Is your Internet connection not as fast as it should be? It cannot always be blamed on your ADSL line or fiber internet provider. If you want to know how to speed up your connection, find below some of the factors that can help you improve its performance.
Factors that affect the speed of your connection
The browser
Are you sure your browser is not playing tricks on you? We tend to believe that the speed of our connection depends only on the provider, but did you know that some browsers can load pages faster than others? The difference can be threefold.
Currently, the fastest and safest of all browsers are:
- Google Chrome
- Firefox
- Safari
Different versions are likely to offer different speeds, so it is also important to update them periodically.
The computer
While it is true that any modern computer is able to allow you to browse hassle-free, old equipment can deliver a less satisfactory browsing experience, especially when accessing multimedia content such as videos or playing online games.
Sometimes the challenge comes about through the operating system that after several years of use has accumulated ‘dirt’, losing speed over time due to the number of simultaneous processes, multiple installations and possible viruses. If you can afford it, get a computer with recent hardware, update your operating system and apply different optimization tasks such as defragmentation, registry cleanup and virus removal to keep it as productive as possible.
Internet connection time
It may seem incredible, but sometimes something as simple as the time we go online can greatly influence the quality of our connection. Most users go online around the same time. If we have in mind downloading large files, the early morning hours are the best to make the most of your bandwidth. This is also a good idea for those who are flexible with their connection time.
Use a cable
Wireless connections are very comfortable, but if you have a specific place for your computer or if your computer is near the router, it is advisable to use a cable to go online since it will be twice as fast as a standard wireless connection, safer as well, and will not be affected by any possible interference other devices may produce.
More Tips for Speed Up the Internet
Optimize your Wi-Fi connection
If you really prefer to use wireless (Wi-Fi) connection over cable connection, try to make the transmission of data as direct as possible. Do not place the router in a closed space like inside a closet or in a room where you are never to go online. Physical obstacles such as walls, doors and furniture reduce the quality of the signal and therefore, the speed of data transfer. If you live in a large or multi-storey house, purchase a router repeater that will extend the signal of the original router.
Protect your Wi-Fi connection
Are you sure you are the only one who has access to your wireless connection? If an unscrupulous neighbor is using your connection, you are sharing your bandwidth and consequently, your speed connection will suffer.
In order to find out if this situation is taking place at your home, turn off all your computers and devices capable of connecting via WI-FI (phones, tablets, decoders) and observe the light of the indicator for the WI-FI connection in your router. If it blinks, it is probable that someone is using your connection without your permission.
To prevent this from happening, apply a WPA2 password to your connection. All other password systems are flimsy and an advanced user may be able to break the protection in no time.
Update your router
Manufacturers continue to work on product improvement and they create firmware updates, which replace the operating system in your router with an improved one, with different adjustments that can sometimes enhance the performance.
In order to apply them, you must access your router and select the correct option from the navigation menu. It is usually a very simple task.
Close unnecessary programs
If your computer has too many programs using the bandwidth, you will notice that all run slowly. There are many processes and programs that connect periodically to send or receive information. Close them if you think that you do not need them.