Well,

Just a guess here...Did you have the password "remembered" in a log in box previously? Maybe that got you around their software and it doesn't now. It appears that MSN had a "hole" in their previous version and they plugged it. I've used a few different ISP's and I've never found a way to connect without being signed in to the dial-up connection. It's how the ISP recognizes who you are and the means by which it "allows" or "disallows" the connection.

Unfortunately, MSN has a lot of "bloat" software which many say slows the connection. Apparently they are now "forcing" you to load their extra "stuff", much like AOL.

Hope this helps.

Grif