Solved Why would Windows need to connect to Hotmail servers?

Why would Windows need to connect to Hotmail servers?

Sporadically I notice that svchost, rundll32 or WShost want to connect to Hotmail servers, but by the time I start capturing packets and give access to the internet to see what it’s doing, it’s stopped. Furthermore, it doesn’t seem to try again, which makes it even more difficult.

I don’t use Live, Messenger or any other apps/software that would need to connect to Hotmail, so am curious what it’s doing. I was thinking it was maybe something to do with Windows Update (well, WShost anyway, due to App updates for pre-installed apps), but like I said, it doesn’t seem to do it very regularly and appears to be pretty random.

I don’t suspect any kind of foul play, so am just curious really, as I can’t seem to catch it in the act to monitor what it’s doing. Any ideas?

Ah, just found it's to do with Windows Update afterall. Not sure why they use Hotmail servers (presumably because Windows Store is linked to Hotmail), but it connects to request the following:

/w8/2/redir/storeauth.cab
/w8/2/windowsupdate/redir/store-wuredir.cab

Note: 'Windows 8' above should be 'W_8' (without space), but this site changes the text automatically for some reason.