Topic: gimp auto update check
the current version of gimp added the default setting to automatically phone home and check for updates:
You can disable this feature on the System Resources page of the Preferences dialog, and manually use the Check for updates button in the About dialog.You can disable this feature on the System Resources page of the Preferences dialog, and manually use the Check for updates button in the About dialog.
but maybe it is possible to disable by default
/etc/gimp/2.0/gimprc
# Check for availability of GIMP updates through background internet queries.
# Possible values are yes and no.
#
# (check-updates yes)