https://findproxyforurl.net/changes/New pages and content changes on findproxyforurl.net, the proxy.pac and wpad.dat reference and checker.enMon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200https://findproxyforurl.net/about/99e063186b5dd037d0575ee48e50b503e2bd274dMon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The checker now offers two uploads for the full report: "Anonymise & upload" stores an anonymised copy after an automatic check that it behaves like your file, and "Upload (as is)" stores the file unchanged; without an upload, your file is not stored. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/about/, https://findproxyforurl.net/check/, https://findproxyforurl.net/methodology/https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/shexpmatch-trailing-asterisk/2a771cb7ef37799f8644e5c05e8645378c5aca7bMon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200A pattern such as shExpMatch(host, "10.*") is no longer reported when isInNet confirms the same host in the same && condition, because that is the recommended way to check an address range without a DNS lookup.https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/isinnet-on-hostname/86d0165f99c3bfb41e68d372eb7bce90e31ad6cbMon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The checker now also accepts an IP address test kept in a variable, such as var isIp = /^[0-9.]+$/.test(host) followed by isIp && isInNet(...) or by an early return, and host.match(...) != null, so these working forms are no longer flagged. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/isinnet-on-hostname/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/rfc1918-string-pattern/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/dns-function-on-hot-path/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/expensive-before-cheap/https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/console-in-pac/02b0c42e72bb991e011f97c68757a8f1e2953d04Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200console now has its own rule, because it works in Chrome and current pactester builds but not on Windows or in older pactester builds; the earlier statement that Chrome does not define console was wrong. The new rule for window, navigator, fetch, setTimeout, process, require and similar objects now counts in the rating, because no engine defines them. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/console-in-pac/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/browser-or-node-objects-in-pac/, https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/isinnet-on-hostname/4f02f1ed8cfb32d36ed200a685dab754751b7890Mon, 12 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The checker now accepts more ways of making sure isInNet only sees IP addresses, such as /^[0-9.]+$/, a regular expression kept in a variable, RegExp(...) and an early return for hosts that are not addresses, and the rule page lists every accepted form; a test of a different variable no longer counts. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/isinnet-on-hostname/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/rfc1918-string-pattern/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/dns-function-on-hot-path/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/expensive-before-cheap/, https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/sse-local-traffic-not-bypassed/33c92f9ff7b9617de72bfe563f7e92f8a663924aSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The rule for plain hostnames and private addresses sent to a cloud proxy now stays silent when the file uses an internal proxy, or sends only chosen hosts to the cloud proxy and ends with DIRECT, and the page explains why an agent's local-traffic exclusion does not catch requests that the PAC file has already sent to the proxy. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/sse-local-traffic-not-bypassed/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/zscaler-pac-file-checklist/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/netskope-cloudflare-pac-checklist/https://findproxyforurl.net/examples/20e24e571beec5e013adff4b4c44ebba0c707781Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The SOCKS example now sends its zone to an HTTP proxy first and keeps plain SOCKS as the fallback, because Windows misreads SOCKS5 and .NET programs ignore SOCKS entries.https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/es2018-syntax/efd780fece8f18e48246d5ff4dab3d805ea29d40Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The rating now follows the Windows lab results of 2026-10-11: syntax newer than ES2017, such as ?. and ??, caps the grade at D, let and const only lower the score, and dateRange, timeRange, lower-case weekday names, decisions by URL path, SOCKS keywords, regex characters in shExpMatch and UTF-16 files are flagged. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/es2018-syntax/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/url-path-decision/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/es2015-syntax/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/time-functions-usage/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/invalid-return-value/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/regex-syntax-in-shexpmatch/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/socks-version-keyword/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/alert-in-pac/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/byte-order-mark/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/proxy-without-port/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/es2015-builtins/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/uncompressed-large-pac/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/large-pac-file/, https://findproxyforurl.net/check/, https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/, https://findproxyforurl.net/methodology/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pac-on-windows/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pac-file-troubleshooting/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/open-view-edit-pac-file/https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pac-on-windows/27627745ac16ebdcacf784b82957c7eac33561feSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New article: Windows runs PAC files differently from Chrome and Firefox, from dateRange and shExpMatch to newer JavaScript, SOCKS in older programs and one answer per host; each point links the function or rule and the Windows profile in the tester.https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pac-time-functions-windows/1b3033c68fb49adab3726fa37bb0cdb7e7aea838Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New article: dateRange and timeRange are always false on Windows, so time-based rules never apply to Windows programs; what works instead and how to test it.https://findproxyforurl.net/engines/winhttp/b55da0a2c1932bd73332ddeecb355c98f599d43fSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New engine profiles for Windows: "Windows (WinHTTP)" for Windows services, BITS and programs that use WinHTTP, and "Windows apps (WinINet, .NET, Java)" for programs that follow the Windows proxy settings, both observed in the lab on Windows 11 25H2; the tester can run a file in either of them. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/engines/winhttp/, https://findproxyforurl.net/engines/wininet/, https://findproxyforurl.net/check/https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/daterange/253ef4b7a18b0b5472bc36b47346fd8dae403fafSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now says how Windows answers this call or handles this case, observed in the lab on Windows 11 25H2 on 2026-10-11; some earlier statements about Windows were reports that turned out to be wrong. