[snip usual cure]
However, it keeps reverting back to "Always dial my default
connection" after setting it at least a dozen times to "Never dial a
connection", then selecting "Apply" then "OK".
Further suggestions will be most welcomed.
Have you checked for dialler malware?
Yes, Ad-Aware and McAfee are both updated and run regularly, the
entire LAN is behind a Linux iptables completely "stealth" firewall
(invisible to any and all outside machines except those to which a
LAN application already has an established connection), the win2000
machine is behind a running ISS BlackIce firewall with Application
Protection that would block (with notification) any unauthorized
outbound dialers. I'm very, very confident that there is no such
concern as "dialler malware" on this particular machine.
How about, under IE->Tools->Internet Options...->Connections,
removing everything it knows about the dial-ip connection?
That seems to actually remove the Network and Dialup Connection,
which is not what I want to do. At any rate, doing so just causes
another dialup connection to become the "default", and then that
connection becomes the insistent one whenever an Internet-aware
application is started, resulting in a popup dialup window for that
connection. Very frustrating, I assure you.
BTW, just starting IE causes the popup "Dial-up Connection" window,
so I close that window with the "X" in the window frame, instead of
dialing or choosing "Work Offline." Regardless, IE File --> Work
Offline is checked, and unchecking it doesn't have affect on the
outcome.
Choosing the "Settings" on the "Dial-up Connection" popup leads to
the same choices as Control Panel --> Internet Options, or IE -->
Tools -->Internet Options --> Connections tab. Choosing "Never dial a
connection", "Apply" and "OK" leads back to the same initial problem.
Perhaps it would be happier if in the LAN settings it was set/unset
to automatically detect?
IE --> Tools --> Internet Options --> Connections tab, "LAN Settings"
and unchecking "Automatically detect settings" causes no change in
the initial problem, although that choice remains persistent across
invocations of IE, whereas the "Never dial a connection" choice
reverts to "Always dial my default connection" across invocations of IE.
Verifying these details before posting this, I've come to notice an
event that seems to trigger the behaviour, so this might provide a
clue. I generally work w/ Outlook Express (OE, which is part of the IE
package) open, using an "Identity" on the LAN for purposes of checking local
mail and posting to Usenet. I don't switch to the "Main" identity until my
email there is prescreened for spam, viruses etc.
Now I find that if I make the IE Internet Options choice above to "Never
dial a connection", then it always reverts to "Always dial my default
connection" if I change identities in OE and back again.
If, on the other hand, I make the changes in IE, close OE, re-open OE, then
change identities and back, the IE changes persist as "Never dial a
connection".
So, I'm going to claim the problem is solved, and for the record, it seems
to be necessary to close both IE and OE after making "Connections" changes
in "Internet Options", before making any identity change in OE. This causes
things to behave as desired.
Very strange, but apparently true. Thank you all for your help.
