A healthy PC runs fast. You can improve Internet speed by regularly running CCleaner, Defragler and Spybot. We recommend at least once a month. Maintain at least 20 GB of free hard drive space and run virus and malware scans monthly.
When Internet speed suddenly decreases, try these steps to increase speed.
- Reboot your modem and router by unplugging the electric power, waiting a few seconds and then plugging them back in.
- Call your Internet Service Provider. Sometimes they have outages or can detect and fix problems over the phone.
- Upgrade old router/firewall equipment. Outdated routers may be underpowered, and the router processor may be too weak to reach maximum speed.
- Check to be sure other programs are not running. To test this Click Start, Click Run. Type “cmd” (without quotes). Type “netstat -b 5 > activity.txt”. After a minute or so, hold down Ctrl and press C. This has created a file with a list of all programs using your Internet connection. Type activity.txt to open the file and view the program list.
- Open the task manager by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete. Open the process tab. Close the processes that may be using your bandwidth. There is a column with the User Name, and if that is “System”, do not close it.
- Check to see if somebody else is using the Internet on your home network. If somebody is watching video or downloading large files, there may not be sufficient bandwidth for other computers in the home.