So, you have a slow connection and want to know how to speed up the Internet. Eat good way increase your internet speed! We'll talk about it now.

To do this, you need to accelerate DNS queries

Actually, I will not engage in purely theoretical debates on the topic of DNS here, just take my word for it: It works, and how!

For those who don’t know what DNS is, I’ll give you a couple of general educational phrases:

DNS is a domain name server. To put it simply, this is something like a registration service at the passport office...

IN general essence is that when we click on any link in the browser, we are first sent to a DNS server where we are given the exact address of the site. Well, somewhere like this...

But the trick is that there are a great many such servers, and unfortunately, not all of them are fast. The reasons can be completely different, from the remoteness of the server to its load.

Therefore, we need to connect to the closest and least loaded server in relation to our location. In addition, it must also be the fastest.

IN general task not easy... if you do everything manually.

But fortunately, our valiant programmers are not asleep and thanks to them we have several miracle programs that will do all this dirty and back-breaking work for us.

I will not give a description of all the programs here, since there are many of them and they are all quite similar.

However, the undisputed leader among such software is the Dns Jumper program.

1. First of all, the program is completely free.
2. Secondly, it’s multilingual (..there is also Russian)
3. Thirdly, it completely automates the entire process

And so let’s start solving the question: How to speed up the Internet

To get started, watch this video:

2. Unpack the downloaded archive into a separate folder. The program does not require installation, you simply open the folder and run the DnsJumper.exe file, preferably as an administrator.

3. Set the appropriate language.

4. Click the "Quick DNS" button.

5. In the window that appears, put a checkmark in front of all the servers that are in the list, for which you need to scroll the list to the end, since by default the checkboxes are only on the first few servers.

6. Then click the “Find fast DNS” button.

7. At the end of the search, check the “Mix” checkbox and click “Apply fast DNS”.

8. And “Apply” again (save the data).

9. And finally, we need to clear the DNS cache of our computer so that everything goes according to new records. Why press the "Reset Cache" button.

Watch another video on speeding up the Internet using the Cfosspeed program

Spend a couple of minutes and you won’t regret it!

If this article was useful to you, then please click on any button on your favorite social network.

Good day, dear readers.

A fast and high-quality connection to the Internet is the dream of every user of the World Wide Web. But not always the provider in your region can provide high-speed Internet to your home, and for some such Internet will be quite expensive. Therefore, many users have to be content with the low speed of the Internet. Not all users with low Internet speed know how to increase it. Let's consider the most effective ways increasing Internet speed on your computer.

First, let's check your Internet connection speed; for this we will use the most popular service in the world called. For those who will be testing their Internet connection speed for the first time using the speedtest service, just click BEGIN TEST(start the test) and wait for the testing to finish. After completion, you can see the speed of your boarding school both for receiving and transmitting data. So, let's start increasing the speed of our Internet.

Increasing bits

The first thing you can do to speed up the Internet is to configure hidden system parameters that control the network connection bandwidth.
To do this you need to run device Manager, this can be done in the following way, we find My computer(This computer) right-click on it and select Properties All that remains is to launch the Device Manager section itself.

The manager will display a list of all devices installed on the computer. We are looking for a section in the list Ports (COM and LPT), in which we right-click on Serial port (COM1) and go into it properties.

In the properties window, go to the tab Port Settings and set the parameter Bits per second to the maximum number available. Then save the changes by clicking OK.

You should also set the maximum speed of the modem in the connection itself, which is used to access the Internet. Open Control Panel Further Network and Internet and go to the section Network and Sharing Center. Find your Internet connection under Change adapter settings and right-click to open it properties. On the tab Are common click the button Tune next to the line with the communication modem. Select the maximum value of the Highest speed (bit/s) parameter from the drop-down list, then save the changes by clicking the button OK.

Setting up reserved bandwidth

To increase the connection throughput, you should also disable its redundancy. By default, the system reserves a communication channel at 20% of its capacity. To disable this feature, open the item Execute start menu. Enter the following in the Open line: gpedit.msc
and press Enter.

The Local Group Policy Editor utility will open. Next you should open the folder Administrative Templates in subsection Computer configuration and go to the folder Net,

after which we find the section Package Scheduler QoS(or QoS Packet Manager, on different versions Windows folder name may differ). Now the QoS parameters will be displayed on the right side of the window; we will be interested in the parameter Limit reserved bandwidth.

