How to set up a proxy on Linux

DeFio

Apr 21, 2025

Proxy

Linux with configured proxies provides comprehensive and reliable protection of confidential data, ensuring guaranteed anonymity when surfing the Internet and effectively circumventing various geographical restrictions on access to content. By utilizing proxy servers at the operating system level, users gain enhanced capabilities for secure networking. Proxy servers provide system administrators, software developers and ordinary users with full and detailed control over network traffic, which allows to create the most secure and carefully controlled network environment with the ability to fine-tune security settings and monitor all network connections.

### What are the best proxies to use on Linux?

Linux fully supports HTTP(S)-proxies and SOCKS5 proxies, providing flexible configuration options both at the system level and for individual applications. Using customized IPv4 proxies or mobile proxies ensures a stable and secure connection.

You can learn more about the proxy variety in this <a href="https://app.cyberyozh.com/ru/blog/choosing-the-perfect-proxy-types-of-protocols-and-their-features" target=“_blank”>link</a>.
To understand which proxy is suitable for your task, you can read this <a href="https://app.cyberyozh.com/ru/blog/how-to-choose-and-buy-proxies-on-app-cyberyozh" target=“_blank”>article</a>.

### Installation and configuration

Setting up a proxy in Linux can be done in several ways, depending on your needs and the distribution you are using. There are two main methods: graphical and through the terminal. Let's take a look at both

**Use NetworkManager (GUI):**

- Open Network Settings.

![](/media/mdeditor/1_20250421094214297821.jpg)

Figure 1: Network Settings interface in NetworkManager, showing the main Linux system settings menu with the “Network Settings” section highlighted.

- Select Network Proxy.

![](/media/mdeditor/2_20250421094311191005.jpg)

Figure 2: Proxy Settings window in NetworkManager, displaying the network proxy configuration options.

- Enter the server address and port provided by your VPN provider
- Open a browser and in the window that opens, enter your login and password

![](/media/mdeditor/3_20250421094358550714.jpg)

Figure 3: Authentication dialog box for entering proxy server credentials.

**Use OpenVPN via Terminal:**

These steps will work for most Linux systems such as Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and others.

On most Linux systems it is already installed and available to run, but if not it can be installed by typing the command in the terminal

**sudo apt install openvpn # For Debian/Ubuntu**

**sudo yum install openvpn # For CentOS/Fedora**

Download the configuration files from your ISP.

![](/media/mdeditor/4_20250421094606064077.jpg)

Figure 4: Downloading the configuration file from the ISP

Start OpenVPN with the configuration file:

**sudo openvpn /path/to/file.ovpn**

![](/media/mdeditor/5_20250421094638219248.jpg)

Figure 5: Linux terminal interface showing the process of starting OpenVPN with the path to the configuration file via the sudo openvpn command.

Enter login and password if required.

![](/media/mdeditor/6_20250421094718891365.jpg)

Figure 6: Linux terminal interface showing the authentication window with fields for entering credentials (login and password) when connecting to the OpenVPN server.

If everything was successful, the following message will appear in the terminal

![](/media/mdeditor/7_20250421094855744039.jpg)

Figure 7: Linux terminal with a successful connection message to the OpenVPN server

You can check if everything is working by going to the website

![](/media/mdeditor/8_20250421094934169634.jpg)

Figure 8: Web interface to check the status of the VPN connection, showing the current IP address and location, confirming that the proxy/VPN has been successfully configured on a Linux system.

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