|
|
Increase Internet Speeds: For Dial-Up UsersAug 07 '03 (Updated Jun 23 '11) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Tips to help maximize your connection, and free up otherwise wasted bandwith. Below are some simple yet effective ways to increase the speeds of your internet connection. Depending on the type of modem you are using (56K, Cable, DSL) you will notice different changes. Most dialup users will notice a bigger change since they are already slow. Cable and DSL modems are fast enough as it is, so messing around with settings for an extra 2Kb/sec won't make much difference. With that said, most of the tips below are best suited for modem users, however there are a several security tips Cable and DSL users may want to read. 1. Changing Options For Your DUN Connection: If you are using a dialup modem, there are a few key settings you'll want to change on your connection. Most likely you'll have a DUN (Dial-up Networking) account setup. To access your DUN account go through the following steps: (Open 'My Computer', double click 'Dial-up Networking', right click on your internet account and select 'Properties', click on the 'Server Types' tab). Once you reach this screen you should see several checkboxes. Under 'Advanced Options' uncheck 'Log onto network' to increase logon speed. In the below section 'Network Protocol' uncheck IPX/SPX, and NetBEUI. The only 2 checks you should have on this screen is Enable Software Compression, and TCP/IP. Whether you are using a generic third party dialup account from Netzero/Juno, AOL, MSN or have a genuine DUN internet account and are connecting by entering a phone number/username/password... this alteration should increase your speeds . You won't see a huge increase in download or surfing speeds, but you should be able logon much faster and connect everytime. 2. Install A Firewall: Whether you are on online with a 56K modem, or have broadband cable/dsl you're computer is open to the world. Even if you aren't surfing on a website or downloading a file, and no programs are open your computer may still be transmitting data access the connection. This is partly due to others online pinging your computer. Some pings are harmless, while others may be potential hackers looking for an open port on your computer. In any case it's wise to have a software firewall installed. One of the best software firewalls I've used is Zone Labs ZoneAlarm. A firewall will deny access to your computer from any outside pinger, program, site, or computer unless given access by you the user. Dialup users will not notice much difference in internet speeds with a firewall, because pingers use very little bandwith (we're talking small, like 1kb per ping). Cable and DSL users won't see much difference either, at least not at first. Overtime as your connection stays active (days and weeks at a time) pingers will become more steady as your IP address stays the same and you continue to leave traces of it on the internet. Unlike dialup users who are only active for a few hours at a time, and have dynamic IP addresses. In either event a firewall will keep potential hackers away, and save some bandwith from being used on useless tasks such a answering a ping request. 3. Don't Use Programs With Spyware: Some of the most popular programs are filled with random third party software or banner ads which has no use other than gathering information about you and/or sending popup advertisements. Kazaa, Imesh, Gozilla, Download Accelerator Plus, AOL Instant Messenger, Gator, are among the programs with banners, popups, and other hidden softwares that such up bandwith. If you use Kazaa there are at least 4-5 extra hidden softwares installed on your computer without you knowing. The easiest way to delete these is check your 'C:\Program Files' folder for programs you didn't install yourself. Sadly there are also several registry keys also installed which cannot always be manually uninstalled. Imesh, Download Accelerator, AOL Instant Messenger have banners within the program, either displayed on the program window or in popup mode. If you must use these programs I suggest downloading a program called 'Ad-aware' which is made by Lavasoft. This will scan your entire computer and find those third party spyware files, folders, registry keys, etc. Removing such files will eliminate wasted bandwith on data transmissions from your computer to their systems and vise versa. 4. Default Always Works Best: Using Internet Explorer is your best bet when it comes to browsing speeds. Some may disagree and feel Netscape is much faster, but that is not always the case. Netscape is not a default system program, therefore does not take advantage of the full spectrum of resources available. Programs like Download Accelerator and Gozilla may slightly increase download speeds over the default IE download, but such programs are often are filled with spyware, banners, and other popups which waste bandwith. In the end the download speeds are not increased anymore than if you used the default IE download box. It's also a good idea to disable the checker option in programs using automatic alerts or checkers. For example Outlook Express, AOL Instant Messenger, RealPlayer, etc. These programs (when opened) may periodically check for updates or new versions without you knowing. 5. Internet Accelerators Don't Work: You may have seen softwares out there that claim to speedup your internet connection by storing data on your computer so it takes less time to retrieve it from the internet. The fact is most of these programs are worthless, are actually take longer. One such program called 'Netsonic' would save every single page you visit, locally on your computer. Then when you went back to that page it would immediately display the previous cached file. The drawback to this is, the file it pulls up it outdated. In order to get a recent version of that page you needed to reload. So in other words the speed is increased, but the data displayed is not up-to-date. You're better off surfing like usual and getting an updated page every time. Other programs claim to increase speeds, and have a sophisticated looking interface with moving bars and meters. These programs do very little to increase your internet connection, the fact is most dialup access is limited by the speed of the modem. Avoid such programs like the plague, they are utterly a waste of time. 6. Watch What You Download: Some programs have viruses or worms attached to them, and if downloaded could infect your computer. It could do something harmless like restart your computer, or do something terrible like delete your harddrive. Some trojans could basically sit on your computer collecting information and send it off somewhere sucking up your bandwith. This is why it's suggested not to open spam mail, or download files from unknown persons or websites. Not everything is as it appears. 7. Generalized Tips Around The House: - Plug your phone line directly into the computer without other devices on the same line. The line should go directly from the wall outlet into the modem on the computer (no fax, no phone, no nothing split from this line). - Use the shortest possible cord from your wall outlet to your computer modem. Signals can become weak in longer cords. - If your house has old wiring, install new expensive stuff to increase the data transfer speeds on location. Old wiring may not be as fast. - Decrease the number of phones lines connected at your home terminal. The more phone outlets you have connected at the terminal, the weaker your signal will be while online. Unplug the phone lines on the terminal from unused outlets. - Have your phone lines inspected for quality if you have multiple phone lines. Sometimes a second phone line in the same house can mess with your connection on the other phone line, especially when used at the same time. 8. Hardware Is Also A Factor - Purchase a modem with V92 capabilities. At the same time, dialup to access numbers who offer V92 technology. You'll experience a faster more stable connection. External modems are also proven to be a tad faster and more reliable if you shop around for quality hardware. - Slower machines can't process and display information as fast, upgrade to a Pentium III and have at least 128mb memory installed. - If you have a large hard drive (over 20GB) you may want to increase the size of your browser cache to ~400MB. This allows images and other files from the internet to store itself on your harddrive, so the next time you visit a site the images will load right off your computer instead of being downloaded again. As you can see most of the tips above are not ways to speed up your internet, but ways to prevent your bandwith from being used on useless tasks. Most connections slow down because of these useless tasks, and if you know how to stop them you will eventually free up your bandwitch which can then be used on yourself instead of some annoying banner or popup advertisement. Dialup users are really at a disadvantage because of the hardware being used. You cannot connect or transmit data faster than your modem allows, in most cases of 56K modems is 5.0Kb/sec. Cable and DSL users are at the highpoint, and if cable still isn't fast enough then there is always a tiered connection, but that can very very expensive, not typical for a residential connection.  |
| Read all comments (8)|Write your own comment |
|
Ads by Google
|
