How to Speed Up a Slow Internet Connection

Posted on February 22nd, 2009 by Marck

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A slow Internet connection can be a hassle for many people. A fast and stable connection is needed to get to all the vast wealth of resources and information available on the Internet. Unfortunately, not everyone has a speedy connection that can get to all of those resources in a matter of seconds. If you have a slow connection, here are some ways that you can boost up your browsing speed.

Change Browsers

Internet Explorer is a very convenient browser, but it is shown to have a significant effect on browsing speed as well as memory allocations (especially if you use IE 6 or IE 7). If you have a slow connection, you may need to use browsers that put less strain on network and memory resources, giving you a much faster browsing speed. You may want to consider using the following:

Mozilla Firefox is the top choice when it comes to an alternative to Internet Explorer.
Opera is perfect for mobile devices and Internet-ready mobile phones, instead of the standard browser that comes with the device.
Google Chrome is popular because it speeds up searching, and maximizes the use of Java.
Lynx is a DOS-based browser that does away with images and multimedia, and is perfect for really slow computers.

Disable Add-Ons, Scripts and Multimedia

You can dramatically speed up your Internet connection if you turn off some of the scripts and add-ons you have installed on the browser. For really slow connections, you may need to do away with toolbars (like ones that come from Yahoo! or Google), or disable RSS. If the connection is particularly slow, you may need to temporarily disable image loading, Flash, and video streaming. While your browsing experience may not be the same without the images, sound, and video, you can still read text.

Close Internet Applications

One way to speed up a slow Internet connection is to close or disable some system resources and programs that access the Internet while you browse:

Torrent and peer-to-peer applications take up chunks of bandwidth, especially if you’re downloading large files. For public networks, you may also consume more bandwidth, which slows down browsing speed for everyone in the network.
Anti-virus software. Turning off firewalls and anti-virus software is the last recourse to speed up your Internet connection, especially if you need to access sites in a snap. Remember that when you disable anti-virus software, you will leave your computer more vulnerable to security threats, especially if you go to untrusted websites.

Avoid “Boosting Software”

Many shareware or freeware programs claim to “speed up your connection,” but you need to take these programs with a grain of salt. Like every Web-based application, boosting software take up some Internet resources and bandwidth, and may even slow down your Internet connection. Some boosting software may also act as portals for malware and viruses.

If your connection is particularly slow and you’re not getting the value of your subscription, don’t hesitate to contact your service provider. They will take the necessary steps to reconfigure and speed up your connection to give you the fastest and most stable connection possible.