>>> Vista probably detected some status change, because no matter what I did, the connection now looked like "local only".
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>I have seen Vista do that before. I'm not sure just how Vista decides if you really have internet access but it must actually look for certain sites and if it times out it decides you must not have access. I've been on a couple of dismally slow networks where Vista said Local Only but I could connect with outside sites.

And I bet those websites it checks are exactly the ones I want to firewall out... if, that is, I ever find a firewall which has no connection to M$ whatsoever. Which would then mean I'd have a choice between being tracked by M$'s websites or being unable to connect as I like.