Xp Programs Connecting to net..

Now i know that XP has alot of built in and hidden Internet connecting
programs and functions.. but i was writing "The Captains Log"
and my firewall detected Note pad trying to contact the net.

What the hell does note pad have to contact the internet for ? lol.

Valiant.

Let me guess....it tried to connect to crl.microsoft.com right? That has to do with a recent update from MS. Instead of just blocking the program off, I edited my hosts file so that address points to 127.0.0.1 or localhost. (meaning any traffic it sends doesn't even leave my computer) This is Palladium-like crap at work folks. Rather nice of MS to slip crap like this in with "critical" updates isn't it?

I've never seen notepad connect to the internet. Run a virus scan.

doing so now,
but i run them constantly and there's been no other strange activitys

i just found it weird..
i know quite a few programs in xp do it, but note freak'n pad ?
just found it funny.

Valiant.

[Thomas P]

I've seen a number of programs do this in the last few months and I run 2000 Professional. I have not thought to change anything as my firewall blocks them all for me automatically. But, it all started with the last SP update. Heck, even MAX tried to connect to the net.

What appears to be going on with crl.microsoft.com is that Windows is checking to see if the Authenticode signature for the program you're running has been revoked. As a side effect, Microsoft also gets information on exactly what programs are being launched.

By all means mask out CRL at the domain level but be aware that the same server also manages SSL certificate revocations for Internet Exploiter and missing an SSL revocation could be very bad news for people who need to do secure transactions (banking, purchases, etc) online.

Aren't you glad Mozilla and other third-party browsers are getting more popular day by day? The only time I will EVER use IE (POS it is) is when I run windows update.

/me loves IE.