A do-it-yourself Internet speeding-up guide

The problem with Internet speeds is sometimes at the provider’s end and sometimes at your end. While you cannot control the former, you can definitely do something about the latter – so here are a few tips and tricks to help you get the maximum out of your Internet connection and speed it up a bit.

Check your programs

Go through your computer and make sure that there aren’t a whole lot of programmes that automatically connect to the Internet every time you switch it on to check your mail. This slows down the speed and you can always click on them for upgrades when you are not on the computer.

(Task Manager>Applications>Processes)

Check your router

Make sure it is functioning at its optimum and if necessary, upgrade to a new one. Sometimes all it takes is switching your cable from a USB one to and Ethernet one. If it was supplied by your ISP, contact them. They may upgrade it for free if they determine that it is too old.

Check your browser

Switch to Mozilla Firefox or upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 if you haven’t already. You’ll find that your downloads speed up at once.

Check your security

Make sure no one else is secretly using your connection – anyone within your wi-fi router range can log in and use your connection if you do not secure it. This will mean your speeds will slow down.

Check your phone

The old bell wire in telephones very often interferes with the speeds and installing an iPlate from BT can speed up your Internet connection a lot.

Check your distance

See how close to or far away from your ASDL actual connection you are. If you have a slow speed problem, sometimes just bringing your laptop or computer closer to the access point helps.

Check the options

Talk to your provider if all this does not speed up your connection and give him a chance to do something about it. If there’s no improvement, just switch your service provider. Look for packages that meet your speed and download requirements, ask around about reliability and then change.