I want to be able to block all communications between microsoft.com and my xp installtion. I don't want a full-fledged firewall (where I have to give permissions for every internet connection), but just want to block microsoft.com. any simple (n' free) way of doing it? Thanks in advance!!

a firewall is the best way. with most you only need to decide program clearance once and they will remember. dont think you can selectivley block your browser so that it wont take you to a ms site. give zone alarm firewall a go. thats free and will stop any ms program you want from accessing the internet, its also pretty simple. Miracle

Curiousity got the better of me...Whay would you want to blaco microsoft from your PC? I dont think microsoft is spying on anyone or tracking anyone, really. Arent we being a little paranoid, may i ask why?

Just to prevent people from downloading and installing updates on my computer... nothing to do with microsoft paranoia. even if M$ did track (esp illegal copies), i doubt they would use it unless it was serious... they may not want to risk with privacy advocates.. on a side note, i read somebody's message who checked the internet packets on XP HE... he found that it contacted the microsoft site several times without permission even after turning automatic updates off... so i am not too sure.. there might be more to this activation thing than just getting a key..

Here's a quick and dirty way to do it. Edit the file: C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\hosts add entries as follows: 127.0.0.1 www.microsoft.com 127.0.0.1 windowsupdate.microsoft.com etc. (you have to specify individual hosts using this method, unfortunately. Can't block an entire domain) This will trick Windows into thinking all these hosts are aliases for your machine, and it will try to connect to itself. Unless you're running a web server or whatever, you'll get an error message (even if you ARE running a server you'll probably get an error as the requested page won't exist). This is the best you can do without using a firewall or some sort of filtering software...

Ok, here is what you can do, get the url of microsoft updates, then turn off automatic updating by telling it you want to do manual updates. After you have done that then get a fire wall and block that update url that gets microsoft updates. I tested it and it worked for me. The only difference may be if you have a software firewall and i have a hardware firewall. In addition you can go to rhinosoft.com and get allegrosurf which then lets you block any site you feel like with keywords etc. email me for help if you want or catch me on AOL "roamingphantom"

vvume, The hosts file method described by Big Juju will do what you want. Another method, one that I prefer, is to use a Proxy Auto Configuration (PAC) file, which is based on the same principle as the hosts file. A PAC file, however, is far more flexible because you can use it to selectively block or allow domains, web pages or even single images. It is a java script file, but it doesn't require java script to be enabled in your browser for it to work. The PAC file has another advantage over the hosts file in that you can make changes on the fly, or load or unload it without having to restart your browser. It doesn't require a server, and it can be used in conjunction with a hosts file. http://www.schooner.com/~loverso/no-ads/