networking help

im having problems with my netowkr and im wondering if anyone can help. They have windows xp home and xp pro. everytime i start xp home, (the one that connects to the net) it woprks fine. When the other is turned on and someone loggs on and does anything, XP Home starts dialling to the internet, even if the other person doesnt launch internet explorer, whats going on?

i have another question aswell, how can i set up the computers to have to supply a password before they can access the other comp. E.g one of the computers has a shared folder, how can i password it. i know its probably easy but i cant find the option anywhere

any help would be appreciated

It sounds like you have Internet Connection Sharing enabled on the internet connected computer. There are many services that may be on the second computer that try to access the internet automatically, such as anti-virus update services, windows update, etc. As soon as one of those services tries to access the internet, the ICS computer will attempt to connect if you have it configured to auto-connect.

so how do i sort it?

Let the computer dial would be my choice. Otherwise turn off whatever programs or services are initiating the internet connection.

i want to stop it dialling. but i dont know what programs are causing it

go to tools->internet options
in the internet explorer menu.
then select the "connections" tab and check the "never dial a connection" option.
now hit OK.
you are done.