Microsoft Biology Foundation Workshop 2011, Chapel Hill

The Microsoft Biology Initiative is hosting a two-day workshop on the Microsoft Biology Foundation (MBF), an open source Microsoft .NET library and application programming interface for bioinformatics research. The MBF workshop will be held at the Renaissance Computing Institute in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on April 19 and 20, 2011. This workshop will include a quick introduction to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, the .NET Framework, C#, and the MBF object model. Attendees will participate in hands-on labs and write a sample application that employs the file parsers, algorithms, and web connectors in MBF. The workshop is open to everyone and registration is free of charge.
Registration

Register by completing the online registration form.

Workshop Program

The program will cover the modules that are listed on the Microsoft Biology Foundation Training site and summarized below. The sessions will combine lectures and hands-on labs; therefore, to get the most benefit from the workshop, we recommend that you bring a laptop with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 installed. Students and educators can install Visual Studio 2010 for free from Microsoft Dreamspark. Alternatively, anyone can install Microsoft Visual C# 2010 Express for free. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

Day One
9:00–10:30 Module 1 Lecture
10:30–11:30 Module 1 Lab
11:30–12:30 Lunch
12:30–14:00 Module 2 Lecture
14:00–15:00 Module 2 Lab
15:00–15:30 Break
15:30–17:00 Module 3 Lecture
17:00–18:00 Module 3 Lab


Day Two
9:00–10:30 Module 4 Lecture
10:30–11:30 Module 4 Lab
11:30–12:30 Lunch
12:30–14:00 Module 5 Lecture
14:00–15:00 Module 5 Lab
15:00–15:30 Break
15:30–17:00 Module 6 Lecture
17:00–18:00 Module 6 Lab
18:00–18:30 Closing

Module 1: Introduction to Visual Studio 2010 and C#
                                    This is a comprehensive introduction to the Microsoft Visual Studio programming environment and Microsoft .NET. Learn how to create a project, what is .NET, how to get started with C#, and runtime debugging. The hands-on lab helps you get experience building applications in Visual Studio 2010. It walks you through the steps required to create a console application, interfaces and types that implement those interfaces in C#, a library to hold common (shared) code, and a simple Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) application by using the shared library.

Module 2: Introduction to the Microsoft Biology Foundation
                          This module provides an overview of the Microsoft Biology Foundation (MBF), its scenarios, architecture, and a starter project. It also provides an introduction to the source code and unit tests required for contributing back to the open-source project. The hands-on lab helps you get experience working with sequences, parsers, formatters, and the transcription algorithm that is supplied in MBF. It walks you through the steps required to build a simple Windows Forms application that can load a set of sequences from a file, transcribe them, and then write those sequences to the same or a different file.

Module 3: Working with Sequences
                         This module examines the Sequence data type in MBF. Learn how to load sequences into memory and save them, the different sequence types available, how to use sequence metadata, and how data virtualization support enables support for large data sets. The hands-on lab familiarizes you with managing sequences and sequence items by using MBF interfaces, properties, and methods to create a WPF application to visualize the data.

Module 4: Parsers and Formatters
                          This module explores MBF’s built-in sequence parsers, formatters, alphabets, and encoders. It also introduces the method of expanding MBF with custom alphabets, parsers, and formatters. The hands-on lab walks you through the steps that are required to build a simple custom parser and formatter for a fabricated biology data format, and then plug it into MBF and the sequence viewer/editor that were created in Module 3.

Module 5: Algorithms
                       This module examines the algorithms defined in MBF for sequence alignment, multi-sequence alignment, sequence fragment assembly, transcription, translation, and pattern matching against sequences, and explains how to create custom algorithms. The hands-on lab walks you through the steps required to build an application to run algorithms against sequences loaded with MBF and perform sequence alignment, assembly, and transformations.

Module 6: Web Services
                  This module introduces Microsoft .NET web services, the web service architecture in MBF, the built-in web service support in MBF for BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool), and ClustalW; how to call these services asynchronously; and presents a detailed example of how to build custom service wrappers. The hands-on lab walks you through the steps of building an application that executes the BLAST algorithm by using web services against sequences loaded with MBF. You get some experience loading and identifying web service handlers for BLAST, passing sequences and sequence fragments to BLAST, changing the BLAST parameters, and displaying the results from a BLAST run.

Date and Time

April 19 to 20, 2011
9:00 A.M. to 6:30 P.M.

