Detect an HTTP proxy

If you write a core http client, e.g. from socket level, you may need to detect whether there is an http proxy used. This includes the name of the proxy server and the port number it operates on. Such proxy servers are often used where a firewall is installed.
Luckily IE is installed on many Windows systems, and IE puts this information in the registry under

\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

The following procedure GetProxy retrieves the host name, port number and whether the proxy is enabled. You can use it as shown in the FormCreate() event handler.
Note: The value ProxyEnable should be a DWord, but sometimes it may be stored as binary or as a string, depending on the version of IE that the user has installed. The code below evaluates the type and reads it appropriately.

unit fProxy;
interface
uses
Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Classes, Graphics, Controls, Forms, Dialogs, Registry;
type
TForm1 = class(TForm)
procedure FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
private
{ private declarations }
public
{ public declarations }
end;
var
Form1: TForm1;
implementation
{$R *.DFM}
function GetProxy(var Host: string; var Port: integer; var ProxyEnabled: boolean): boolean;
var
s: string;
p: integer;
begin
with TRegistry.Create do
begin
RootKey := HKEY_CURRENT_USER;
ProxyEnabled := false;
s := '';
OpenKey('\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings', True);
if ValueExists('ProxyServer') then
s := ReadString('ProxyServer');
if s <> '' then
begin
p := pos(':', s);
if p = 0 then
p := length(s) + 1;
Host := copy(s, 1, p - 1);
try
Port := StrToInt(copy(s, p + 1, 999));
except
Port := 80;
end;
ProxyEnabled := true;
end;
if ValueExists('ProxyEnable') then
begin
case GetDataType(sProxyEnable) of
rdString,
rdExpandString:
begin
sPortTmp := AnsiLowerCase(ReadString(sProxyEnable));
ProxyEnabled := true;
if pos(' ' + sPortTmp + ' ', ' yes true t enabled 1 ') > 0 then
ProxyEnabled := true
else if pos(' ' + sPortTmp + ' ', ' no false f none disabled 0 ') > 0 then
ProxyEnabled := false
end;
rdInteger:
begin
ProxyEnabled := ReadBool(sProxyEnable);
end;
rdBinary:
begin
ProxyEnabled := true;
ReadBinaryData(sProxyEnable, ProxyEnabled, 1);
end;
end;
end;
Free;
end;
Result := s <> '';
end;
procedure TForm1.FormCreate(Sender: TObject);
var
Host: string;
Port: integer;
ProxyEnabled: boolean;
const
YesNo: array[false..true] of string = (' not ', '');
begin
// get proxy information
if GetProxy(Host, Port, ProxyEnabled) then
ShowMessage(Format('Your proxy is %s on port %d, it is%s enabled.', [Host, Port, YesNo[ProxyEnabled]]))
else
ShowMessage('No proxy detected');
end;
end.

Author: Tomas Rutkauskas
Product: Delphi 7.x (or higher)