I found that this registry edit will disable all communications (AFAIK) to Microsoft. It does need further investigation though. When run the internet icon in the tray shows disconnected, but internet access is fine except for all things Microsoft. With the new 20H1 build it can be turned off and on by substituting in a 1 or a 0 then restarting. Block MS Code: reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet" /v "EnableActiveProbing" /t REG_DWORD /d "0" /f Allow MS Code: reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet" /v "EnableActiveProbing" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f I would appreciate further investigation into this matter, along with comments.
No, it only prevents Windows from actively checking online state (through the MSFT NCSI server). It does block no further communication.