Venue

RENCI at Europa Center
Biltmore Conference Room
100 Europa Drive Suite 540
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

(919) 445-9640

Bill Gates Vs Paul Allen

Microsoft co founder Paul Allen has spoken of his partner trying to dilute his stake in the global company before he left in a new memoir he has written.


Paul Allen reveals the plotting in exerts of his book which have been publish in the Vanity Fait magazine.


He claims in the memoir that he had overheard conversations between Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, who is now the Chief Executive of the company, back in 1982 when he had said that he was thinking of leaving the company.


Allen writes: “It was easy to get the gist of the conversation. They were bemoaning my recent lack of production and discussing how they might dilute my Microsoft equity by issuing options to themselves and other shareholders. It was clear that they'd been thinking about this for some time.”


While Paul Allen added that he has received apologies from both Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer regarding the entire incident however he has come forward to let the world know about the insides of the Microsoft corporation in this new book.


He added: “As it turned out, Bill's conservatism worked to my advantage. If he'd been willing to offer something close to my asking price, I would have sold way too soon.”


Bill Gates has responded to the accusations in an emailed statement saying: “While my recollection of many of these events may differ from Paul's, I value his friendship and the important contributions he made to he world of technology and at Microsoft.”


Although Paul Allen may have had problems with Microsoft his holdings in the company have been responsible for making him the 57th richest person in the world according to Forbes Magazine, with a fortune of $13 billion.


The full account from Paul Allen is available in his book, Idea Man, which is set to be published at the end of the month.

Google delays open-source Android 3.0

Google is holding onto its tablet OS a bit longer, delaying its open-source release until it works on smartphones too.
                                
                                    Dubbed Honeycomb, Android 3.0 was unveiled earlier this year. It's the first Google mobile OS to be designed specifically for tablets, and will first show up on the Motorola Xoom.
In the past, Google has allowed open-source developers access to the Android OS, raising concerns the company doesn't intend to open up the tablet version.
                                        A Google spokesperson said Honeycomb was delayed because it wasn't ready to be customised for use on smartphones, but would eventually be released to the open-source world.
"While we're excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones," a Google spokeswoman said.
"We're committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it's ready," the spokesperson said, adding there was no timeline for when it would happen.


Read more: Google delays open-source Android 3.0 | News | PC Pro http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/366307/google-delays-open-source-android-3-0#ixzz1I9uFNOzv

OOPS

Class:
Class is concrete representation of an entity. It represents a group of objects, which posses similar attributes and behavior. Provides Abstraction and Encapsulations. A category name that can be given to group of objects of similar kind.


Object:
Object represents/resembles a Physical/real entity. An object is simply something you can give a name.


Object Oriented Programming:
is a Style of programming that represents a program as a system of objects and enables code-reuse.


Encapsulation:
Binding of attributes and behaviors. Hiding the implementation and exposing the functionality.


Abstraction:
Hiding the complexity. Defining communication interface for the functionality and hiding rest of the things.
In .Net destructor can not be abstract. Can define Either Finalize / Destructor. For Destructor access specifiers can not be assigned. It is Private.


Overloading:
Adding a new method with the same name in same/derived class but with different number/types of parameters. Implements Polymorphism.


Overriding:
When we need to provide different implementation than the provide by base class, We define the same method with same signatures in the derived class. Method must be Protected/Protected-Friend/Public for this purpose. (Base class routine can be called by Mybase.Method, base.Method)


Shadowing:
When the method is defined as Final/sealed in base class and not overridable and we need to provide different implementation for the same. We define method with Shadows/new.


Inheritance:
Gives you ability to provide is-a relationship. Acquires attributes and behaviors from another. When a class acquires attributes and behaviors from another class. (must not be Final or sealed class in .Net)


Abstract Class:
Instance can not be created. Optionally can have one or more abstract methods but not necessary. Can provide body to Classes.


Interface:
What a Class must do, But not how-to.
Bridge for the communication when the caller does not know to whom he is calling.
Describes externally visible behavior of element.
Only Public members which defines the means of the communication with the outer world. Can-be-Used-As Relationship.Can not contain data but can declare property. There can be no implementation. Interface can be derived from another interface.


Polymorphism:
Mean by more than one form. Ability to provide different implementation based on different no./type of parameters.
A method behaves differently based on the different input parameters. Does not depend on the Return-Type.


Pure-Polymorphism:
Make an method abstract/virtual in base class. Override it in Derived Class. Declare a variable of type base class and assign an object of derived class to it. Now call the virtual/abstract method. The actual method to be called is decided at runtime.


