I believe the updater uses http:// and not https:// (why would it need to be secure) and so it doesn't need a certificate.
Try temporarily disabling your firewall and see if it can connect then... if it can, then you know thats your problem.
As for IE whitelisting: Open intercrap explorer and go to internet options, then the security tab. Click over to 'trusted sites' and click the "Sites" button then add eq2interface.com (making sure to uncheck "require verification (https
for all sites in this zone").