'logging off' & 'shutting down'

[bit]

When I go to shut down my Win7, first it displays something like 'logging off' and then it says 'shutting down'.
Is it 'reporting' (i.e. 'phoning home' to Microsoft or somewhere) when it 'logs off'?

[wraith808]

I couldn't say for sure re the 'phoning home', but that's not intrinsically what that means.  The difference between logging off and shutting down is that one is closing your session (logging off) and the other is doing things related to performing a complete power off.  You can log off and not shut down your machine.  And also note that when you first turn on the machine, if you have a password set or more than one user, you arrive at a log on screen- that state is the one that you arrive at by logging off.

[techidave]

after much searching I came across this:

As Windows 7 shuts down the computer you will see two messages. Logging Off and then Shutting Down. Logging Off means it is disconnecting from the current user account. In general Logging Off means to disconnect from something, such as a User Account or Internet Account. Logging On means the reverse; To connect to something. For more information read the Log Off/On section. Once Windows 7 has logged you off (signed you out) it then saves your current computer settings and personal (desktop) settings before actually turning off (shutting down) the computer.

it came from this site

I hope this helps

[bit]

Thank you very much. 

[MilesAhead]

If you want to get a look at some stuff MS tries to send out and have a router with most ports blocked you can see failed outgoing connection attempts on various ports if you look through the log files.  Maybe a network guru can chime in.  I don't remember the names of the log files off hand.

[Shades]

In Windows 7 (and higher) the Windows Event viewer shows you a lot more. Although this info can be overwhelming, it is very useful.

Go to the Windows Control Panel > Administrative tools> Event viewer

A Window will open. Maximize it as the information that will be shown to you needs all the screen real-estate it can get. On the left is a tree view, select option 'Application and service logs'

New options will appear, select Microsoft > Windows > Windows Firewall With Advanced Security > Firewall.

On top of the center of the screen you will see a chronologically ordered list of events that took place. Select any event and the bottom half in the center of the screen shows you the detailed information of the selected event.

Now, most of the occurred events are likely not that interesting, but events with event id 2011 could be. Events with that id show a network communication attempt with any application (including port, process ID and complete file path) on your system. Searching on the internet with the application name and port number will show you if the communication is benign or not.

My computer only has its standard firewall enabled, without anti-virus. If you have another firewall and/or anti-virus solution enabled, I am sure you will find it in the 'Application and service logs' section of the event viewer.

[Innuendo]

In response to the OP, to put it simply the act of logging the user off before shutting down is much the same as saving all data in any open programs before you shut down and reboot the PC.

When Windows logs the user off it is saving all user account data and closing all files in an orderly fashion that were in use by the user account before it moves on to the shutting down process which performs an orderly closing of all files that were being used by the operating system in general.

A bit over-simplified of an explanation, but rest assured that Microsoft was not receiving 'phone calls' from your PC.

[MilesAhead]

A bit over-simplified of an explanation, but rest assured that Microsoft was not receiving 'phone calls' from your PC.

All I know is, if they start calling collect there will be hell to pay.