Unable to access external HTTPS websites...unable to download windows updates

Question

I need help with two problems I'm having on a Windows 2008 R2 server. I believe they are connected. This server is not able to download windows updates and further checking I found out that I cannot access any external https sites. I did check both ports 80 and 443 on checkmyport.net and they are both open. I can browse to any other website and have no problem. We are not using proxy server or WSUS. The only https site I'm able to open is if I access outlook OWA in the network. This server was up and working fine without any problem until short time ago.

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

It seems like something blocks your HTTPS traffic, which indeed affects windows update to work correctly.

This could be due to a proxy server being incorrectly used, or a firewall blocking the correct ports.

Here are some steps you could try.

Solution 1

Check if you are using a proxy server. If you do, double check the settings in the Internet Explorer and make sure that the proxy does not require a username or password to connect. If it does, the easiest way is to disable the proxy server during the duration of the windows update, although you can also create a workaround by setting your firewall to allow the connection to the Windows Update directly without going through the proxy.

Solution 2

If your computer has been infested with spyware in the past – or it is at the moment – then the spyware might have modified your Internet Explorer settings to use a proxy server. Open the cmd.exe program (by typing CMD in the start menu) and issue the following command: netsh winhttp import proxy source=ie

Solution 3

Some dll files might have become unregistered – due to various factors – which could trigger the windows update error 80072ee2. In this case, open cmd.exe, and register the following dlls: oleaut32.dll, jscript.dll, vbscript.dll, msxml.dll, softpub.dll, wintrust.dll, initpki.dll, cryptdlg.dll. You can register a dll by typing regsvr32 {name of the dll}.

Solution 4

This is the rarest occurrence that may cause the windows update error 80072ee2, but your computer’s MTU setting might be incorrect. In this case, you simply have to set the MTU value to 1492 and try the windows update again.

source: http://theitbros.com/how-to-solve-the-windows-update-error-80072ee2/

This link also has a solution 5, but that solution is specifically for windows update and is not relevant for you, so I left it out.