Quite likely nothing! Others have reported this issue, and, for some, it
goes away with no particular action on their part. Is it possible that you
have a third-party firewall that interdicts outbound traffic? You might
need to give it information about what parts of Microsoft Antispyware need
outbound access.
The help file for the product contains this information:
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Using the SpyNet AntiSpyware Community with a Firewall
All the features of the SpyNet AntiSpyware Community as well as the
Microsoft AntiSpyware AutoUpdate are compatible with most standard software
and hardware firewalls. Both the SpyNet AntiSpyware Community and the
AutoUpdater use standard HTTP ports 80 and 443 to communicate with the
SpyNet and update servers.
If you are running a software firewall
If your computer is running a software based firewall, you will need to make
sure that it is configured so that software on the computer can communicate
over port 80 and 443. By default these should already be open to allow for
standard HTTP Web-based traffic to flow. In addition some software-based
firewalls restrict how programs on the computer connect with servers on the
Internet. If you have such a firewall, you will want to make sure that the
following Microsoft AntiSpyware files have permission to access the Internet
over port 80 and 443:
1. GiantAntiSpywareMain.exe (the primary Microsoft AntiSpyware
application)
2. gcasDtServ.exe (provides access to SpyNet for reporting unknown
applications)
3. MicrosoftAntiSpywareUpdater.exe (provides functionality to update the
latest spyware definitions)
4. gcasServAlert.exe (provides access to SpyNet for reporting unknown
applications)
Running with the Windows Firewall in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2
If you are running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and have the Windows
Firewall enabled with application protection you will want to make sure that
the following Microsoft AntiSpyware applications have permission to access
the Internet:
1. GiantAntiSpywareMain.exe (the primary Microsoft AntiSpyware
application)
2. gcasDtServ.exe (provides access to SpyNet for reporting unknown
applications)
3. MicrosoftAntiSpywareUpdater.exe (provides functionality to update the
latest spyware definitions)
4. gcasServAlert.exe (provides access to SpyNet for reporting unknown
applications)
If you are running a hardware firewall
If your computer is behind a hardware firewall, such as a router or a
wireless base station with an active firewall, all you will need to do is
make sure that port 80 and 443 is open. By default port 80 should already be
open to allow for standard HTTP Web-based traffic to flow. Without port 80
open to most connections you would not be able to browse the Web.
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In my own experience, nothing has needed to be done to the Windows firewall
in Windows XP SP2 (nor should anything be needed with the XP firewall in SP1
and before.)--contrary to what is written in the help. However, third party
firewalls that control outbound traffic may need to be configured to allow
the specific executables listed outbound access.
We've also seen some cases where manual updates don't work, but automatic
updates do--so do try the scheduled automatic update function--via start,
all programs, Microsoft Antispyware, Microsoft Antispyware update. Set it
for 5 minutes from now and see whether it works.
There is also a display bug--sometimes both the definition number displayed
by AutoUpdate on completion, and the number displayed in Help, about, are
wrong.
