I'm working with a customer that needs to keep the automatic connection on as they use some sort of connection to the QB website to do payroll. However, this agent starts up when the user enters several areas of the program, even when they're not doing payroll. When this agent is running it uses all the machine's processor resources, and "freezes" the machine for 30 to 40 seconds. This happens several times a day, and the user is not happy about it. Other than telling the software that there is no persisitant internet connection, is there any way to disable this "feature"?

You can't disable it as the payroll module needs it to work properly. You could try doing a Ctrl+Alt+Del and closing it down from the list of running programs to see if that helps any. This program comes on when you turn on the computer (you don't even have to open the QB program) and also stays running even when the QB program is closed. There are registry hacks you can do to disable it but then you won't be able to use the payroll module without problems. So just try turning it off as I said above and see if that helps any. But be aware that it's on the second your turn on your computer until you shut it down unless you manually shut this updater off using the Task Manager screen.