disable autodiscovery proxy (wpad) via gpo works partially

Question

disable autodiscovery proxy (wpad) via gpo works partially

WilliamDaveo 60

Hi,

my target is disable to remove all settings about proxy into Windows 10/11 clients so I applied these policies per machine (not user) but "Automatically detect settings" on some computers is always kept to ON (grayed):

I set these AD policies (built-in):

changing Automatic Configuration settings : disable
WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service: Startup Mode: Disabled
Disable changing Automatic Configuration settings: disable

Policy which works registry directly:

delete AutoConfigURL

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\

Replace AutoDetect -> 0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\

Replace ProxyEnable ->0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\

Replace Start -> 4

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WinHttpAutoProxySvc

On some computers (Windows 10) Automatically detect settings is on and it's grayed (it's not able to selected it) while accurately the other 2 options are OFF (use setup script , use a proxy server)

I verified directly on those computerswhich have issue and they got policy correctly and registry corresponds to rights value.

What do you suggest me please ?

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Answer 1

Emmanuel Santana 40,110 Independent Advisor

Hello. After a gpupdate /force (or reboot) run rsop.msc (or gpresult /h report.html) and confirm the exact policy setting for:

Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Internet Explorer → Internet Control Panel → Connections → “Automatically detect settings” (or any similarly named config)
Also check Computer Configuration → Policies → Windows Settings → Security Settings → System Services → “WinHTTP Web Proxy Auto-Discovery Service” (Start mode)

Does the resulting RSOP show that the policy for “Automatically detect settings” is Disabled and applied (Succeeded)?

If yes: does the registry value under HKLM or HKCU reflect it (for example HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\AutoDetect = 0) ?

CorsaroDelVento 61 Reputation points

2025-10-26T13:14:59.9266667+00:00

Hi Emmanuel,

according to my opinion It doesn't matter to verify policies by RSOP :

I opened registry on Windows 10 (where there was issue) and I verified all keys value (see my list) were the same ones according to my policies.

I think It exists other registry entries which have to change.... suggestions ?
Emmanuel Santana 40,110 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-10-26T13:22:09.82+00:00

While your registry validation is good, it doesn’t replace verifying via RSOP or gpresult. Registry keys tell what values are present, they don’t tell which policy applied them, at what scope, or whether user context overrides are still active. Because the ‘Automatically detect settings’ toggle is influenced by user-context settings (HKCU) as well as computer-scope settings, the only reliable way to ensure your machine-policy intention is being enforced is to inspect the resultant user policy with RSOP/gpresult.