Recently an e-mail message arrived with complaints about the dialer always popping up whether intending to go on line or not. For some reason the default setting for the dial up connection is set to dial whenever a network connection is not present. While this can be quite annoying, it is also easily remedied.
If you are using Windows XP click your Start button and select Control Panel on the right hand column of the Start Menu. This will open a window on which you will find something similar to this illustration. Left click the indicated Network and Internet Connections link.
Windows Vista users will find a view similar to this after clicking the Control Panel selection of the Start Menu. Here you would left click the Network and Internet link that has been circled in the screen shot.
The next screen Windows XP users will see has a section like this. Left click the Internet Options link.
Windows Vista users will be greeted with a screen that has these entries. Left click the circled Internet Options link.
Windows usually has more than one path to an item and this is no exception. There are two other paths to our intended destination usable in both versions of Windows. My preferred method is illustrated here. Simply right click the Internet Explorer entry at the top of the right hand column of the Start Menu. There is one problem with this path. If the original IE entry has been removed, this path is not always available when the IE entry is manually replaced.
The other path, pictured here, is located on the right side of the Internet Explorer 7.0 toolbar. This provides a short path to our destination when IE happens to be open. This path is also available in IE 6. The difference is in the location of the Tools button.
Whichever path you take, you will wind up at this window in both Windows XP and Windows Vista. On this screen you need to left click the indicated "Connections" tab.
If you have gotten tired of seeing the dialer pop up in your way just click the radio button next to "Never dial a connection". This does not disable the dialer it merely removes the automation of a default installation. If you like to stay connected all the time then the "Dial whenever a network connection is not present" will be the setting you should choose. The third selection "Always dial my default connection" causes the dialer to appear when you open a web browser or e-mail program. It also enables the "Set default" button allowing you to change the default connection. Usually the default connection is the last connection that was set up.
Microsoft, Microsoft Office, Windows, Windows XP and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
