windows - IE Enable/Disable Proxy Settings via Registry

Question

I need to enable/disable IE proxy settings while IE is running. I have a PowerShell script line to enable the proxy:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet Settings" ProxyEnable -value 1

or this to disable:

Set-ItemProperty -Path "Registry::HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet Settings" ProxyEnable -value 0

Above scripts work, registry key gets updated. However, IE doesn't pick up the value until I close all the open IE windows and open a new one. I need already opened/running IE windows to pick up the new setting.

Would there be any way to achieve what I want?

Answer 1

The problem is that IE won't reset the proxy settings until it either

1. closes, or
2. has its configuration refreshed.

Below is the code that I've used to get this working:

function Refresh-System
{
  $signature = @'
[DllImport("wininet.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet=CharSet.Auto)]
public static extern bool InternetSetOption(IntPtr hInternet, int dwOption, IntPtr lpBuffer, int dwBufferLength);
'@

$INTERNET_OPTION_SETTINGS_CHANGED   = 39
$INTERNET_OPTION_REFRESH            = 37
$type = Add-Type -MemberDefinition $signature -Name wininet -Namespace pinvoke -PassThru
$a = $type::InternetSetOption(0, $INTERNET_OPTION_SETTINGS_CHANGED, 0, 0)
$b = $type::InternetSetOption(0, $INTERNET_OPTION_REFRESH, 0, 0)
return $a -and $b
}