How to Optimize Net Speed
- 1). Contact your Internet Service Provider and ask about your Internet connection. The download and upload speeds specified by your ISP should be in kilobits or megabits per second. Make sure you jot down these figures.
- 2). Test your Internet connection speed to make sure you're getting the speed that you're paying for. A number of websites offer online speed testing tools, such as Speedtest.net, Speakeasy.net and Bandwidthplace.com. On these and similar websites, you just have to click the "Start test" button and the website will test your Internet connection speed. The results will include the download and upload speeds of your connection.
- 3). Compare the speeds specified by your ISP with the test result speeds. If the figures are substantially different--for instance, you pay for 1 Mbps (megabits per second), but the speed test result showed 50 Kbps download and 10 Kbps upload speed--there is obviously problem with your ISP. In that case, the most obvious solution would be to contact the ISP and tell them that you're not getting the speed that you've been promised. Once the ISP resolves the problem, go ahead with the next step.
- 4). Disable unnecessary add-ons that are installed on your web browser. Add-ons tend to slow Internet connection speed and disabling some will improve the browsing speed. To disable, go to "Tools" menu of the browser. Inside the "Tools" menu, go to "Manage Add-ons," where you will find a list of all the enabled add-ons. You can disable the ones that you have never used or don't know of.
- 5). Use an Internet speed-optimizing software that maximizes Maximum Transmission Unit values, Receive Window values and registry keys related to Internet speed. One such application is SG TCP Optimizer (see Resources to download). Once you install this application, it will run on its own and make changes to your system's registry.
You can also use Active Speed or SpeedConnect Internet Accelerator, software similar to SG TCP Optimizer. The applications work the same way and boost the Internet speed by changing the registry keys of your system. - 6). Upgrade the Internet connection if none of the above methods give you the results you want. If the maximum speed of your current connection is not sufficient for you, contact your ISP and get a connection with a higher bandwidth. For instance, if the current speed is 1 Mbps, you might want to upgrade it to 3 Mbps.
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