The internet is becoming an integral part of modern society, which has resulted in a high demand for internet services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, and many more.
As this growth continues, it is predicted that the demand for internet service will increase exponentially.
Why then does highspeed internet load slowly sometimes? We though that we would gather some common things for you to check in order to get your internet speed back to top speed!
Table of Contents
- Look for Malware, Spyware, and Viruses
- Perform a speed test
- When in doubt, reboot everything
- Do a System Load Check
- The amount of network traffic on your network should be checked
- Check for cloud synchronization
- Switch to a different DNS provider
- Your DNS cache should be flushed
- Wrapping Up
Look for Malware, Spyware, and Viruses
This might come as a surprise to some people, but malware can cause a lot of traffic to be transmitted over both the local network and the internet.
Most people don’t realize that the reason their internet is so slow can be traced back to their computers, phones, tablets, and everything else they use the internet on. These days there are viruses, spyware, malware and other problems which can wreak havoc on our devices and slow down internet speed, sometimes to a crawl.
As the popularity of these devices continues to rise, we see more people having access to smart devices, and therefore are seeing an increase in the number of people who may be infected.
There are various ways to avoid this. Some of which are quite costly. In order to combat this, we have created a list of tips that may help you improve the speed of your internet.
Clean your PC: It is recommended to clean your computer regularly. Using an online cleaning tool like CCleaner will greatly reduce the size of files on your PC.
Use a Firewall: A firewall is the first line of defense against online threats. This helps protect your system from threats by restricting the access of malicious users. An excellent firewall is Norton 360.
Use a VPN: In today’s modern world, internet is often used as a free means of communication. The problem arises when sensitive information is sent via email or over websites. In order to prevent this, it is recommended to use a VPN to encrypt your internet connection.
Disable Ad Blocking: Although this is not always an effective way of preventing cyber attacks, we recommend disabling Ad Blockers such as AdBlock Plus and uBlock Origin to prevent the slowing down of your internet.
Update your Software: Updating your operating system is always a good idea to ensure the best performance.
Avoid Pop-Ups: These are annoying and distracting and should be avoided.
Don’t Download and install bloatware: Although we all like to get the latest updates and upgrades, it is not advised that you download too many apps. It is recommended to keep your system updated and clean.
Use an Anti-virus Program: An anti-virus program is a must to protect your device from potential threats. A good anti-virus program is Avira AntiVir Personal.
Be careful with your Wi-Fi: It is important to keep your wireless network protected and safe. Be sure to turn off the encryption feature of your router.
Enable IPv6: IPv6 is the next generation of IP addressing. It uses a longer address that is necessary to identify every device.
Perform a speed test
Sometimes it can feel like your internet is really slow, even though it might not be far off from the advertised speeds of your internet package. The only way to really know for certain is to perform a speed test on your line.
There are tons of services out there, such as speedtest.net that can tell you what you internet speed is currently. There are a few things that you need to do though.
First, make sure that nobody is using the internet when you perform your test. If there is too much being downloaded or uploaded then your tests will be skewed.
When in doubt, reboot everything
As everybody knows, a reboot fixes almost anything. If you are having issues with your internet speed, try rebooting your computer.
Rebooting is not always the best solution, but it can fix a lot of issues. If you have been having problems with your internet for a while, and nothing has helped, try rebooting your device.
Rebooting is not always the best solution, but it can fix a lot of issues. If you have been having problems with your internet for a while, and nothing has helped, try rebooting your device.
Do a System Load Check
Sometimes the problem with your slow internet is localized to your computer or device. This means that there could be a process, app or script running in the background that is causing the slowdown.
To find out if this is the case, you can perform a system load check. This will tell you if any processes are using a lot of memory or are using a lot of CPU power, RAM or your network interface. You would be surprised at how much your internet connection can degrade from a few apps or processes running in the background.
Next, check your router.
If you are still having issues with your internet speed, it is possible that you have a bad configuration or a conflicting setting. There are also many resources that you can use from your ISP on their website.
The amount of network traffic on your network should be checked
One of the most common issues with slow internet is that you have too much network traffic on your network.
It is possible that your internet speed is not the issue and that it could just be that you have too many devices connected to your network. If you have a lot of devices connected to your network, then you ould have a congested local network and the solution is to either upgrade your network or remove bandwidth hungry client devices.
If you are still having issues, it is possible that you have a bad configuration or a conflicting setting. There are also many resources that you can use from your ISP on their website.
Check for cloud synchronization
Having access to all your pictures, videos and documents on the cloud is very conveient but it can sometimes cause issues with your connection if there are a lot of data sync operations happening with your cloud account.
If you have a lot of data syncing happening on your cloud account, it is possible that your internet speed is being impacted.
There are many cloud synchronization apps that you can use. The most popular apps are Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Cloud Storage.
Switch to a different DNS provider
You may have been experiencing high latency for years, but did you know there’s an easy solution?
To get rid of your internet speed issues, switch to Google Public DNS 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
It’s really that simple. There’s no need to be confused.
You can also add these nameservers to your router’s DNS settings. This way you don’t need to remember which setting you used.
Your DNS cache should be flushed
- Enter ‘cmd’ in the search box on the Start menu, located in the bottom left corner and press enter.
2. Press Enter after typing ‘ipconfig /flushdns’ in the Command Prompt.
3. Once the DNS cache is flushed, the user will receive a notice indicating that they have succeeded.
4. Enter the command ‘exit’ into the Command Prompt or select the X in the upper right corner to exit.
Wrapping Up
We hope that these simple tips have helped you to fix your internet speed issues and you can now enjoy the internet without any problems. If you have any other tips or tricks that you have found useful, please let us know.
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