A proxy server is a dedicated machine that relays the traffic of a connecting user to its target address and vice versa. Proxy servers are usually used for 4 different purposes:

Firewall

Proxy servers can be configured to allow only certain ports, protocols and addresses.

Router

Often used to provide simultaneous access to the internet for many computers in a LAN.

Content cache

Content caching proxies have huge databases of regularly accessed internet content and services. This may speed up access to these contents.

Anonymizing

Some proxies do not forward any user specific information like IP or referrer etc, to the target address. The only computer the destination of the connections sees is the proxy server.
The freely available anonymous proxies on the internet are not suited for eMule. Most of them are slow, unstable and will probably deny eMule any connection. Using such a proxy leads to a serious performance drop. Locally running proxies do not offer any anonymizing.

If eMule is used on a computer which is shielded by a proxy the correct settings for the proxy server have to be entered. Providing wrong settings here will result in no connection.

Important:
Only enter a proxy if you are sure you have one and you are able to provide the correct information. Proxies are only seldom used on home PCs and offer no advantage for users outside a LAN. Hardware routers or modems are no proxies!

General

o Enable
Enables the proxy support.

o Proxy Type
There are different types of proxy server. For eMule to connect through a proxy, its type must be provided.

SOCKS v4 / v4a

SOCKS proxies offer an application-independent protocol for connecting two hosts without direct IP reachability. v4 and v4a servers are only capable of relaying the TCP protocol. When this type is used the disable checkbox in Preferences -> Connection -> UDP Port has to be ticked.

SOCKS v5

The same limitations as for SOCKS v4 / v4a apply.

HTTP 1.0/1.1

Uses the Hypertext Transfer Protocol for the connection. Similar to SOCKS v4 this type does not support the UDP protocol, so the same procedure as above applies.
HTTP Proxies usually cannot open listening ports. No high ID will be possible when using this type.

o Proxy Host
Enter the host address of the proxy server.

o Proxy Port
The port to connect to the proxy server has to be specified. Typically proxies use port 1080.

Authentication
Some proxy servers need a username and password for allowing connection. If so, Authentication has to be enabled and the proper credentials have to be entered.

Automatic Server Connect without Proxy
Checking this option will bypass the Proxy settings when auto-connecting to eMule / eDonkey servers.

Applies to version: .28a +
Last update on: 2006-09-16, TubularBell