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Internet connection problem
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Article first published 07-05-2011
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One of the most common complaints that we receive from computer users is that their internet connection is running slowly.
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If you suspect that your internet connection is not running as quickly as it should or, as quickly as it used to, there are several things that you can check that may help you to diagnose the cause of your problem.
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Let us first however, examine what we mean when we say that our internet connection is running slowly. Do we mean that the speed at which pages load into our internet browser is slower than normal or, do we mean that the speed at which we can download files from the internet has reduced ?
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Let's look at the possible causes for pages being slow to load into our internet browser, but before we do, let's ask ourselves this.
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When you open your internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Crome etc.) how long does it take for the browser to open ? What I mean by this, is, from the moment that you click on your browser's icon (on your computer Desktop for example), does it take a long time before anything happens ?
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If it takes far longer than usual for the browser to load, there may be a problem with the inner workings of your browser's coding or, a problem in the way that it is reacting with some other part of your operating system (the registry), for example.
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Nowadays, most modern browsers come with a built-in facility that allows the user to manually reset the configuration back to their original factory default settings. This is something that you can do easily, and quickly, to see whether it restores 'normal' internet service.
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You can also try clearing the cookies and a host of other temporary files that your computer saves when you are browsing the internet and see whether doing this solves your
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problem. This can be done manually from within your browser or, you can download free software from the internet to help you do this.
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My favourite program is Ccleaner which is available free (along with several other good utility programs) from www.pirisoft.com
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Using the program un-install facility which is built into your computer's operating system, you also have the option to completely un-install your browser from your computer before downloading and installing it again. Sometimes, more serious problems or, deep-rooted issues may require you to make a completely fresh start.
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Alternatively, when you click on your internet browser's icon, does the browser window open normally, but then, does the first internet page take a long time to load ? In other words, do you find that you are looking at a blank white screen for a long time before your home page loads ? If you are, the root cause of your computer problem may be completely different.
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There is a form of malicious software that is known as a browser hijacker. Your computer may be infected with a malicious program that, when you direct your internet browser to a particular web site of your choice, is programmed to intervene and re-direct your browser to an alternative web site or, web sites, that produce a revenue for the owner(s) of the hijacking software.
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If you find that you are repeatedly being directed to web sites that you haven't requested. This could be the cause of your problem. Hijacked internet browsers are notoriously slow to load pages. Some of them
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are a particular nuisance and very hard to get rid of. If you are being constantly re-directed, look at the address(es) that you are being re-directed to and see if they contain a clue as to the name of the malicious bug that has infected your computer and if they do,'Google' the name to see if there is any information on the internet about how to rid your computer of the 'bug'.
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Users of peer to peer downloading software are sometimes unaware that they have configured their software to allow other members of the peer to peer downloading network to access their computer for the purpose of downloading a file(s) from their computer. Doing this can quickly use up your internet bandwidth especially, if your computer uses a wireless internet connection.
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Whilst your internet connection may have an abundance of download bandwidth, the amount of upload bandwidth that is available to you will almost certainly be far less and therefore, allowing someone on the peer to peer network to download from your computer, effectively, means that you are constantly uploading to the internet.
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If you are using a wireless internet connection, having a constant upload stream of bandwidth running across the radio frequency will almost certainly slow down the speed at which the 'download' part of your internet connection can operate. Bandwidth on the wireless radio frequency may also be in short supply or, great demand, and if the wireless connection is busy uploading from your computer to the internet, there may be little, if any, radio bandwidth left to load internet pages.
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If you do use some form of peer to peer file sharing program, check the program's configuration to see if it is set to allow other network users to download files from your computer and if it is, disable this function.
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