From the Job, Money, Food and Internet Stuffs blog authored by Engr. Emman Lijesta.
You can speed up Internet access simply by following the 20 steps below; this will put your existing Internet connection to top speed quickly. These Internet connection speed enhancing methods are applicable to Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8, and for both wired and wireless connection.
If you are living in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Iowa, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Alaska, then there’s a huge chance that you have slower Internet access. Also, in locations like Weston, Pittsburgh, Romney, Bishop, Marlinton, Sitka, Mammoth Lakes, Mechanicsburg, Fort Defiance and Chinle are experiencing the worse Internet access in the United States; these areas are getting around 0.84 to 1.98 Mbps, which is so slow according to American standards.
But, there’s a way on how to speed up your existing Internet connection without changing your ISP. If you are currently connected to Verizon, AT&T, Cox, CenturyLink, Suddenlink Communications, Comcast, Cable One, Time Warner Cable – Broadband Internet, Charter Communications and other Internet Service Providers, then don’t change it yet, for this 20 steps will surely boost your Internet access and minimize intermittent connection.
20 Steps on How to Speed Up Internet Access
1) Check your current Internet connection speed before proceeding with the next steps. Record the first result. Use DSLReports Speed Test to check your current speed. The images below are the results before and after tweaking my Internet connection.
Slow Internet Access
Faster Internet Access
2) Use Google’s free public DNS. Set the IPv4 preferred and secondary DNS to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 respectively. You can also use DNS benchmark to check the fastest DNS in your area.
3) Under wired or wireless network properties select only the important protocols. Check the protocols based on the image below. Only check Clients for Microsoft Networks, Qos Packet Scheduler, File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, and Internet Protocol Version 4(TCP/IPv4).
4) Update your network adapters with the latest drivers and firmware.
5) Use TCP optimizer to optimize your network adapter’s MTU, RWin, etc; just choose optimal settings.
6) Use the fastest Internet web browser like Google Chrome. If it’s already installed, then update it by typing chrome://chrome/ in the URL box.
7) Speed up your computer’s overall performance with CCleaner. This will help clean and organize your registry, recover hard disk spaces and more.
8) Uninstall unneeded add-ons, plug-ins and extensions in Chrome. Also, close browser Tabs to free-up memory.
9) Gain additional 20% system process speed by disabling the windows bandwidth cap. Run this registry file Disable-Bandwidth-Limit.
10) Go to Power Options, and under Wireless Adapter Settings in Power Saving Mode set On Battery and Plugged in to Maximum Performance.
11) Use Chrome plug-in called The Great Suspender to reduce memory usage by suspending idle tabs.
12) Download the latest All Browsers Memory Zip to reduce CPU and memory usage of all web browsers.
13) If you access the Internet through your WiFi router, then use a channel that has minimal overlaps from other WiFi channels. The inSSIder will help you locate the best channel for your home or office router. The video tutorial below will show you how.
15) Place your WiFi modem or router in a location where there are less interference, and where it can provide the strongest signal. The video below will show you how to create a “Pringles Can” antenna to help boost the signal between your WiFi modem/router and your ISP. You can also use repeaters to relay signals to other areas of your home or office.
16) Oftentimes, computer viruses and malwares can both slow down Internet access and your system. Use a lightweight virus and malware protector like Avast or AVG. Scan and clean your system after installing any of these programs.
17) Disable unnecessary network processes. Go to task manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del keys at the same time. Click task manager and go to networking tab, then disable unneeded tasks.
18) Defragment your hard disk and scan for errors, and let Windows repair it automatically.
19) Update network adapter and WiFi modem/router firmware. Download the latest versions at the manufacturer’s website.
20) If there is no improvement with your current connection, or you are still not satisfied with the new speed, then it would be time to upgrade to a faster Internet connection with your current Internet Service Provider or another.
Definitely, after following most of the steps, you will gain additional Internet access speed with lesser intermittent connection.
