This is an often-asked question that can have many answers. I'll
try to touch on a few more common things to check when your
broadband slows down. (Keep in mind it could be your 'computer'
that is slowing down and 'not' your broadband connection)
The first thing would be to run an online speed test. This helps
to get a general idea of the current speed of your internet
connection. It's only an approximate, but certainly ok for a
starting point. To find a broadband speed test utility, you can
perform a google search with a search string of 'broadband speed
test'. This should pull back a number of options for you.
Another way is to visit our web site and check the utilities
section. We've gathered up a few different links to a few
different speed tests. This way you can run a few different
tests and compare your results. When you execute these tests,
your browser should be the only thing running on your computer.
Close down any games, email clients, etc. you may have running.
Ok, the next thing to keep in mind is the type of broadband
access you're using. If your using DSL, then the further away
you are from the telephone company central office, the weaker
your signal will be. If you're using cable internet access
you're sharing your connection with others in your neighborhood
using the same cable internet access. These are a couple of
things that, unfortunately for residential users you have no
control over. But let's get to some things you do have control
over.
First up spyware. These are the nasty little ('almost'
invisible) programs that find their way onto your computer. Some
malicious, some not, but in either case they take resources away
from your computer. Resources are things like your CPU
(processor), memory, hard disk space, etc. You can be proactive
here. We recommend using Spybot. This is a free utility you can
install and execute on your computer. Its job is to hunt down
and destroy these resource hogs. Again, do you google search
using 'Spybot' as your search term.
Viruses are another problem. You should 'always' keep your virus
protection software running and up to date. These are usually
configurable for auto-update capabilities. It is imperative you
keep this running so it can protect you from malicious computer
virus attacks. A slow computer is one thing; a computer that
crashes is completely different.
If you tend to install and uninstall many programs, there is the
chance that your computers hard drive is fragmented. Simply, the
hard drive needs to search more when trying to piece together a
file, etc. Hard drives do not store information sequentially. A
file can be stored at many different locations throughout your
hard drive and your computer works harder to find and put
together the file you're accessing. For windows users, you can
click the start button (lower left corner) then select
Accessories, then select System Tools. In this program grouping,
you will find a utility called Disk Defragmenter.
Running this utility will tell you whether or not you even need
to de-fragment your hard drive or not and if you do, there is a
button to click to begin the process.
Before you get to worried or geek out to much, check your
current broadband speed, clean up any spyware, protect yourself
from viruses, clean any viruses found and check your disk space
and fragmentation level to determine whether or not you need to
de-fragment your hard drive.
These are just a few things that you can check. We've left out
things like memory capacity, firewalls, proxies and modems.
Our intent was not to discuss each possibility, as there are
many. Our intent was to point out a few basic things you could
do yourself today.
If you see that your broadband connection itself is the culprit
due to bad speed tests, contact your internet service provider
(ISP).
If your broadband connection speed is fine, chances are the
problem is with your computer. Follow the steps outlined above
and test again.
If the problem persists you may need to upgrade your computer.
However, before I would upgrade anything, I would first attempt
to get more information from the internet, friends, family or
someone knowledgeable to diagnosis the issue further. Running
out and buying new equipment is fine if you can afford that. I
think it's better to identify the problem first. After all, it
may be something easily fixed. Better yet, once you understand
what it was and how it happened, it may be something you can
guard against the next time.
About the author:
FullService
Broadband provider. Our free service is possible through Try Right Technology, Inc.
We providoe unbiased and informative information on broadband
and communication products and services.
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