Symptoms

• You have enabled Vulnerability assessment/ Patch management modules in the Protection Plan
• Patch management or Vulnerability assessment activity fails with error 0x80072efd. Example:

"The vulnerability assessment failed because the Windows Update Agent returned an error 0x80072efd. Check your Windows Update settings and try again."

Cause

Windows Update error 0x80072efd stands for WININET_E_CANNOT_CONNECT: A connection with the server could not be established.
Generally it suggests that there is a problem with proxy settings or internet connection.

Troubleshooting

• The first step is to check Internet connection and Proxy
• If everything is good, do the following:

1. Open Windows Registry Editor: Start -> search -> type regedit.exe and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
3. Remove the following registry proprieties:

WUServer

WUStatusServer

UseWUServer

DisableWindowsUpdateAccess

   4. Restart Windows Update Service: Start -> Search -> type services.msc and press Enter -> locate Windows Update Service (wuaserv) and click Restart.

More information

If the above solution does not help, collect System Report from the machine and contact Acronis Support with a reference to this article.