I run XP Pro SP3 on a Dell laptop. My internet connection is through a wireless USB adapter at the local WiFi hotspots.Often I will boot up at home (adapter not inserted; no WiFi available), and my ZoneAlarm (free) icon will show something trying to send traffic. Unfortunately, the ZA logs don't show up until after they're saved (when I log in on a day after the date ZA logged the traffic).Is there a log file somewhere - or another method - that I can use to find out what's trying to access the internet automatically with no netework connection available to detect?Ed

Ed_from_AZ,Do the logs from ZoneAlarm have any info on what was triggering them?I have an older Insperon running XP SP3 and use a Linksys (or D-Link) PCMCIA wireless adapter. They both have programs that are loaded on startup to assist in detecting wireless hotspots to connect to. I use AVG Internet Security for AntiVirus and Firewall. The firewall detects network state on startup and sets permissions based on that state. It could be software for your wireless adapter causing this trigger for ZoneAlarm.You might consider contacting the vendor for your adapter and ZoneAlarm for assistance as well as this site, as they should know their products specific characteristics.The other possibility would be that malware may be loading during startup and attempting to access the internet. The nice thing about the firewall from AVG is that a message box appears when something tries to access the internet that it doesn't have permissions for yet. I'm not trying to plug for AVG, but I found it to be easier to use than ZoneAlarm (which I used for several years). You can get the free verson of AVG AntiVirus from their website and try the firewall for 30 days. It might help just to find out what is causing your symptoms. Install and Uninstall work well.

cf. http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/xpnetwork/thread/7c7243bf-b307-4ed0-9455-0b29bcc759a5/ ~Robear Dyer (PA Bear) ~ MS MVP (IE, Mail, Security, Windows & Update Services) since 2002 ~ Disclaimer: MS MVPs neither represent nor work for Microsoft