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Reference Manual |
HOW TO stop unwanted Windows XP autodials.
Windows XP sends unsolicited traffic to the Internet at various times.
Time Requests
Windows XP tries to contact a Time Server (default time.windows.com) in order to synchronize its time-of-day clock. To turn off this feature, right-click the time display in your System Tray and then select Internet Time. Uncheck Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server.
UPnP Traffic
Many routers do not have a routing table entry to correctly handle traffic to 239.255.255.250 (a private multicast address). This causes such packets to be forwarded via the default route, thus causing an unnecessary autodial. To fix this problem, add a route to the router's routing table so that traffic to that address is sent to 127.0.0.1.
NAT32E handles such traffic correctly.
Networking Applications
Several networking applications such as Windows Update and Windows Messenger are enabled per default on Windows computers. To view a full list of programs started when Windows boots, download and execute the SysInternals autoruns utility. You will then be able to easily disable any applications that cause unwanted Internet traffic.
Internet Connection Firewall
At first glance, it would seem that unsolicited network traffic can be blocked by using the Windows Internet Connection Firewall. However, ICF filters can easily be modified by any application written to do so. The ICS/ICF API lists full details.
The prudent user will therefore consider using a third-party firewall that cannot be manipulated by applications.
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How-To