Early-Binding:
Calling an non-virtual method decides the method to call at compile time is known as Early-Binding.


Late-Binding:
Same as pure-polymorphism.


Identifiers/Access Specifies and scope:
Private, Protected, Friend, Protected Friend, Public
private, protected, internal, protected internal, public


What is a Delegate?
A strongly typed function pointer. A delegate object encapsulates a reference to a method. When actual function needs to be called will be decided at run-time.


Static Variable and Its Life-Time:
Public Shared VAR As Type Or public static Type VAR;
Life time is till the class is in memory.


Constructor:
Special Method Always called whenever an instance of the class is created.


Destructor/Finalize:
Called by GC just before object is being reclaimed by GC.

Indian Rupee Symbol

Today the Windows team released an update which adds support for the new rupee currency symbol for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2. You can find more information about the update at KB2496898.

What Does This Update Mean for Office Users?

This update will allow users to input, view, print, and use the new symbol as the default symbol for data formatted as Indian currency, such as in Access fields, Excel cells, or the currency column in SharePoint lists.

The Windows update touches three main areas that will help Office users.

1. Updates the following font families: Microsoft Sans Serif, Times New Roman, Arial, Segoe, and Tahoma.

2. Updates the 13 Indic local keyboards to input the rupee using the Ctrl+Shift+4. On the new English (India) keyboard, the AltGr+4 key combination will input the new symbol. More on adding or changing your input language.

3. Updates the locale information so that the new symbol is automatically used for items formatted as currency, such as in Access fields, Excel cells, or the currency column in SharePoint lists. More on changing the country or region settings.

Typing the Rupee Symbol

If you don’t have a keyboard that supports the rupee symbol, you can insert the rupee currency symbol by using one of the following methods.

Using Alt-X

Type 20B9, and then hold down the ALT key and press X. (Supported by OneNote, and Outlook WordMail, and Word.)

Important: Some of the Microsoft Office programs, such as PowerPoint and InfoPath, cannot convert Unicode codes to characters. If you need a Unicode character and are using one of the programs that doesn't support Unicode characters, use the Character Map to enter the character(s) that you need.

Insert Symbol

Supported by Excel, InfoPath, OneNote, Outlook WordMail, PowerPoint, Publisher, SharePoint Designer, and Word

Insert a symbol

1. Click where you want to insert the symbol.

2. On the Insert tab, in the Symbols group, click Symbol.

3. Do one of the following:

· Click the symbol that you want in the drop-down list.

· If the symbol that you want to insert is not in the list, click More Symbols. In the Font box, click the font that you want, click the symbol that you want to insert, and then click Insert.

· Note If you are using an expanded font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, the Subset list appears. Use this list to choose from an extended list of language characters, including Greek and Russian (Cyrillic), if available.

4. Click Close.

Using Character Map

Character Map is a program built into Microsoft Windows that enables you to view the characters that are available in a selected font. Using Character Map, you can copy individual characters or a group of characters to the Clipboard and paste them into any program that can display them.

For more information about the Character Map, see Using special characters (Character Map): frequently asked questions.

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then clickCharacter Map.

To select a character in the Character Map, click the character, click Select, click the right mouse button in your document where you want the character, and then click Paste.

Printing the Rupee Currency Symbol

If your printer does not have the rupee currency symbol in any of its resident fonts, a box will be printed instead of the rupee currency symbol. Contact your printer vendor to find out how to get updated printer fonts that include the rupee currency symbol. You can also adjust your printer setup not to use resident fonts. Look for an option called Print fonts as graphics in printer setup properties.

Known Issues

Font Fall Back

If you are using a font that doesn’t contain the new symbol, then your application may not be able to render the character. The work around is to change the font for that one character. We are aware of the issue and are working on a fix.

SharePoint 2007

The Windows update does not fix .NET 3.5 in some scenarios and therefore SharePoint 2007 currency fields will not default to the new symbol. We are working to address this issue.

Office 2010 Web App

Due to a known browser limitation, users will not be able to type the new rupee symbol in Internet Explorer when font is not specified (for example, in the address bar or Web App Find text box).

Courtesy:   http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_sustained_engineering/archive/2011/03/22/support-for-the-new-indian-rupee-symbol.aspx

Imagine Cup Digital Journalist (IC DJ) campaign

For the first time ever, Imagine Cup is launching an Imagine Cup Digital Journalist (IC DJ) campaign for MSPs in India!


