Slow Internet

Slow internet connections can be caused by various different problems and its best to try and trouble shot your home connection before you get on the phone with your ISP tech support people.

The first check is likely the most obvious. Make sure all your wiring is plugged in properly and that nothing has changed to your set up. If you have moved furniture around or if you have small children (any recent neighbourhood kids visits to the home?) recheck your connections.

Another quick fix could be your connection from your computer to your modem. If you are using an USB connection you should try switching to an ethernet connection. Your USB connection on your machine is used by other parts of your computer (mouse/keyboard etc) and that could cause slow internet speeds if you are using the USB port to connect to the modem.

If you are accessing your connection over a wireless network you could have several different problems causing very slow internet speeds. If your network is not properly secured other people might be accessing your network which would cause slow downs. Also your router needs to have the correct drivers installed so it could slow down your connection. If you think these two things might be happening directly connect your computer to your modem (by-pass the router completely) and test your connection speed.

Related to multiple users is other users on your network downloading large files. You might not be aware that someone started a large file download (movie or music) several hours earlier and the download is still running although they have left their computer.

One of the worst possible problems could be spyware and/or adware running in the background. You should have some anti-virus software installed on your machine especially if you have other people in your household who download files. Anyone downloading any “free” pieces of software or programs should watch out for these types of problems. These types of programs often have hidden files that install virus or spyware programs.

Spyware and virus programs work in the background will your computer is running and they can slow your internet connection along with your computers overall performance. You can try out some of our sponsors free spyware virus programs.