Money
Getting the best deal
Speeding up your internet connection
The information superhighway that is the world wide web is prone to the occasional snarl-up, writes Andrew Stucken
But like a car, your browsing can be tuned to run at optimum speed – without having to spend a lot of money.
I am assuming you have broadband - and it goes without saying that you should get it if budget and location allow. For a guide to choosing the best service see our article here: Choosing the best broadband
Step One - If you already have broadband, try checking with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) whether you are getting the fastest speed available. Existing customers are not always automatically upgraded to new higher speeds. Suggesting that a rival ISP provides a faster connection tends to work wonders.
A 1 Megabit (Mb) connection these days is positively pedestrian – 8Mb is commonplace and greater speeds still are available - often at higher prices.
Not all broadband is created equal, however. Distance from the telephone exchange is crucial in determining the speed you actually receive – rarely as high as that advertised.
To carry out a simple broadband speed test try the www.internetfrog.com site.
Step Two - Get the ‘gain’ on your phone line checked to ensure it is performing optimally. A call to your line provider should be enough.
Step Three - So much for speeding the flow of data into your computer. Optimising your web browser, such as Internet Explorer (IE) or Firefox, can noticeably improve connections speeds and pageloading times on your machine.
Experienced users can edit the registry, but unless you know exactly what you are doing there is a risk of messing up Windows.
Otherwise you could try one of many programmes claiming to boost speeds. BE WARNED, however. The software should be chosen with great care. Some widely-plugged programmes – advertising speed boosts of 200% or more – are nothing but scams. They will actually harm your computer and possibly expose it to attack.
One programme which attracted good reviews at a popular download site was Full Speed. Download this shareware from http://www.getfullspeed.com - free to try, and $19 (about £10) to buy.
A shareware alternative with good reviews is Tweakmaster from www.tweakmaster.com and requires a payment of $37.95 (about £19) if found useful. A freeware (ie: completely free) programme is Morpheus Internet Accelerator from the www.majorgeeks.com/Morpheus_Internet_Accelerator_d656.html site. Nevertheless be aware that these programmes make changes to the registry and use at your own risk. You will probably see most benefit if you are using dial-up.
For Firefox
Internet Explorer is of course not the only web browser. An alternative - Mozilla Firefox – has a neat add-on. Called Fasterfox, it is open source and thus free - and works using something called pre-fetching.
If you do not already have Firefox, it can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.mozilla.com/firefox. Then get Fasterfox from the https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1269 site.
I experienced a noticeable improvement in loading times when I installed Fasterfox.
Changes to the registry are possible to further speed Firefox – but are not advised unless you know exactly what you are doing.