Duration: 29th March 2011 – 12th April 2011


Are you a Social Media expert? The challenge is to create the best DIGITAL presence for an Imagine Cup 2011 team in your city or nearby location within 2 weeks!
You must possess the following skill set:
English mastery: Excellent command of the English language (written and verbal). Additional language skills preferred.
Deep social media expertise: Should blog regularly, have an extensive and active social network of followers and/or fans, actively participate in online communities, have an understanding of web video, podcasting, wikis and social bookmarking sites etc.
Excellent communications and social skills: Enjoys engaging in meaningful conversations, both on-line and in-person.
Self-starter: Can work autonomously, but also able to follow instructions and ensure that work aligns with the larger social media effort of a team.
Collaborative: Works well in a team and does not promote himself/herself at the cost of others.
Quality-focused: An insistence on quality, honesty, transparency, and integrity.
Fun: Witty conversationalist & writer who can introduce relevant humour into even technical topics.


Specifically, here’s what you need to do:
Choose any one team that is competing in Imagine Cup 2011 in a Team-based competition/challenge. You should not be a member of this particular team.
Let this team know that you are an MSP and would like to help improve their DIGITAL presence, thus improving their visibility within the city. It is important that you get their written consent before proceeding any further.
Meet the team and learn about them (in-person or over phone or online) – What is their background? How did they meet? Why did they choose the particular competition category? Why did they choose the particular project to implement? Have they competed in Imagine Cup before? What inspires them?
Create an online presence (using a Facebook page and/or a Blog/website) and tell this Team’s story in a creative, attractive & interesting way. This should include basic project info, college info & city info.
Highlight each team member by displaying Social Networking info, Blog, Website, Photos etc.
Consider using video interviews, team photos etc. to make the page interesting.
Drive traffic to the page(s). But do not send a single spam email!
Also, consider including the following links in the page:


Imagine Cup Digital Properties
http://facebook.com/microsoftimaginecup
http://twitter.com/imaginecup
http://youtube.com/imaginecupmicrosoft
http://flickr.com/photos/imaginecup
http://imaginecup.com/community/blog


Academic Digital Properties
http://studenttechclubs.com
http://microsoftstudentpartners.com
http://msstudentlounge.com


You can also use Twitter to amplify the Team's DIGITAL presence. Keep these guidelines in mind:
Use the #MSPTeam2011 and #ImagineCup hashtags when tweeting about Imagine Cup.
Use a URL shortening service such as bit.ly to shorten URLs and to track how many clicks your URL receives.
Keep tweets under 125 characters where possible to allow space for retweeting.


Tips on how to engage:
Be authentic: Trust and authenticity. Let your personality/point of view come through.
Be transparent: Let people know who you are (include your affiliation with Microsoft as an MSP).
Embrace amplification: Make sure that the content you post is easy to re-post/re-tweet.
Pause before you post: Remember that an online post is potentially viewable by many people. So cross-check and proof-read what you plan to post.
Encourage response: Begin a conversation and motivate others to add their thoughts & opinions.
Respect copyrights and fair use: Consider linking to other public content, but make sure to cite the source/give credit.


Deliverables:
By 11:59pm IST on 12th April 2011, submit a ZIP file (Size < 50 MB) at https://www.microsoftstudentpartners.com/mspindia/Lists/IC_DJ/AllItems.aspx that includes: Overview Video (in .wmv format, duration between 2 to 3 minutes) that introduces you, the team that you’ve tracked & the approach/strategy you used to showcase them via social media. Feel free to get creative! PowerPoint telling the story of the team that you tracked (Max. 20 slides). PowerPoint should also include screenshots of all social media pages created for this team (Facebook, Blog etc), Reach Statistics, Page Insights etc. Scanned letter (.jpg) of written consent from the team that you've tracked. This should contain the Team Name, IC2011 category, Date, Place, Name & Signature of each Team Member along with text like "We authorize , who is an MSP, to assist with enhancing our Imagine Cup 2011 Team's Digital presence".

Judging Criteria:
A panel of at least 2 people will evaluate the submissions based on:
Creativity: How original and/or engaging is your effort?
Reach: How many people were reached by your social media campaign – as measured by numbers such as Facebook Likes, Twitter Followers etc. ?
Quality: How well done is your effort?

Prizes:
An 8 GB USB drive, an Imagine Cup T-Shirt, an IC DJ certificate & 100 Bonus Activity Points for each of the Top 10 MSPs from India in this campaign.
In addition, there will be a surprise bumper prize for the Top 1 or 2 MSPs selected from this shortlist by our HQ team.

