NEVER use the “start/search” function in Windows xp, which silently connects on port 80 to sa.windows.com (207.46.248.249) in order to deliver to the ugly microsoft's minions your IP and what you are searching for on your own HardDisk. Start/search - in Windows XP - is MALWARE eo ipso.
Well actually this may be related to some version of windows, because I did not see that, using a DOS console :
netstat -an & netstat -an & netstat -an & netstat -an & netstat -an
Can you give more evidence ?
Workaround is to alias put MS Ip to loopback :
# file:///etc/hosts # file://%WINDIR%/system32/drivers/etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 localhost 207.46.248.249 localhost # http://rzr.online.fr/q/Spy
Alternative ClosedSource software is locate : http://www.uku.fi/~jmhuttun/english/softwares.shtml
Video :
DRM ?
http://www.accs-net.com/hosts/
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
Longhorn : http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=14552
http://www.nliteos.com/download.html
Metadata : http://formats-ouverts.org/blog/2005/08/29/510-internet-explorer-change-de-formats
http://www.pps.jussieu.fr/~dicosmo/Piege/cybersnare/piege.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_bug
Software : http://vikram.blogspot.com/2005/09/adware-replaces-google-ads-in-search.html