With the Internet invading every home and work place there’s more and more content on the web. It’s no wonder everyone has a desire to have a faster internet connection.
If you feel like your connection has been a bit more decrepit or travels at the speed of a turtle here are some steps to take.
It’s Not You
First thing to do is make sure it’s not your computer. If your computer has always been maintained by doing the things we have always talked about then it’s probably not.
But if your computer chokes up or crashes all the time even when it’s not connected to the Internet, then this problem may be the culprit. The Internet can only be as fast as your computer lets it, in the sense of what your computer can do. Here’s a quick overview of some maintenance tasks that may help make your Internet faster.
- Defrag
- Disk Clean Up
- Disk Check
- Virus/Malware Scans
If you’re connected to a router, reset it every once in awhile. Do not do a hard reset, in which you take a pen and press it into the reset button and hold it down. Instead, just unplug it and replug the power. Often times the traffic of the internet gets so crazy that an occasional reset will help unclog some of the flow of information.
Also, make sure there’s nobody on the network who you don’t want on it. Protect yourself from free-loaders and nefarious unauthorized users by putting a WEP password on your network and only giving it to people you want on it. That way there will not be strangers on your network using and stealing your bandwidth, which would make it slower.
If the connection is slow usually that means there’s not enough bandwidth, and if many people are using it at once, then it will be continually divided until everyone only gets a small trickle. That’s why it’s always good to put a password on your network as a more preventative measure for safety.
It’s Them
If after all these measures have been taken and you’re still unsatisfied with where you’re at, call your internet service provider. Run a test on your internet speed and if it’s consistently slower than the speed they’re promoting, send an email or call them directly to ask them if anything is going on and that your service is unsatisfactory.
Usually they can run some tests to see if there are any interferences with the connection, or the equipment they have given you is outdated. If it is, they will usually replace it on request, possibly free of charge.
Finally, there’s always the option to upgrade your internet services. If your needs have increased because of the evolution of technology (websites being fancier; programs being more system intensive; files getting bigger), then your broadband internet package may also need to be increased.
The type of broadband offered and the speed rates vary from provider to provider so be sure to do your research to see what’s right for you and your area.