English-A Web Language

Windows Live Writer 2011

Windows Live Writer makes it easy for anyone to tell stories like a professional blogger. You can create beautiful blog posts, and see what they'll look like online before you publish them to your blog. Plus, you can publish your posts to any of your favorite blog service providers.


Get blogging with easy setup
Set up multiple blogs in Writer. Writer works with many popular blog services such as WordPress, Blogger, and more.

Create stunning blog posts in minutes
Create stunning blog posts in just a few moments using the ribbon to format text, photos, videos, and more.


Add photos and videos to tell your story
Make your story come to life by adding photos and videos to your blog posts.


Add a Bing Map
Insert a Bing Map in your blog post to display a location.


Windows Live Essentials 2011 system requirements

Windows Live Essentials 2011 requires the following:
Operating system: 32- or 64-bit version of Windows 7, or Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 and the Platform Update for Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 and the Platform Update for Windows Server 2008.


Processor: 1.6 GHz or higher


Memory: 1 GB of RAM or higher


Resolution: 1024 × 576 minimum


Internet connection: Online services require dial-up or high-speed Internet access (provided separately—local or long-distance charges may apply). High-speed Internet access is recommended for some features.


Graphics card: Windows Live Movie Maker requires a graphics card that supports DirectX 9 or higher and Shader Model 2 or higher.




Additional requirements
Some Windows Live programs have additional requirements.
Windows Live Photo Gallery and Movie Maker require some components of DirectX 9, which might be installed for you if they're not found on your computer.
Windows Live Mesh requires OS X 10.5 or newer to run on a Mac.
Windows Live Messenger video chat requires a webcam, a microphone, speakers or a headset, and high-speed Internet access. HD video chat requires a compatible HD webcam. HD webcams may also have additional system requirements.


You can easily set up multiple blogs in Windows Live Writer in just a few steps. Writer works with many popular blog service providers such as WordPress, Blogger, and TypePad.


Create a new blog and add it to Writer


If you don't already have a blog, click Add blog account, and then click Create a new blog. Next, follow a few steps to go to the WordPress website and create your blog. After you create your blog, click the Set up in Writer button on the website. This will automatically set up Writer for you.


Add a blog that you already have


If you already have a blog account, click Add blog account, and then follow the steps to set up your blog in Writer.


Bring your story to life by adding photos and videos to your blog posts in Windows Live Writer.


Add online videos


Open a web browser and find a link to a video that you want to display from a popular video service such as YouTube, Dailymotion, and Metacafe. Just copy and paste the link in the post, and a video preview will appear automatically.




Video preview in a blog post


Add photos


Click Picture, and then click to add a single picture from your computer or the web, or a thumbnail preview of photos from an album on Windows Live SkyDrive. After you choose the pictures that you want to add, they'll appear in your post.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple.

                          
Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times.


Minimum system requirements for Microsoft Security Essentials


Operating System: Genuine Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3); Windows Vista (Gold, Service Pack 1, or Service Pack 2); Windows 7


For Windows XP, a PC with a CPU clock speed of 500 MHz or higher, and 256 MB RAM or higher.
For Windows Vista and Windows 7, a PC with a CPU clock speed of 1.0 GHz or higher, and 1 GB RAM or higher.
VGA display of 800 × 600 or higher.
200 MB of available hard disk space.
An Internet connection is required for installation and to download the latest virus and spyware definitions for Microsoft Security Essentials.
Internet Browser:
Windows Internet Explorer 6.0 or later.
Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or later.
Microsoft Security Essentials also supports Windows XP Mode in Windows 7. For more information, see the system requirements for Windows XP Mode in Windows 7


This version of Microsoft® Security Essentials includes the following new features and enhancements to better help protect your computer from threats:


Windows Firewall integration. Security Essentials setup enables you to turn on or off Windows Firewall.


Network Inspection System. This feature enhances real-time protection by inspecting network traffic to help proactively block exploitation of known network-based vulnerabilities.


New and improved protection engine. The updated engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance.


These features are described in more detail in the following sections.


Windows Firewall integration


Windows Firewall can help prevent attackers or malicious software from gaining access to your computer through the Internet or a network. Now when you install Security Essentials, the installation wizard verifies that Windows Firewall is turned on. If you have intentionally turned off Windows Firewall, you can avoid turning it on by clearing a check box. You can change your Windows Firewall settings at any time via the System and Security settings in Control Panel.


