Well, the best way is to try to find what is invoking it. Many applications
today install with an option to automatically check for updates. You
usually don't see this option unless you do a custom install. Real Player
is a major culprit in this regard as it not only checks for updates but also
will automatically try to deliver messages to your desktop.
That said, you might be able to shut it off as follows. Open Control Panel,
open Internet Options, go to the Connections tab, place a check next to
"Never Dial a Connection," click apply and ok. If that doesn't resolve it
or it's already check then your going to need to check your various
applications for options that might be selected that would cause the system
to go online. Note, many antivirus applications are set to automatically
check for updates too.
Also, if you e-mail client is set to check for messages at specified
intervals, it will try to dial out to check for messages.
