XP trying to dial out?

I have dial-up, and just recently when I open a new window, such as my computer or my documents, the modem tries to dial out. So I cancel it, and when I open up a new window, it does it again. For example, I open up My Documents, it tries to dial out. I cancel it, and open My Pictures. it tries to dial out and I cancel again. I open a folder within My Pictures and it tries to dial out again. So I cancel again. vicious cycle until I reboot. once i reboot, it doesn't do it...for a while anyway.

System Specs:
Windows XP SP1
Asus A7N266-VM
Athlon XP 2200+
512 Crucial PC2100
onboard video, network, audio

has anyone else seen this? here is a screenshot of my running processes:

 

From a thread at this site http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/r1067396264

Do you have AVG set to auto-update? It might be initiating the call...

 

nope...suggestion didn't work. avg is not set to auto update. at one time it was and it would automatically download the updates when you connected to the internet. so it annoyed my wife so i turned it off.

speaking of avg, i updated it, and spybot, and cleaned my system last night. but it still did it this morning.

any other ideas?

 

This is very odd. If you turned off your autodialer and it's still happening, it must mean that something is turning it on again...

You say you scanned for viruses and spyware last night... Have you scanned your system for Trojans lately? Try this online scanner http://www.trojanscan.com/

In your task list I see "AcroTray.exe" - I assuming that's Adobe Acrobat. Try killing that process and see what happens. Acrobat is known to phone home to check for updates.

Let me do some more checking...

 

Who's your ISP? and have you installed special software from them?

Here's a little program to prevent malicious scripts from executing on your machine: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2319.html

Try this: In internet options, connections, check "never dial a connection"

In Msconfig > Startup tab, can you list what Startup items you have in there.

 

I think there are other places that give the option to autodial. I've had the same annoyance you're dealing with, ace, and it sure does get on your nerves! I have to agree with alanc, though... if autodial is off, it shouldn't do that anymore. Check the control panel under Phone and Modem options and make sure autodial is turned off everywhere.

 

Just a guess, but WinXP has a new feature in the service Windows Time, by default it is configured to contact microsoft.com and synchronize time every now and then.
To configure this synchronization double click the clock on the taskbar and select the Internet Time-tab.

Else check your Event Log and see if any services complains about them not being able to perform their wanted action.

Else install a firewall and see what application is trying to access the internet.