Windows Automatic Updates for SP2 accesses

Hi all,

I noticed that SP2 Automatic Updates tries to access windows update websites
through the generic service host at daily intervals EVEN when automatic
updates is completely disabled in the security center. My firewall caught
this access since a generic, unchecked, service host that can easily be
abused (by a malicious service or program)is normally denied internet access.

what it tries to do is contact v5stats.windowsupdate.microsoft.com at port
80, through the Generic Host Process for Win32 Services. It shouldn't do this
when Automatic Updates is turned off. What kind of data is collected in these
runs anyway?

How do I prevent Automatic Updates from attempting this access? I know that
it has to be installed and active because otherwise visiting windowsupdate
manually like I do, results in an error.