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Free Computer Clean-Up
Fix your computer right now - free tips and advice on how to clean up your PC or notebook computer. Read our
easy-to-follow steps on how to clean up your computer and the best computer virus protection . Once you are finished,
make sure you protect your computer from harmful viruses and spyware - learn how
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Clean Up > Speed Up
Speed Up My Slow Internet
If you are
experiencing a slow internet connection despite subscribing to a good internet
plan, your internet service provider might be cheating you. But if you are
certain it is a credible company, there are certain areas you can look into in
order to improve your internet connection.
Problem Areas to Check When Your Internet Slows Down
The common
problem areas that can slow down your internet connection are:
The modem/router: Most problems with modems and routers with regard to slow connections occur
because of some wrong entry in the settings. Mostly pressing the reset button
makes slow connection issues disappear. Remember to back up your router settings
before you press reset.
Computer hardware: Connectivity hardware in the PC like LAN card can also cause the internet
connection to slow down if you use incorrect drivers.
The operating system: The OS could be slowing down your internet connection by scheduling updates
without checking if the connection is idle. There could be too many net based
programs linked to windows startup
The Internet Browser: This is the most common culprit that makes internet connections lag. With
browsers offering more and more functionalities, the scope of a setting going
wrong and causing a conflict has become more probable. |
Top
3 Sites to Test Your
Internet Speed
Speedtest.net : This is one of the most accurate and trustworthy of speed testing sites. It
detects your location automatically and provides detailed metrics on your
download and upload speeds.
Speakeasy.net : This is another popular internet speed testing website. It offers other broadband
and mobile internet services too. The only downside to using this site for speed
testing is that it does not detect your location automatically. Once you select
your location, the site gives a detailed account of your connection speed and
other parameters.
Testmy.net : This site has been in existence since 1999 and offers a great deal of
information on speed tests. They are the founders of test score authentication
and sharing. This can help you diagnose connection, browser and operating system
issues that other speed tests do not detect.
Sites for Advanced Internet Diagnostic
Testing
PingTest.net :
Use the
PingTest website to analyze the quality of your broadband
service free of charge. The website is made to compliment
www.speedtest.net. Both websites have proven invaluable when
testing the speed and quality of your broadband connection.
The troubleshooting tools on www.pingtest.net grade your
ping and packet loss. Ping measures the time it takes a
"packet" of data to travel from a computer to a server on
the internet and back again. Delays in internet applications
can usually be attributed to a higher then desired ping.
Packet loss happens when there is a problem with your
internet connection leading to an error with transmitting
and receiving "packets" of data. Errors can significantly
decrease the speed at which you upload and download, leading
to poor quality with streaming audio and video and can even
bring your connection to a complete stop.
8x8.com :
8x8 offers a comprehensive VoIP quality and connectivity
speed test. Their online conectivity test creates a
socket-connection directly to your internet browser in order
to transfer simulated VoIP data to your PC. This test
is much more robust than a traditional connectivity test in
that actual VoIP packets are being transferred from the 8x8
servers through your ISP to your PC and measured. The
end result is a specific measurement of both the quality and
performance of your internet connection. Begin the
test by clicking on
"Click to Start Test".
Note: you will need a web browser with
Java 1.5 (Version 5.0) or greater in order to run the test.
Speed Monitoring with Gadgets
It is possible to monitor your network speed conveniently
and continuously by installing various gadgets available for the Google sidebar
as well as the Windows sidebar. However, it is not known how resource intensive
the gadget or widgets will be.
Internet Optimization Tips
Mentioned below are some general tips that will help you
speed up your internet connection:
Remove the add-ons that you are not using. They can hamper
the connection speed by demanding more resource for the system to run as well as
by creating conflicts with the core operations of your browser, network adapter,
etc. In IE, navigate to Tools > Manage Add-Ons > Enable or Disable Add-ons.
Another primitive move for increasing the connection speed
is to empty the Temp Folder regularly.
For both DSL and cable broadband connections, there are ways
through the registry with the help of which one can optimize performance.
Registry values are sensitive and hence should be backed up before you make any
changes in the values. Modifying the TcpWindowSize value for broadband TCP/IP
connections is a method that is applicable to most operating systems. Open
registry editor and go the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
Now create a DWORD value 'GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize' and set
the hexadecimal value to 00007fff and decimal value to 32767. Alternatively
0000ffff and 65535 can be used respectively. The final step is to restart the
computer. Your internet connection should be considerably faster.
As long as you have chosen your service provider carefully,
you should never have to deal with an annoyingly slow internet connection
speeds. Follow the above steps to keep your settings and PC in ship-shape for
better and faster connectivity.
What's Next?...
Once you have taken care of the Quick Fix PC Clean-up items
and the PC Speed-up items, it's time to move on to
finding and eliminating spyware on your PC and a complete and thorough virus
scan. Once you are finished cleaning up your computer and fixing the
conflicts and problems, you must take precautions against these problems popping
up again in the future.
If you are beginning to have problems with your
computer, you should consider taking the time to set up a good backup plan for your precious files and learn more
about how to protect your privacy when you are online .
That's all for now. The aforementioned tips can make a rookie look like a Tech
Wonder. The tools mentioned are ones that I use and recommend to my clients and
family. If you have suggestions of worthy alternatives send them in. Thank you
for reading.
Still plagued by a slow PC?
Try fine tuning your Windows Operating System and speed up your
Windows XP,
Vista, or
Windows 7 PC.
>>Continue to our next step: Eliminate Spyware
Free Computer Clean Up :
1. Free PC Fix
2. Eliminate Spyware
3. Anti-Virus Scan
4. Set-Up a Firewall
5. Update your Computer
6. Backup your Data
Protect your PC:
1. Protect your Privacy
2. Secure your Wireless Network
3.
Internet Security Tips
4. Avoid Internet Phishing
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