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/daterange/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/timerange/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/weekdayrange/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/shexpmatch/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/dnsdomainis/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/localhostordomainis/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/isplainhostname/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/isinnet/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/dnsresolve/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/dnsresolveex/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/isinnetex/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/isresolvableex/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/sortipaddresslist/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/myipaddressex/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/alert/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/es2015-syntax/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/alert-in-pac/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/ex-functions-not-portable/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/findproxyforurlex-only/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/socks-version-keyword/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/https-proxy-keyword-without-fallback/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/time-functions-usage/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/module-scope-state/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/host-not-lowercased/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/regex-syntax-in-shexpmatch/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/url-instead-of-host/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/uppercase-pattern-literal/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/evaluation-timeout/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/potentially-infinite-loop/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/invalid-return-value/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/byte-order-mark/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/pac-function-wrong-arity/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/proxy-without-port/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/direct-fallback-in-proxy-list/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/wpad-dns-discovery/https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pactester-vs-chrome-firefox/dbf79d8e14344e603f7094098500319aba13297aSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now has a short note on how Windows runs PAC files and links the new article and the Windows engine page. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pactester-vs-chrome-firefox/, https://findproxyforurl.net/engines/differences/https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/how-to-create-a-pac-file/5a3b8545d2a9e5236ed9b39c4d6914cbe60d183eSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now says correctly that Windows runs let, const and arrow functions but fails on newer syntax such as ?. and ??, and links the new article on PAC files on Windows. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/how-to-create-a-pac-file/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/netskope-cloudflare-pac-checklist/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/open-view-edit-pac-file/https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/ip-address-unusual-form/f66f68dc8b0cae43545d6d3eece11178521fb655Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New rule: an IP address written with leading zeros, in hex, as one number or in short form, or an IPv6 host with brackets, is read differently by the browsers, pactester and Windows; the rule explains why plain addresses are better even where the odd form works.https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/isinnet-invalid-arguments/e86cacc33f7dd3485fdce29f6768501fed55e119Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200Leading zeros such as 010.0.0.0 in the network or mask are no longer reported here, because the browsers accept them; the new rule for unusual address forms reports them instead.https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/eb4a72d8f6a415f5c74a2c6e0fd7c478a022432dSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now explains why IP addresses belong in plain dotted form, even where a form with leading zeros or hex works. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pactester-vs-chrome-firefox/https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pactester-vs-chrome-firefox/a84f373393928464e6d85a42c91e48cef9580284Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New article: pactester (pacparser) does not always answer like Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Windows; which functions differ, and how to test a file in each engine.https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/isinnet/aa1b22c30a96481d12e8091669116a4173e2132eSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now says where pactester, Chrome and Edge, Firefox and Windows answer this function differently, and how to write the call so that all engines agree. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/isinnet/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/dnsresolve/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/myipaddress/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/myipaddressex/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/weekdayrange/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/daterange/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/timerange/, https://findproxyforurl.net/functions/isplainhostname/https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/isinnet-invalid-arguments/ed770a9c0a94b34d876d33b3d1a0f46c493b0719Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The engine notes now say what pactester, Chrome, Firefox and Windows actually do with these calls, measured on 2026-10-11; some earlier statements were reports that turned out to be wrong. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/isinnet-invalid-arguments/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/pac-function-wrong-arity/, https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/myipaddress-usage/https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/time-functions-usage/8fd2b5af9c3f701af54da28563881f1e396f6e4dSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The rule is now active and counts in the rating: it flags a weekdayRange, dateRange or timeRange that wraps around, which the browsers match and pactester never does (medium), and timeRange(22, 6), which no engine ever matches (high). Plain time ranges are no longer flagged.https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/test-pac-files-in-ci-with-pactester/0ce3094e026e34ba46523cf6ed84345a9edf4206Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now points out the helper functions that answer differently in pactester and in the browsers, and links the new comparison article. