No Internet access can cause slow program loads

I have been doing alot of reading over the holidays about digitally signing programs for Vista and Windows 7.  I discovered that some Microsoft .Net programs might load slowly on computers that are not connected to the Internet.

This occurs with programs that are digitally signed.  (Microsoft recommends that all programs be digitally signed.)  The .Net Framework attempts to verify the digital signature.  One of the operations it performs is to see if the digital certificate has been revolked.  If the computer cannot access the Internet, a 30 second to 1 minute delay may be encountered.

The Weather Message programs prior to version 3.5 have not been digitally signed.  They however use components that are digitally signed.  Starting with version 3.6 some of the individual programs will be digitally signed.

If you have a computer that does not have Internet access, I recommend that you disable the check for revolked certificates.  This can be done by starting Internet Explorer.  Cllick Tools, then Internet Options.  Click on the Advanced Tab and scroll down to Security.  Uncheck the "Check for publisher's certificate revocation" option.  After saving this change reboot the computer.

Note:  No one has reported this problem.  I just ran across the information today and wanted to post it here as a reminder.