Network Inspection System


Attackers are increasingly carrying out network-based attacks against exposed vulnerabilities before software vendors can develop and distribute security updates. Studies of vulnerabilities show that it can take a month or longer from the time of an initial attack report before a suitable security update is developed, tested, and released. This gap in protection leaves many computers vulnerable to attacks and exploitation for a substantial period of time. Network Inspection System works with real-time protection to better protect you against network-based attacks by greatly reducing the timespan between vulnerability disclosures and update deployment from weeks to a few hours.


Award-winning protection engine


Under the hood of Security Essentials is its award-winning protection engine that is updated regularly. The engine is backed by a team of antimalware researchers from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, providing responses to the latest malware threats 24 hours a day.


Microsoft Security Essentials works automatically with Microsoft Update to ensure that your virus and spyware definitions are kept up to date.

Symptoms


This article addresses common issues with automatic updates, including the following situations:


You see error messages indicating that updates have failed.


When you check for updates, you receive an error message that the virus and spyware definition updates cannot be checked, downloaded, or installed.


Even though you are connected to the Internet, the updates fail.


Updates are not automatically installing as scheduled.


Cause


The most common causes for update issues are problems with Internet connectivity. For help with Internet connectivity, see I can't connect to the Internet issue (General topic). However, if you know you are connected to the Internet because you can browse to other Web sites, the issue might be caused by conflicts with your settings in Windows Internet Explorer.


Solution


Important:
You have to exit Internet Explorer to complete these steps. Therefore, print them, write them down, or copy them to another file, and then bookmark this topic for future access.
Step 1: Reset your Internet Explorer settings


Exit all open programs, including Internet Explorer.

Note:
Resetting these settings in Internet Explorer deletes your temporary files, cookies, browsing history, and your online passwords. But, your favorites are not deleted.
Click Start, and in the Start Search box, type inetcpl.cpl, and then press Enter.


In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab.


Under the Reset Internet Explorer settings, click Reset, and then click Reset again.


Wait until Internet Explorer finishes resetting the settings, and then click OK.


Open Internet Explorer.


Open Microsoft Security Essentials, click the Update tab, and then click Update.


If the issue persists, proceed to the next step.


Step 2: Set Internet Explorer as the default browser


Exit all open programs, including Internet Explorer.


Click Start, and in the Start Search box, type inetcpl.cpl, and then press Enter.


In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Programs tab.


Under Default Web browser, click Make default.


Click OK.


Open Microsoft Security Essentials. Click the Update tab, and then click Update.


If the issue persists, proceed to the next step.


Step 3: Ensure that the date and time are set correctly on your computer


Open Security Essentials.


If the error message that you received contains the code 0x80072f8f, the problem is most likely caused by an incorrect date or time setting on your computer.


To reset your computer's date or time setting, follow the steps in Fix broken desktop shortcuts and common system maintenance tasks (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=155579).


Step 4: Rename the Software Distribution folder on your computer


Stop the Automatic Updates service


Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.


Right-click the Automatic Updates service, and then click Stop.


Minimize the Services snap-in.


Rename the SoftwareDistribution directory as follows:


Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.


Type cd %windir%, and then press Enter.


Type ren SoftwareDistribution SDTemp, and then press Enter.


Type exit, and then press Enter.


Start the Automatic Updates service as follows:


Maximize the Services snap-in.


Right-click Automatic Updates service, and then click Start.


Close the Services snap-in window.


Step 5: Reset the Microsoft antivirus update engine on your computer


Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then right-click Command Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.


In the Command Prompt window, type the following commands and press Enter after each command:


Cd\


Cd program files\microsoft security essentials


Mpcmdrun –removedefinitions –all


Exit


Restart your computer.


Open Security Essentials, click the Update tab, and then click Update.


If the issue persists, proceed to the next step.


Step 6: Manually install the virus and spyware definition updates


If you are running a 32-bit Windows operating system, download the latest updates manually at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87342 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87342).


If you are running a 64-bit Windows operating system, download the latest updates manually at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87341 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87341).


Click Run. The latest updates are manually installed on your computer.


Note:
If you were able to manually install virus and spyware definitions, the problem is most likely caused by a download issue. To learn how to resolve download issues, see I can't download Microsoft Security Essentials.
Step 7: Contact Support


If the steps did not resolve the issue, contact support. For more information, see Customer Support (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=196174).