Which Broadband Fixes Really Work

In this article, we are going to consider ways you can speed up your internet connection without making use of any online based accelerators. The article is most beneficial to Windows users.
To start with, you need to confirm which broadband connections are faster for people living in your area, bearing in mind that fibre optic connections are usually faster than its counterparts (mobile broadband and ADSL).

Run basic maintenance on your computer. You can start this by running disk defrag and scan disk first, after which you can then run a virus and malware scan. Remember to do each of these separately though. Often a slow connection is your computer’s way of telling you that it has been infected. After the scans, delete old and temporary files. Avoid allowing the space on your C: drive to go lower than 10% of its total size. If your PC is well maintained, it will perform much better than one that has never undergone maintenance. There are a few tools online that can help you do all of this. A few of these computer tools are the “registry cleaner” and “wise disk cleaner”.

Unplug your router. This will reset your network automatically. You will be surprised at how drastic the changes could be when this is done. Don’t make it a habit to unplug your router though. This may be perceived by the software that manages you connection as instability and result in a slowing of your line speed.

If you have several computers sharing the network with you, then ensure that they are directly connected to the router instead of to a hub. A hub is considered low level equipment, which is not capable of managing traffic as well as a router or switch would. Thus, you need to review your home network equipment.

Ensure that your cache and temporary internet files are properly optimised. These files are very important because they prevent your browser from downloading a particular file from a website twice, thereby improving your internet speed when browsing.

Are you using a Wireless router? Then confirm that it is not in conflict with any other wireless device around it. Routers come in three variants: 802.11 b, g, and n (2.4 GHz) or the 802.11 a (5.8 GHz). Now, if your cordless phone is a 2.4 GHz device and you own a 2.4 GHz router, then your internet speed will be adversely affected anytime the phone is in use. This may also be the case if you deployed wireless security cameras in your home. So take a look at the devices if you own them. If they say 900 MHz for instance, then they are not the cause of your problems but if they say 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz, you may have to change them or limit their usage while you are making use of your internet connection. Baby monitors are a notorious cause of broadband interference, as are wireless booilers.

Talk to your home broadband provider. The problem could be from their end. If it is not, they will tell you if it is from your end. They don’t need to send over a technician to get this done with most providers you will not have to pay for the service.

Consider investing in a new computer if the one you have is dated. Even if you are on a 100mbps network, you will still not be satisfied with your internet speed as it is dependent on how well your PC can cope.

Your router and firewall equipment are other tools you may have to upgrade. While doing this, you have to take a closer look at the speed specifications. Older routers can’t go beyond 10mbps in upload and downloads even if you are on a 50mbps network. Again, some old routers are underpowered. This means that even though it states ability to provide 10mbps, the processor will not allow it to achieve this.

Get on the web interface and upgrade your router firmware. Most manufacturers’ websites will let you know if you are using the latest firmware or not. You can check the labels on your router for the username, password and default address.

Have you checked if other programs are using your connection? Programs like anti-virus and updates could be using your connection without your knowledge. To check this, do the following:
Click run
Type “cmd”
Type “netstat-b 5 >activity.txt
Wait for 60 seconds and press CTRL+C.
Type activity.txt
Through this process you will be able to view programs using up you connection without your knowledge.
Open up your Task Manager and close processes that could be using up bandwidth. You can do this by right clicking on the activity pane and selecting Task Manager, or by pressing CTRL+ALT+Delete simultaneously and selecting Task Manager. Avoid closing processes you are not sure about as doing so could destabilise programs on your computer. Look for the column that has “User Name” on it. If it has your login name beside the running process, then you can probably close the process. If the user name column is blank or says “system” do not close it as your computer could malfunction.

After you must have done the above, you can try your connection to see if there is a notable difference. If it worked, then you will have to close the particular processes each time you start up your computer. Alternatively, you can set your start up list to exclude the culprit processes. Which broadband sucking processes are most influential will be found over time by trial and error.

If someone else is sharing your connection with you can’t do much if he or she is doing any bandwidth sapping activity over your connection. Some of these activities include, watching a video online, downloading torrents etc. When such activities are going on you will find your self left with whatever bandwidth is remaining after their use.

What happens if the internet speed test results do not improve?
If after taking care of all that has been discussed here your connection doesn’t improve then you may have to call in an expert to come and have a look. They will advise you on what to do next, which broadband plan is best, and how to get what you want.