Unable to change proxy settings error some settings are mana

[linhuytung]

Unable to change proxy settings error some settings are managed by system administrator

With Internet Explorer 6.0 troubleshooting zones could be problematic if the administrator you are working with forgets to inform you that they have implemented “Security Zones: Use only machine settings” via GPO or a direct registry change.

Location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
Name: Security_HKLM_only
Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1 <-Enabled 0 <-Disabled

By default the value is not present and thus is disabled by default. With Internet Explorer 7.0 the UI has been updated to reflect the presences of Security_HKLM_only and if the feature is ENABLED. The visual notification is a big win for IE7 troubleshooting. Note the yellow bar at the bottom of the dialog. “Some settings are managed by your system administrator”. This is your clue that you are dealing with Security_HKLM_only. The bonus is you can not make modifications to any of the zones, note the Custom level, Default level, and the Reset all zones to default level are grayed out.

Well, this computer I had was Windows 7 with IE 11, but I dove into the registry anyway. No luck. However, I did notice the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Internet Settings -> ProxySettingsPerUser

And it was set to 0 (Disabled). I set it to 1 and the problem went away. The yellow warning bar disappeared and I could adjust the proxy setting and make it stick. Given how many viruses create proxy servers, I’m surprised I haven’t seen this before…