IE browsing, processes, ESS - web protection question

Simple question first - - does ESS require running the process called sqlbrowser.exe? (Do all of you have sqlbrowser.exe running in your Task Manager?)



I just set my task manager to display Prcoess IDs (PID.) I open Internet Explorer and went to the basic home page. I then went to a command prompt window in Vista and ran the command netstat -ano.

It showed I was connected to the given website through port 80. OK fine. But it showed the associated procces was process ID 2216. In task manager process ID 2216 is sqlbrowser.exe.

I then went in and killed off and disabled all sql browser processes and services (I still don't know why they want to run everytime I boot up.) Then once all the sql browser crap was disabled, I restarted Internet Explorer, Task Manger, and opened a command prompt window. Again I ran the command netstat -ano. It showed me connected to the website through port 80. But now it shows me connected through the proccess ekm.exe - an ESS process! Isn't this what I wanted in the first place?

If sqlbrowser.exe is not needed for ESS, then all this time I was conencting to websites through sql browser. If that is the case was I possibly unprotected by the ESS proxy procedure for web protection? Now that I killed off sql browser and my web pages are connecting through ekm.exe, is this the desired situation?

 

never see sql browser in ess services