# My computer just connected to the internet... by itself **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 13, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531 "2004-11-13T04:37:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/1 "2004-11-13T04:37:42Z")
No, seriously. Literally, _by itself_. My wife is out of town, I’m the only one here, we have a one bedroom-New York-small-but-expensive apartment, and my computer speakers were turned up because I had been listening to a CD on it about four hours ago. All of a sudden, from the other room, I hear a really loud phone dialing. I race into the bedroom and my computer is dialing into the internet! And the dialogue box was on-screen too, the one that comes up when you double-click the shortcut icon to the ISP. I hit “Cancel” and grabbed a rosary. I just bought the computer last week… my old computer never did anything like that… is there some kind of setting that I need to turn off?? It freaked me out, man. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/2 "2004-11-13T06:16:08Z")
If you’ve got a windows box, go to your Control Panel, open Internet Options, click the Connections tab, and click the Never Dial a Connection option. Then click OK. Chances are you’ve got something trying to get updates automatically, or check mail or something like that. On the off chance that it’s some piece of malware trying to dial home, I’d recommend dowloading, updating and running Adaware and Spybot Search & Destroy. ---
**Author:** ![shamrock227](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@shamrock227](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shamrock227)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/3 "2004-11-13T10:20:17Z")
Personally, I think it’s possessed. You might want to consider contacting a priest for an exorcism. Or, it could be, ya know, what Q.E.D. said and stuff - but that’s not as cool 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/4 "2004-11-13T16:27:31Z")
Insert obligatory “PC phone home” joke. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/5 "2004-11-13T20:38:26Z")
Spyware maybe? ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/6 "2004-11-13T21:02:51Z")
your computer’s lonely. * * * relative privacy for free - run [ZoneAlarm](http://www.zonelabs.com/), [Spybot](http://www.safer-networking.org/) and [Adaware](http://www.lavasoft.de/). ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/7 "2004-11-13T21:43:46Z")
I tried what you suggested, **Q.E.D.** , but it was _already_ on “Never…”. I’ll run SpyHunter tonight, and check to see if it happens around the same time of evening (about 11:30) tonight. Other than that, I dunno what the hell it is. All I could think of was that scene in _WarGames_ where the military guy is like, “David, computers don’t call people.” and Matthew Broderick says, “Yours did.”. Hopefully I don’t start World War III. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/8 "2004-11-13T21:53:23Z")
Just for the record, I’m using Steve Case’s great contribution to American culture, AOL. On irregular occasions where I’ve been online and haven’t signed off to go eat, talk to Barb, use the bathroom, or otherwise do something not involving keyboard and monitor, we’ll hear it dialing up – meaning that AOL has dropped connection and it’s trying to recover it. Startling the first few times you have it happen! ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-computer-just-connected-to-the-internet-by-itself/274531/9 "2004-11-14T08:24:21Z")
I bet it’s windows auto-update.