How to Improve Your Internet Speed
There are several things that can slow down your internet connection. Before coming to the conclusion that you need a new router or that your internet service provider (ISP) is no good, you should do a little trouble shooting to figure out if there are any other reasons that your internet is slow.
It might be that your bandwidth is being eaten up by other people or processes so you’ll need to figure out who or what is using your bandwidth. Bandwidth is similar to a busy highway. The less people on it, the faster you get to your destination. The more people on it, the slower it will go.
Take a look at any computer running on the same network in your home. Is anyone downloading heavy music files or watching movies online? Is anyhone downloading large files?
Many types of kids computer games are installed onto your hard drive but some games are played on the internet against other players in far off places. These types of games drain your bandwidth. There are also other programs and utilities that use bandwidth. Listening to online music or watching online videos are such examples.
Next, determine which of your neighbors is connecting to the internet through your router. If your router has not been secured, anyone can connect to it. Not only will this drain your bandwidth, it is also a security risk. Anyone with the willpower can cause damage to your computer through an unsecured network.
To be sure, outsiders connecting through your router may be oblivious. If their wireless is set up to automatically detect the closest connection in range, they may not even be paying attention to their connection at all.
Check the router’s instruction manual to find out how to secure your router. You should find your router’s IP address which you type into a web browser. This will bring up the setting page for you router where you can password protect access.
There is one other thing that may be causing your internet speed to slow down. Any type of spyware on your computer and certainly viruses will cause speed issues both on your computer and with relation to the internet. Don’t just have anti-virus and anti-spyware running on your computer. Update it regularly and scan your computer once a week to make sure that none of these malicious, resource sucking parasites has made their way onto your computer and caused your speed issues.