After a system rebuild, I suddenly noticed that the Microsoft update started giving the error: 0X80072EFD

It wasn’t long before I figured out it was Trend Internet Security 2009 (Customer wanted it installed) that was partly to blame.

By starting the trend control panel, going to: “Internet and email controls”, and then turning off “protection against web threats” (PAWT), I was able to do updates again.

I also found that I could get updates if I disabled the IE7 phishing filter (PF).

So, it seems obvious that IE7 PF conflicts with TIS PAWT

It would probably be a good idea if trend disabled IE7 PF, or if PF gets turned  on, it warns you, or automatically turns off its own PAWT.