{"id":18819,"date":"2024-08-12T12:33:40","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T12:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.auslogics.com\/en\/articles\/?p=18819"},"modified":"2025-10-16T00:04:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T00:04:17","slug":"windows-update-internet-locations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.auslogics.com\/en\/articles\/windows-update-internet-locations\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prevent Windows from Connecting to Any Windows Update Internet Locations?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Windows updates are one of the most critical aspects of your Windows computer, and this is not up for debate.<\/p>\n

Cybercriminals are dedicated in their pursuit of vulnerabilities, and Microsoft works hard to find exploitable loopholes and close them, which it does through developing and releasing updates for its software. Therefore, you put yourself at serious risk when not installing Windows updates.<\/p>\n

In previous years, new Windows versions were released to take security to a new level.<\/p>\n

However, since Microsoft ended the tradition of releasing new Windows versions, Windows Update for Windows 10 and Windows 11 became the main tool for keeping the operating system up to date. Its responsibilities include installing security, feature, and quality updates.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udccc Do you know: <\/strong>Windows 10\u2019s End of Life Is Near: What You Need to Consider? <\/a><\/p>\n

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To fetch and install Windows updates<\/a>, the utility has to connect to Microsoft servers. However, you can choose to install the updates from an Intranet Microsoft Update service location instead.<\/p>\n

Most network administrators do so using the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). With WSUS, you can easily manage how Windows updates are deployed to systems on a network. You can determine when and if a device receives updates and the type of updates that will be installed to any system.<\/p>\n

All that said, systems could still reach out to Microsoft Update and Microsoft Store servers to fetch updates for Windows Store applications and other Microsoft products. If your main objective is to prevent the system from connecting to Microsoft servers, you need to enable a Group Policy option called \u201cDo not connect to any Windows Update Internet locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

This policy only works when you\u2019ve configured the computer to download and install updates from an Intranet Microsoft Service location.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll be showing you several ways for how to prevent Windows from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations.<\/p>\n

How to Prevent Windows from Connecting to Any Windows Update Internet Location<\/h2>\n

Solution 1: Using the Registry Editor<\/h3>\n

Here, you\u2019ll be disabling the DoNotConnectToWindowsUpdateInternetLocations<\/em> DWORD.\u00a0 However, before you start, it\u2019s recommended that you back up the system registry <\/a> to avoid unforeseeable issues. Making the wrong turn in the Registry Editor is not the only thing that poses risk to your system registry.<\/p>\n

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Now, to the main business:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. Open the Registry Editor.<\/li>\n
  2. Go to the left pane of the window and open the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE<\/em> folder.<\/li>\n
  3. Next, open the SOFTWARE<\/em> tree.<\/li>\n
  4. Under SOFTWARE<\/em>, go to Policies<\/em> and click on it.<\/li>\n
  5. After that, expand the Microsoft<\/em> folder, then click on the arrow beside Windows<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  6. Now, click on WindowsUpdate<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  7. Your next move is to navigate to the right side of the window, right-click the empty surface, and then click on New >> DWORD (32-bit) Value<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  8. Rename the new DWORD \u201cDoNotConnectToWindowsUpdateInternetLocations\u201d<\/em> (don\u2019t add the quotes).<\/li>\n
  9. Now, double-click on the DWORD.<\/li>\n
  10. Once you see the Edit DWORD Value<\/em> dialog, enter 1<\/em> into the Value<\/em> box and select Hexadecimal<\/em> under Base<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  11. Click on OK<\/em>.<\/li>\n
  12. Exit the Registry Editor and restart your PC.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Solution 2: Using the Group Policy Editor<\/h3>\n

    Here\u2019s how to prevent Windows from connecting to any Windows Update Internet locations using the Group Policy Editor <\/a>:<\/p>\n

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    1. Right-click on the Windows logo in the taskbar.<\/li>\n
    2. In the Power User menu, click on Run<\/em>.<\/li>\n
    3. You can also press the Windows logo and R keyboard buttons together to launch the Run dialog box.<\/li>\n
    4. After Run opens, type \u201cgpedit.msc\u201d<\/em> (don\u2019t add the quotes), and then click on the OK<\/em> button.<\/li>\n
    5. Once the Group Policy Editor opens, go to the left side and open Computer Administration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Windows Update<\/em>.<\/li>\n
    6. Click on Windows Update<\/em>, then navigate to the right side of the window and double-click an option that reads, \u201cDo not connect to any Windows Update Internet locations.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
    7. Click on the Enabled<\/em> radio button when the dialog window opens.<\/li>\n
    8. Click on OK<\/em>, exit the GP Editor, and then restart your system.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Solution 3:\u00a0Using the Hosts file<\/h3>\n

      Modifying the Hosts file on your PC is yet another option. This method works by redirecting Windows Update domains back to your local machine; effectively, you are blocking your system from reaching Microsoft\u2019 s servers.<\/p>\n

      Here are the steps to take:<\/p>\n