Back in August, Microsoft issued an update for Windows 7 64-bit that many, many people all over the world had problems installing on their computers.
Windows Update KB2712808 was defined as a security patch for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems. Typically, Windows Automatic Updates will automatically check for, download, and install updates, usually at a set time each day (some people may schedule Windows updates for once a week).
However, KB2712808 quite often fails to install automatically using Windows Automatic Updates. And if KB2712808 does not install, no other Windows updates can install.
Failure to install KB2712808 results in a serious security risk
Because regular Windows updates are needed to patch your computer against always-evolving threats that appear daily, a failure to install KB2712808 will result in a serious security risk for your computer.
Manually installing KB2712808 often does not work
Generally speaking, if Automatic Updates don’t work, Microsoft recommends manually installing the update. You can do this by searching for it on the Internet, such as searching for the terms Windows Update KB2712808 manual download.
The first result is the update itself, Security Update for Windows 7 (KB2712808), hosted on the Microsoft site.
Genuinecheck.exe is no longer supported
However, manually downloading the KB2712808 update often does not work. Why? “Windows validation” is required when you try to download the KB2712808 update, and the actual download link for the windows activation tool (genuinecheck.exe) often provides this notice:
“Genuinecheck.exe is no longer supported. please download the newest version and ensure that your system clock is accurate”.
The simple solution: use the latest version of Internet Explorer
Although Microsoft doesn’t mention it, the reason why the Genuinecheck (the program that validates your version of Windows) often won’t work, is because it needs something called “ActiveX” to function. ActiveX was developed by Microsoft in the 1990’s to make it easier to run programs from webpages.
However, ActiveX has been shown to very easily transmit malware and viruses, so it has been effectively discarded as a web development tool. Other popular web browsers such as Firefox and Google Chrome do not rely on Active X.
However, Microsoft still relies on ActiveX on its company webpages, including the download page for KB2712808.
Chrome and Firefox cannot download Windows Updates
If you are using a web browser such as Firefox or Chrome to download and manually install Windows Updates, it won’t work. As Chrome and Firefox can’t handle ActiveX, the best thing to do is to use the most current (and safe) version of Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer can be downloaded here. After that, download Security Update for Windows 7 (KB2712808), hosted on the Microsoft site, follow the prompts, and restart your computer.
Once you have successfully installed the KB2712808 update, you can use Windows Automatic Update again to automatically install everything else. Be warned, installing the backlog of Windows updates will take about 20 minutes.