Thanks to an increasing reliance on Internet to do everything from stream movies to facilitate Skype video calling, most of us wish we had a faster Internet connection.
In fact, as more and more people in our homes (such as teenagers!) are using more and more Internet-connected devices, including iPads and smartphones, and even Internet-connected televisions, we have to squeeze more speed out of home Internet connections that are often slowed down by bandwidth restrictions imposed by ISP’s.
Get faster Internet by upgrading hardware
Changing your ISP to get better Internet connection is usually not an option – most ISP’s have the same bandwidth restrictions, and they’re not interested in helping you get faster Internet. However, one way to get faster Internet is to upgrade your hardware – you can upgrade from ADSL to a cable broadband modem, for example.
You can also invest in a newer wireless router. If you’re experiencing slow internet speeds and you’re using a wireless home network to connect to the Internet, it’s also a good idea to see how many other wireless networks you are competing with.
Why?
The more wireless networks, the slower your Internet. A great tool to check out how many wireless networks are close by and potentially interfering with your wireless signal is inSSIDer.
A sluggish PC can also slow down Internet
But even if you manage speed up your Internet connection, it won’t make any difference if you have a sluggish or ill-tuned PC – your computer itself will still prevent you from enjoying faster download times or seamless HD streaming.
In this case, you should look at tweaking your PC to squeeze as much Internet speed as it can out of your ISP.
3 steps for optimizing your PC and enjoying faster Internet
In order to optimize your PC and enjoy faster Internet, you need to look at three different areas:
1. System and Internet Settings
Take a look at the System and Internet Settings for your PC – there are ways to tune these settings to maximize both the system speed and the network speed.
As a shortcut to save time (and possibly save you from tweaking the wrong setting in your computer!), PC TuneUp Maestro provides tuning for both System and Internet Settings.
To adjust both settings and help speed up Internet, open the PC TuneUp Maestro, click Optimize, and Click System TuneUp to optimize your system settings and Internet TuneUp to optimize Internet and network settings.
2. TuneUp your hard drive by defragging it
“TuneUp” your hard drive by defragging it so that it reads and writes files much faster.
Defragmentation is a process that reduces the amount of fragmentation in file systems. It does this by physically organizing the contents of the disk to store the pieces of each file close together and contiguously. The result is that your computer has optimal access to its files and programs, so your system and application response times are improved.
To defrag your hard drive, launch PC TuneUp Maestro, click Optimize and click Disk Defrag.
3. Optimize your web browser – reset Explorer to its factory state
Finally, you’ll need optimize the web browser itself if you want to enjoy faster Internet speeds.
Most of us tend to add a lot of toolbars, plugins and other addons to our browsers. Sometimes when we download a program these toolbars and plugins are added whether we like it or not.
Every single thing you add to your web browser slows down your Internet.
Luckily, if you are using Internet Explorer, PC TuneUp Maestro provides a fantastic feature to reset your Internet Explorer to its default factory clean and fast state.
To use this feature, open PC TuneUp Maestro, click Fix & Clean, choose Internet Explorer Repair, locate the entry labelled “Reset Internet Explorer” and and click the Reset button.
Enjoy faster internet without giving your ISP more money
While acquiring a faster Internet connection from your ISP may seem like a good idea, it really pays to take a look at your PC first to see if you can squeeze any more speed out of it before signing up for a new expensive plan.
Often there are Settings that can be adjusted, or ways to strip useless addons from your web browser to speed up your Internet. Defragging your hard disk can also provide some pleasantly surprising results.
So, rather than signing up for an expensive plan, learn more about your computer, and get some satisfaction optimizing it yourself and improve Internet speeds.