I have a case where a Win98SE PC tries to reach the Internet at random times. The PC is connected to the Internet via an ISDN router, and a lot of Internet access means higher ISDN costs.
I have made sure that there are no programs that checks the Internet for newer versions (their antivirus program checks for newer virus definitions, of course, but that program’s Internet use is accounted for). I have checked for viruses, uninstalled “spyware” applications and then removed remaining traces using Ad-aware 6.0, and checked that only legitimate programs and processes are included in Windows’s Startup folder and under the HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, \RunOnce and \Services keys, as well as under the similar keys under HKEY_CURRENT_USER keys in the Registry.
Still, the PC connects to the Internet at random times, and it is not the typical DNS calls that Win98 is known for. That was solved long ago when I changed the value HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP\EnableDNS from 1 to 0.
Are there any (shareware/freeware?) programs out there that can tell which processes is trying to reach an Internet location, so that I can identify the “guilty” program and reconfigure or remove it?
Any help would be appreciated!
