DNS, proxy and VPN

Settings › Connection controls how Acira reaches the internet: which VPN app is connected, which proxy a profile uses and how names are looked up. Acira does not provide a VPN. It can control a VPN app you already have.

Open it

Open the Acira menu, choose Settings (Ctrl+,, or Cmd+, on a Mac) and choose Connection. The page has groups for VPN, Proxy and Secure DNS. The same section also holds the Tor groups: Tor security level, Onion sites, Tor (with Keep Tor up to date and Check now) and Bridges. They are explained on Tor tabs and windows.

Setting	Applies to	Default
VPN app control	Your whole device	Nothing connected by Acira
Proxy	One profile	Use my VPN app (Acira follows your computer's connection, including any proxy set in your operating system)
Secure DNS	The whole app, normal and private windows	System and automatic

VPN app control

Acira can start, stop and check a VPN app you have installed, so you do not have to leave the browser. It does not run a VPN, it has no deal with any provider and it earns nothing from the links it shows.

Open Settings › Connection › VPN. You can also use the VPN row in Acira menu › More tools, or add a VPN button to the toolbar. See Toolbar and menu.

Supported apps

App	What Acira can do
Mullvad VPN	Show the state, Connect and Disconnect, and Configure… to open its app. Paid. No email or account name needed. Its infrastructure was audited by Cure53.
IVPN	Show the state, Connect and Disconnect, and Configure… to open its app. Paid. Published a Cure53 security audit.
Proton VPN	Configure… opens the Proton VPN app. You connect and check status there. Has a free plan. Its no-logs policy is audited every year (Securitum).

Acira trusts an app that it finds in a standard location and whose publisher it can verify. A row can read Not found in standard locations or App found; publisher could not be verified. For an app that is not installed, Get it opens the provider's website in a new tab. Acira has no deal with any of the three. They are listed because each publishes independent security audits.

What each row shows

The state is read from the provider's own tool: Provider reports connected, Disconnected, Connecting…, Disconnecting…, Paused, Connection problem or Connection unconfirmed. Acira never guesses a state from a running process. Other buttons are Provider website and Help, which open a new tab. If a provider's firewall blocks internet while disconnected, the row says so.

Choose Connect. It uses your existing account and server choice.
Wait for the row to read Provider reports connected.
Choose Disconnect when you are done.

Proxy

A proxy sends one profile's traffic through a server you name. Each profile has its own proxy setting. See Profiles.

Open Settings › Connection › Proxy.
Next to How this profile connects, choose Set up a proxy….
Choose a Proxy type: HTTP or HTTPS or SOCKS5.
Type the host (for example proxy.example.com) and the port (for example 8080). Leave out any path or credentials.
Choose Test proxy. It connects to the proxy and not to any website, and says what it found.
Choose Apply…. Acira asks Use {server} for this profile?. Choose Use this proxy.

The dialog warns that every website you open in the profile will use the proxy and open connections will close. While a proxy is on, calls (WebRTC) are kept from revealing your own address. To go back, choose Use my VPN app and apply.

Limits of the proxy

SOCKS5 proxies that ask for a username and password cannot be used. Choose an HTTP proxy, or run your provider's app and pick Use my VPN app. The test tells you when it finds one.
An HTTP proxy that needs a sign-in asks for it when a page loads. The sign-in is not saved.
A private window keeps its proxy choice until the window closes.
An extension can take over a profile's proxy. The row then reads Controlled by {name}. Choose Use my setting to take control back, or turn the extension off. Your own choice stays saved.
A proxy moves your traffic to another place. The owner of the proxy can see it.

If a VPN app is already running, Settings says something like Looks like Mullvad VPN is running on this computer, so Acira's traffic already goes through it when it is connected. Nothing to set here.

Secure DNS

Secure DNS encrypts the lookups that turn a site name into an address.

Open Settings › Connection › Secure DNS.
Choose one of the three modes.
Choose Save network preferences.
Restart Acira. Settings says Saved. Restart Acira to apply these preferences.

Mode	What it does
System and automatic (default)	Uses your computer's DNS settings. The browser engine switches to encrypted DNS on its own when your DNS provider supports it, and otherwise uses ordinary lookups.
Secure DNS off	Turns encrypted DNS off.
Strict secure DNS	Uses the servers you list and no others. It never falls back to your provider. Enter one HTTPS address per line under HTTPS DNS endpoints, from one to four, such as `https://dns.example/dns-query`.

These settings apply to all normal and private windows after a restart. The row beneath shows what is running now, for example Right now Global Privacy Control is off and DNS uses your system settings. Send Global Privacy Control is saved by the same button. See Privacy settings.

Tor tabs and windows hides your IP address from sites in a tab or window. It is separate from a VPN or proxy.
Privacy settings for Global Privacy Control and cookies.
Troubleshooting if pages stop loading after a change.

Last updated October 31, 2026