Overview
A PAC file contains a JavaScript function “FindProxyForURL(url, host)”.
This function returns a string with one or more access method specifications.
These specifications cause the user agent to use a particular proxy server or to connect directly.
Multiple specifications provide a fall-back when a proxy fails to respond.
The browser fetches this PAC file before requesting other URLs.
The URL of the PAC file is either configured manually or determined automatically by the Web Proxy Autodiscovery Protocol (WPAD).
Artica is able to provide and generates on-the-fly a proxy.pac file for your Network.
It extends native proxy.pac support with dynamic configuration capabilities.
Artica generates and serves a built-in web server that provides enhanced proxy.pac functionality. Unlike traditional static PAC files, Artica dynamically delivers multiple versions of the configuration script based on:
- The source IP address of the client
- The proxy server being used
- The User-Agent string of the requesting browser or device
This allows administrators to tailor proxy behavior in real time, enabling advanced use cases like:
- Assigning different proxy rules for internal vs. external users
- Applying specific routing logic for mobile devices or certain browsers
- Enforcing policies per network segment or site
With Artica, the PAC file becomes a flexible and intelligent policy engine, adapting automatically to the context of each request.
- Use this article to create you first PAC rule
No scripting required.
Through a simple web interface, you can define your first rule based on source IP, destination domain, browser type, and more
- Force using direct mode for Microsoft Office 365
In some cases, you may want to ensure that users' browsers do not use the proxy when accessing Microsoft Office 365 services, as recommended by Microsoft for optimal performance and reliability.
- Setup a Secure proxy in PAC rules
Artica allows you to define smart and flexible proxy behavior using PAC rules, including support for secure environments.
While directly specifying an HTTPS proxy in a PAC file is not officially supported by most browsers,
Artica enables you to control when and how web browsers use a proxy for HTTP, HTTPS, and other types of URLs.
- Failover and Proxy.pac
With Artica, you can configure proxy failover directly in the PAC file.
This means if the primary proxy server is unreachable, the browser will automatically try the next one in the list.
- Search records inside your rules.
When working with a complex Proxy.pac script containing many rules and conditions, it can be challenging to keep track of everything.
To simplify this, Artica includes a powerful search engine that allows you to quickly locate any element or object within your script based on your search terms.
To deploy your proxy.pac you have 3 ways.
- Using Active Directory
Active Directory can push via the GPO system proxy parameters to any computer of the domain.
- Using DHCP option:
The DHCP option push the proxy.pac parametres inside the DHCP packets. Any computer that use the DHCP is able to retrieve the Proxy.pac.
- Using Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Protocol:
If browsers have auto-detect feature enabled, browsers automatically try to resolve a specific hostname called “wpad” If the wpad hostname can be resolved, the browser will retrieve the proxy.pac using HTTP.