No internet - Proxy Settings?

[Natasha]

I'm trying to use internet explorer (Google chrome's saying the same too) but it's coming up with this,

The proxy server isn't responding

•Check your proxy settings. Go to Tools > Internet Options > Connections. If you are on a LAN, click "LAN settings".
•Make sure your firewall settings aren't blocking your web access.
•Ask your system administrator for help.

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It was doing the same on Firefox, but i somehow managed to fix that, but i still can't access the internet on explorer or chrome, any help?
Forgot to mention that this laptop is my own, It's worked perfectly for a year and half and then I came across this problem quite randomly. But I bought it for my uni work last year, it's not actually left the house

[Sir Pete]

This sounds like you are using a computer provided by a company or other institution.

A proxy server is a special type of server that acts as a gateway to the Internet. Some companies use these to manage a corporate Internet connection, add security, filter for viruses, etc.

This means the browser, Chrome, Firefox, etc will work when you are on the company network but not when you use it at home.

You'll need to go into the browser settings and disable the proxy.

In Internet Explorer:

1. Tools menu > Internet Options > Connections

2. Click the LAN Settings button.

3. Take the tick out of the box that says "Use a proxy server for your LAN" - this will grey out all of the settings.

4. You might optionally untick the box the says "Automatically detect settings" as that sometimes helps.

I'm assuming many things... including that you are connected directly to the Internet using a home connection or one that does need to use a proxy.

Once you've made those changes, you're in effect saying - I don't want my connection to go through the proxy server, I want to access the Internet directly.

It's possible that your company (assuming that is the case) have disable access to these settings to prevent you from doing this.

You need to remember that when you go back to your company network, you'll need to re-enable the proxy, otherwise your Internet won't work on the company/institution network.