Microsoft Spectre fix vs slow connection with web sites

[Max]

My desktop runs Win7. My CPU is an I5 4690 Haswell quad 3.5. In the past week or two I'm finding a noticeable pause when navigating different web sites. Perchance, is this the result of the MS patch recently released to fix the Intel security flaws, or should I be looking at another culprit source?

I've also noticed a longer than usual connection to Aces High...about 8-10 seconds, when logging into the MA from desktop. This has been going on for some time...several months...so it's not Spectre related.

Wondering if I'm having an ISP issue or what?

[Skuzzy]

Max, go to the Control Panel and open up Windows Update.  Use the "View history" to see what updates have been installed.  If you see "KB4056894" as being installed, then it could be the culprit.

[Max]

Yup...it was installed 5 days ago. The slow handshake connection to AH3 has been happening for some time...what's behind that?

Will MS release a patch fixing the slowdown, or is there any remedy at this point?

[Skuzzy]

Yup...it was installed 5 days ago. The slow handshake connection to AH3 has been happening for some time...what's behind that?

Will MS release a patch fixing the slowdown, or is there any remedy at this point?

I would not hold my breath.  It has been suggested Microsoft might be making an attempt to hurt Windows 7 performance with this patch to coerce Windows 7 users to go to Windows 10.

You can try removing the patch and blocking it from being installed.

Not sure what you mean about the slow handshake Max.

[Max]

After clicking on "Online Arena" and then "OK"...the center screen is black for about 8-10 seconds before it populates with the various arena options.

[Skuzzy]

Ahh, that has to do with some changes a while back related to prepping things for play.