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/test-pac-files-in-ci-with-pactester/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pac-file-troubleshooting/, https://findproxyforurl.net/engines/differences/https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/e22d8a3d1772c8955f05c122c67bdc7788a9ad21Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now says correctly that the tester runs a file in the one engine profile you choose (Chromium, Firefox or pacparser), not in all three at once. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/, https://findproxyforurl.net/generate/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/what-is-a-pac-file/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/how-to-create-a-pac-file/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/findproxyforurl-com-remembered/https://findproxyforurl.net/check/f0262e2ba71768b0b95337b8918a5a634a16deb4Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The tester has a new "Annotated" tab that shows your PAC file with an explanation comment above each rule, and the annotated copy can be downloaded.https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/pac-file-troubleshooting/5bca6c1311a0464c366e9b9cf45dea4584fb2b53Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New article: PAC file troubleshooting, sorted by symptom, from WinHTTP errors 12166, 12167 and 12180 to a URL that goes to the wrong proxy, with a worked example of the live trace.https://findproxyforurl.net/check/80aba86eaf82e3517dab48623f6ea3543a45343cSun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now names the live step-by-step trace of a URL and links the new troubleshooting article; the tester page also answers why a PAC file does not work. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/check/, https://findproxyforurl.net/https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/how-to-test-a-pac-file/7dd78e8e0a3288cb9daf5bb497094f9aace2dab6Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The steps for the online tester now describe how it works today: one domain or URL, an optional client IP and one engine profile per check, with a live trace of the path through the file. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/how-to-test-a-pac-file/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/debug-pac-chrome-edge-firefox/, https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/ipv6-in-pac-files/, https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/online-pac-file-testers-compared/20518d2c12a0ea6f9c136f5ca10b0affd3239f05Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The row for findproxyforurl.net now says that its trace shows every test and every built-in call, not only the deciding line.https://findproxyforurl.net/wpad/933e68a222f6a8cc3e9ff616af784772e7716fe9Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now links the new article on PAC file troubleshooting, and the wpad.dat test steps use the live trace. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/wpad/, https://findproxyforurl.net/wpad/auto-detect/, https://findproxyforurl.net/top-20/https://findproxyforurl.net/check/4b4f35ca56d26c44d2105e27f1a6383e863a0858Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The tester now traces one domain or URL with an optional client IP in the engine profile you choose, and shows the path through your PAC file in a tab next to the editor: which tests were true or false, which built-in calls ran with what result, and which line decided.https://findproxyforurl.net/methodology/2fc47b58e002f565912fae1cc02e8aee885a366fSat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The methodology now says that your URL runs in the one engine profile you choose and that the tester shows its path through the file, while the rating adds probe URLs built from the domains in the file.https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/online-pac-file-testers-compared/d87a95cffa9cb9e2cceb5d7c8a4fd54f31408096Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200Every tester was checked again: pactester.online, any any deny and noob.tools are new, the rows for the pacparser online tester and App::proxyforurl are corrected, and a new column shows the trackers on each tester's page.https://findproxyforurl.net/changes/214e1ca7b45681304001dec434a7eb7391a817c1Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New page: a list of the content changes of the last 90 days, newest first, with an RSS feed.https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/wpad-dns-discovery/10e80069d7e6673a817e6a68649fa730802e9a88Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The rule now has a table of how Chromium, Firefox, Windows and macOS look for wpad by DHCP and DNS, explains where Windows DNS devolution stops, and lists eight references.https://findproxyforurl.net/wpad/38dfc31ca90a133afa6177a0db7f7823cca7fff4Sat, 10 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The page now says that on Windows the browsers' DNS lookups of wpad are also subject to DNS devolution, the Windows habit of trying shorter parent domains. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/wpad/, https://findproxyforurl.net/generate/wpad-dat/https://findproxyforurl.net/rules/wpad-dns-discovery/a36fb926045f1fadaf4e573a592d7ace53a80e14Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The rule now describes the WPAD DNS lookup the way clients really do it: one lookup of the name wpad through the DNS suffix search list, while the label walk of the old draft is kept as history.https://findproxyforurl.net/generate/49eaf5dce1a86213f9ca8d37c889ada5b1a41a92Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The generator page now starts with three steps for creating a PAC file and ends with how to serve and deploy the file, followed by six questions and answers.https://findproxyforurl.net/generate/wpad-dat/0aa8be3680edc521b474cdc2e11c86a2ac387c80Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New page: a wpad.dat generator with an explanation of DHCP option 252, the DNS lookup of wpad, and how to serve the file.https://findproxyforurl.net/examples/4c3c89e679d81eb9196f1b60288a1b4157fd0655Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New page: PAC file examples that you can copy, each rated A+ by the checker, and a complete reference file explained block by block. Pages: https://findproxyforurl.net/examples/, https://findproxyforurl.net/examples/reference/https://findproxyforurl.net/articles/how-to-create-a-pac-file/ce7854ba4e588ce878e683ee63946374cecb92e9Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New article: how to write a PAC file from nothing, and the five mistakes that cause the most harm.https://findproxyforurl.net/best-practices/ddac53152c18f67721ee57edacbabf28cb8a59b0Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New page: a checklist of best practices for PAC and wpad.dat files, with a reason and a rule for every point.https://findproxyforurl.net/wpad/316a914af337ab918f34dd851e1f01adc7807d2bFri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The WPAD page now covers the protocol's history, the order in which clients try DHCP and DNS, and a table of which client uses which method.https://findproxyforurl.net/wpad/auto-detect/30ef0c5e8eedfdf4105065c9877a2217a11ca9beFri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200New page: what the setting "Automatically detect settings" does, what it costs, and how to switch it off safely on each system.https://findproxyforurl.net/top-20/cc2053d16ff727de1bfdb10a5c9bd7396aefadb6Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0200The list now has an introduction, a part on mistakes that only happen with wpad.dat, and four questions and answers.