ShadowsocksR

Designed for experienced users when it comes to proxy servers, ShadowsocksR is a Windows tool that gives you the possibility to bypass Internet protocols in order to secure your connection, protect your identity from hackers and your privacy from marketers, as well as unlock geo-blocked content.

Using Socks5, the program can be populated with a list of multiple proxy servers to switch. It gets integrated into the systray on launch, where you can easily toggle the proxy mode. The list of servers can be created from the servers menu.

If your web browsers are equipped with proxy extensions, it's recommended to disable them to prevent software conflicts. Unless you with to enable the system proxy, it's possible to set the browser proxy manually to 127.0.0.1:1080 (Socks5 or HTTT). The default port can be changed from the global settings panel.

The PAC file can be updated using information from other lists available in the downloaded package, or edited with manual settings. What's more, you can view server statistics, tinker with server subscription settings, scan QR codes shown on the monitor, as well as double-click the tray icon to bring up the main app window.

The main window gives you the possibility to add new proxy servers and remove existing ones or edit server settings when it comes to the server IP and port, password, encryption method, protocol and protocol parameters, obsfucator and obsfucator parameters, remarks, and group. ShadowsocksR supports many encryption methods, such as AES 256, RC4-MD5-6, Salsa20, and Chacha20.

The utility is wrapped in a portable package and has two distinct executable files for compatibility with .NET Framework 2.0 (in Windows 7) and .NET Framework 4.0 (in Windows 8 and newer). It can be saved to a USB flash drive and effortlessly moved between all your machines to enable proxy.

It had minimal impact on system resources usage in our tests and quickly applied the proxy configuration. On the bright side, ShadowsocksR comes bundled with more than enough options for advanced users, especially developers. On the downside, it's not oriented toward casual users at all.