registry https://registry.npmjs.org/

# Configure authentication
npm config set proxy-auth "username:password"

Configure Yarn Proxy:

# Configure Yarn proxy settings
yarn config set proxy http://192.168.1.100:8080
yarn config set https-proxy http://192.168.1.100:8443

Python pip Proxy Configuration​

Configure pip Proxy:

# Configure pip proxy via command line
pip install --proxy http://192.168.1.100:8080 package_name

# Configure pip proxy via configuration file
# Create ~/.pip/pip.conf
[global]
proxy = http://192.168.1.100:8080
trusted-host = pypi.org
               files.pythonhosted.org

Docker Proxy Configuration​

Configure Docker Proxy:

  1. Create Docker daemon configuration: /etc/docker/daemon.json
  2. Add proxy configuration:
{
  "proxies": {
    "http-proxy": "http://192.168.1.100:8080",
    "https-proxy": "http://192.168.1.100:8443",
    "no-proxy": "localhost,127.0.0.1,*.local"
  }
}
  1. Restart Docker daemon to apply changes
  2. Test Docker proxy functionality

Command-Line Tools Configuration​

curl/wget Proxy Configuration​

Configure curl Proxy:

# Configure curl proxy via command line
curl --proxy http://192.168.1.100:8080 https://example.com

# Configure curl proxy via environment variables
export http_proxy=http://192.168.1.100:8080
export https_proxy=http://192.168.1.100:8443
curl https://example.com

Configure wget Proxy:

# Configure wget proxy via command line
wget --proxy=on --http-proxy=192.168.1.100:8080 https://example.com

# Configure wget proxy via configuration file
# Create ~/.wgetrc
http_proxy = http://192.168.1.100:8080
https_proxy = http://192.168.1.100:8443
use_proxy = on

SSH Tunneling Through Proxy​

Configure SSH Proxy:

# Configure SSH proxy via ProxyCommand
ssh -o ProxyCommand="nc -X connect -x 192.168.1.100:8080 %h %p" user@remote-host

# Configure SSH proxy via configuration file
# Create ~/.ssh/config
Host remote-host
    ProxyCommand nc -X connect -x 192.168.1.100:8080 %h %p
    User username

Office Applications Configuration​

Microsoft Office Suite​

Configure Office Proxy:

  1. Open Office application → File → Options
  2. Navigate to Trust Center → Trust Center Settings
  3. Click Privacy Options → Web Options
  4. Configure proxy settings:
    • Use system proxy settings
    • Or configure manual proxy settings
  5. Test Office connectivity and proxy functionality

Office Advanced Configuration:

  1. Configure proxy settings for different Office applications
  2. Set bypass list for internal Office services
  3. Configure SSL/TLS settings for secure connections
  4. Test Office functionality with proxy configuration

LibreOffice​

Configure LibreOffice Proxy:

  1. Open LibreOffice → Tools → Options
  2. Navigate to Internet → Proxy
  3. Configure proxy settings:
    • HTTP Proxy: 192.168.1.100:8080
    • HTTPS Proxy: 192.168.1.100:8443
  4. Configure No Proxy for internal domains
  5. Test LibreOffice connectivity

Solution Verification​

Application Connectivity Testing: Verify all configured applications can connect through SafeSquid proxy with proper functionality and performance.

Traffic Monitoring: Monitor SafeSquid logs to confirm all application traffic is being processed through proxy with appropriate policy enforcement.

Functionality Verification: Test application-specific features to ensure proxy configuration does not impact application functionality or user experience.

Performance Validation: Test application performance to ensure proxy configuration does not significantly impact application performance or response times.

Troubleshooting Guide​

Application Connection Failures: Verify application-specific proxy settings and ensure applications support proxy configuration. Check application logs for connection errors.

Authentication Issues: Confirm SafeSquid authentication settings match application configuration. Verify user credentials and authentication method compatibility.

SSL/TLS Certificate Problems: Install SafeSquid root CA certificate in application trust store when SSL inspection is enabled. Verify certificate installation and trust settings.

Performance Issues: Check network latency between applications and proxy server. Verify SafeSquid performance settings and consider proxy server optimization.

Configuration Conflicts: Ensure application-specific proxy settings do not conflict with system-wide or browser proxy configurations. Choose consistent configuration approach.

Protocol Compatibility: Verify SafeSquid supports protocols required by applications. Check proxy server configuration for protocol-specific settings and requirements.