Using Windows Live Installer from behind a proxy server

I like to use all ‘Live’ services and was very excited about using the Live Writer, Live Photo Gallery, Live Mail, etc. So, I headed towards Windows Live website and downloaded the WLinstaller.exe. However, after a short while I was very disappointed to see that it can not install all these softwares as I am behind a proxy server and ‘Live Installer’ does not support it. It cannot take proxy settings from the Internet Explorer’s settings either. It might be using WinHTTP for its connections, I assumed. Now, the question was, how can I make WinHTTP to use my proxy server? A little searching on the web lead me to this page describing how to set up WinHTTP to use a proxy server. So, as described, I used ProxyCfg.exe and BOOM! It worked. The Live Installer successfully downloaded and installed Live Writer, Live Photo Gallery, Live Mail, etc. I am happy now and writing this post on Live Writer.

Some examples on how to use ProxyCfg.exe…

1. proxycfg -p proxy_server:port “<local>;*.example.com” — proxy_server will be used except for local addresses and example.com.

Your run command window should now appear like this…

2. proxycfg -p proxy_server:port “<local>” — proxy_server will be used with the specified port except for local addresses.

3. proxycfg -p “http=http_proxy https=https_proxy” “<local>;*.example.com” — use different proxies for non-secure and secure connections.

If you need to undo these changes, you’ll have to delete some registry settings as described on this page.

Hope it helps to someone like me. Please leave your comments and suggestions. Thanks for visiting.