On Windows:
It depends on the card. You may want to check the advanced properties for your network card.
You can also de-select all protocols for the NIC.
You may also be able to configure this in the registry. For many cards this can be set in the HKey_LocalMachine\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NIC_CARD\Parameters (where NIC_CARD is your nic driver) -
Value Name: PromiscuousModeX
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Data: 1
Data 1 will enable the mode.
To put the NIC in promiscuous mode:
To remove the NIC from promiscuous mode:
[root]# ifconfig eth0 -promisc
In VMware ESX Server 3.5, you can find this option in the VMware Infrastructure Client under each host machine, under Configuration > Networking > Virtual Switch > Properties.