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wustat/wutrack.windows.com - What are they Used For?

Posted by Cliff on from the I-spy-bill's-secret-little-eye dept.

An Anonymous Coward asks: "On Windows XP today when i ran 'netstat', I noticed an http connection to wustat.windows.com. Several minutes later when i tried again I had an http connection to wutrack.windows.com. A search on google yields few results. Since windows.com is registered to microsoft, it makes me curious to know what wustat and wutrack stand for and what their purpose is. Is it Windows Usage Statistics/Tracking?" Has anyone else seen this on their XP systems?

4 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. Killa bees on a swarm by ObviousGuy · · Score: 5, Informative

    They use that to track how many Wu Tang MP3s you've pirated.

    But seriously folks, that's to track updates for Windows Update. Basically it keeps a line of communication open so that if there is an update on the windows.com website, you will be notified ASAP.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
  2. Microsoft deserves serious criticism: by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 4, Informative

    Microsoft deserves serious criticism:

    Windows XP Shows the Direction Microsoft is Going.

  3. disable it. by Neck_of_the_Woods · · Score: 4, Informative


    To turn off automatic updates for your computer:
    Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.

    Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually.

    --
    Neck_of_the_Woods
    #/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
  4. WU by alpha264 · · Score: 1, Informative

    I would imagine since Windows Update is always running (At least by default) and checks for updates occasionally, that's what you're seeing.

    Just go into your "System" settings in the control panel, and then to the "Automatic Updates" tab and uncheck the box (Or change the settings to whatever suits your preferences)

    This hardly seems like an interesting Ask Slashdot. For the first time in my years as a reader, this story smells a bit like aluminum foil on the head type knee-jerk paranoia.