Proxy authentication

How it works

An HTTP proxy that needs a login answers the first request with status 407 Proxy Authentication Required and a Proxy-Authenticate header; the client repeats the request with a Proxy-Authorization header carrying the credentials. A SOCKS5 proxy asks for a username and password during its opening handshake. Some providers skip passwords and instead accept connections only from IP addresses you register with them. Rotating gateways often put options such as country or session ID inside the username.

Why it matters when you run several accounts

A proxy login is a paid credential: anyone who has it can use your traffic allowance and act from your addresses. When several people work in the same profiles, the login should let the browser connect without every team member being able to read it. Logins are also a common source of failure: a typo or an expired plan shows up as a profile that won’t load.

How SoftGlaze Browser handles it

Proxy passwords are sealed with Windows’ own encryption before they are saved, so they can’t be read from the workspace database file. Operators see proxy credentials masked as ••••••••; revealing them takes the Manager role or above. For Chromium, which can’t send a SOCKS5 login and answers HTTP logins page by page, the app runs a local relay that adds the login itself. A check tells you straight away whether the login works.