Ok so following the advice on gconf and dconf it seems like system wide settings work for chrome, and that is about it. Firefox, spotify etc. all need to be updated in their respective settings.
Also this problem means I am unable to run VPN as it depends on system wide setting of proxy works. Sorry to say it but the lack of progress on this issue since the release will probably lead me to change to Windows 7. Ubuntu has become all to unreliable for professional use when it comes to proxy settings and working in a corporate environment. This also means no one at work will upgrade to 11.10, and likely it is end of life for Ubuntu at our workplace. Best of luck. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Desktop Packages, which is subscribed to gnome-control-center in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/876839 Title: Proxy GUI in 11.10 does not configure socks proxy for HTTP traffic Status in “gnome-control-center” package in Ubuntu: Confirmed Bug description: Running Ubuntu 11.10. gnome-control-center: Installed: 1:3.2.0-0ubuntu6 Candidate: 1:3.2.0-0ubuntu6 Version table: *** 1:3.2.0-0ubuntu6 0 500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/main amd64 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status The new GUI doesn't correctly toggle gconf/system/http_proxy/use_http_proxy to true when only a socks server is specified. Without this, neither Chrome nor Firefox will attempt to tunnel through socks. As a workaround, set this value manually using gconf-editor. Reproduce by setting up a socks server using the standard ssh -D <port> <user>@<remote_machine>. Attempt to configure the system-wide proxy by entering localhost and <port> into the new 11.10 proxy configuration utility's socks server fields. Open Chrome or Firefox and change the app's proxy settings to "use system". Notice that no HTTP traffic tunnels through the system socks proxy. Somewhat related: the ignored hosts list is very useful for users on corporate networks where they do need some internal resources. It should be included. To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-control-center/+bug/876839/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages Post to : desktop-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~desktop-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp