Written by Kumara Velu in Internet
Viewed by 340 readers since 01-29-2009

Noticed that your Internet connection has been slow lately? Not sure what the matter is? Here are a few action steps you could put to use before calling your Internet Service Provider or switching to a new one.

Test Your Internet Connection with a Speedometer

Are you getting the speed you’re being promised? There are many Internet connection speedometer sites to help you determine this. Test with a few speedometers. If the test shows your connection speed way below your subscribed level, you should consider contacting your ISP.

But before that you should check the ISP website to find out whether any maintenance work is going on. If there is, then you should just wait for connection to be restored to the normal level.

You can also check with friends who use the same ISP whether they are experiencing the same problem.

Run a Virus Check

If you have been surfing the Internet and visiting warez sites and downloading stuff, chances are that you may have picked up a virus or malware. These rogue programs may just be siphoning off system resources that could be preventing your browser from performing at the optimum speed. Use a reliable anti-virus software and scan your hard drive. Clean any virus detected and launch your browser again. Chances are you can see an improvement in your connection speed.

Are Your Running Too Many Programs In the Background?

Usually, this does not affect Internet connection speed. Try closing down CPU-intensive applications and see if there’s an improvement in the speed. Call up Windows Task Manager – Ctrl-Alt-Del and check on the CPU usage. If it’s close to 100% you must start closing down some applications.

Reboot Your PC and Your Modem

This is a no-brainer but it works sometimes. Especially if your computer has been left running for days. You modem could also do with a refresh – it could be experiencing a hang session.

Are You Visiting a Site with a Slow, Busy Server?

Let’s just face it. Some sites are hosted on slow and busy servers. Your favorite site may be in this category. Yes, it’s usual for page loads to take quite a long time. When there’s overwhelming traffic to the site, you would just have to revisit it at a different time. Also, try visiting a couple of other sites before deciding whether your Internet connection is slow.

Change Your Browser

If you’re using Internet Explorer try switching to Firefox. Firefox is generally faster than IE. But then be sure not to load it with plenty of extensions. Only install those you really need. Three to five extensions would be ideal. Extensions which have Search Engine Optimization features take a while to gather data before loading a page. Be careful not to install too many of them.

Slow Internet connections are not permanent in nature. If you can ensure that your system is not contributing to the problem, your ISP will be able to better help you.