WinXP - Not connected to internet

[PhatoseAlpha]

Hi. I'm running WinXP pro SP1, but lucky me, I'm still stuck on a dialup connection. Unfortunately, every now and then I get pop ups telling me "No connection to the internet is available." I don't want the machine to automatically dial up, and it doesn't offer any information into what is trying to connect to the internet so I can squash the little sucker trying to phone home. Having my games switch out to see a pop-up telling me that there is no internet connection when I haven't asked for one is quite annoying. Is there some way to disable this popup, and just have the offending process 'deal with it'?

 

[corkyg]

Try Control Panel - Internet Options - Connections - then select Never Dial a Connection. It will all be manual up to you then.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Thanks, but no dice. It's been set to never dial a connection. I just want it to not 'inform' me when so process decides it wants to look online.

If it's impossible to just disable the pop-ups, is there a way to determine exactly what is trying to phone home so I can kill it?

 

[bruceb]

A lot of progams will find it, if it's spyware or a virus

You should try AVG Free Editiion http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
or Kaspersky Antivirus, http://www.kaspersky.com/

Get & use Spyware Blaster (it stops things before they get in)

http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

Spybot S/D http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

Adaware SE Personal Editon (all are free) http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/

You can also get a copy of Autoruns ...

http://www.sysinternals.com/utilities/autoruns.html

Run these in SAFE Mode after you have installed them & updated their definitions bases

After everything is fixed, let Spyware Blaster do an Immunize

Let us know how it works out

That will tell you what is starting up when you boot & allow you to fix it

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Well, I'll double check but spyware was first on my list. Checked through with adware, ran the ms startup manager, even checked with hijackthis and it didn't look like there was anything that wasn't supposed to be there. Rather, I think this is some obscure piece of software that I actually need, but that I don't want phoning home.

 

[bruceb]

If that is the case, Autoruns will tell you .. I provided the link for it above .. download
and see what is starting up when the pc boots up .. It will also let you permanently stop
an item from autostarting if it is not supposed to .. If it is a dialer or virus, you will then
know where the program resides, so you can either uninstall it or delete it .. you may
need to do that in safe mode & also clean any reg entries related to the problem program