Double-click on it to go to edit it, and set the reservation percentage to 0% thereby disabling the reservation itself. Save the changes made by clicking the button OK.

Performance correct settings connections can already lead to an increase in Internet speed, but they cannot always help if the reason for the poor connection speed lies elsewhere. Very often, low Internet speed occurs due to a low Wi-Fi signal or if someone else is using your Internet.

Checking for unauthorized connections to your router

To check whether someone else is connected to your Internet via Wi-Fi, you should pay attention to the router indication. If you disconnect all your devices connecting to wireless network(laptop, tablet, etc.) then the WAN indicator on the router will blink very rarely. If the blinking frequency of the indicator remains high, then someone else is using your Wi-Fi. You can also easily view the connection to the router through its menu. To do this, enter the IP address of the router in the address bar (by default it is 192.168.1.1). In the menu you can go to the section Connections and monitor all current connections to the router, and if necessary, limit the number of connections. But it’s still better to change the password for accessing the wireless network to a more complex one and set the maximum WPA2 communication security level.

Determining the correct location of your router

It is imperative to deal with low wireless network signal levels, as this greatly affects the connection speed. Move the access point as close as possible to the place where you permanently access the Internet. Also make sure that there are no sources of other radio waves on the path between the access point and the laptop ( microwave oven etc.), as this leads to interference in the communication channel.

Installing new firmware on your router

Often, a decrease in the speed of routers and access points occurs due to an outdated firmware version. In this case, you should update it promptly software. To do this, you should download to your computer a new version of the firmware for your router, which can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s official website. After that, go to the router settings and click the button Update. After a few minutes, your router (router) will reboot with new version firmware.

Checking your PC for viruses

In order to exclude the influence of other factors on the Internet speed, you should check your computer for malware and viruses, and also check your system firewall settings. In particular, a firewall blocks unauthorized access to the network by other applications, and viruses are able to download all traffic, using it to spread malicious information on the network.

Install additional programs to increase speed

You can also use special programs, which optimize Internet and browser settings. One of best apps recognized Internet Speed ​​Booster, Proximodo, Speed ​​It Up Free.

And finally, a few rules for comfortable work on the Internet with a slow connection. Close all unnecessary tabs in your browser, as each page is filled with tons of advertisements and flash animations, so most of the traffic is wasted on displaying them. In this regard, you can use extensions or plugins to block ads, which can consume up to 70% of all traffic! Also use your browser's TURBO mode, which will reduce network load in most cases by reducing the quality of displayed images. You can also disable the display of images, sound, animation in the browser, which will increase the loading speed of web pages. Disable automatic update applications, since you cannot know when they will start updating, it is better to update the programs manually. The same applies to updates. operating system. If your Windows torrent client automatically downloads, check that it is not downloading or sharing files. Torrents and downloading files in browsers or special downloaders significantly slow down your work on the Internet.

Video:

Dear friends, I want to wish you good luck, increase the speed of your Internet, bye everyone and see you again.

What gets on your nerves more than? Perhaps only the “turtle” Internet! Tired of watching your cursor spin endlessly while waiting for a website to open? Or wait forever for a file to load? If yes, it's time to act.

This article is for those who value their time and save peace of mind. Read how to increase Internet speed by everyone possible ways. Spend half an hour once and this problem will never bother you again. And if it happens again, you will know how to solve it.

How to increase Internet speed

Is your plan right for you?

The first limiter on your Internet connection bandwidth is your ISP. It is he who sets the upper speed limit, which you cannot bypass. More precisely, you can, but for an additional amount.

To find out if your actual Internet speed is what you're paying for, go to any testing site like Speedtest.net or , and take measurements. To get the most reliable indicator, close VPN applications and proxy browser extensions (if you use them) before doing this, and also disconnect other traffic consumers (computers, phones, TV, etc.) from the network.

If the result is not much different from what was stated, it means that the Internet is slowing down due to the fact that the line bandwidth is too low for your needs. The solution is to change the tariff to a faster one. Don't want to overpay? Take a closer look at the offers of other providers.

If the speed is 30-50% lower than specified in the contract, then the reason is not in the tariff plan. Short-term slowdowns in daytime hours are the norm, and constant ones, especially at night when the line is not loaded, are a reason to call technical support.

In some cases, the speed decreases when a certain traffic threshold is reached (this should be stated in the description of the tariff plan), in others - due to problems (both on the part of the provider and on yours) and other reasons.

If the provider's technical support did not help, move on.

We are looking for traffic eaters

Slow Internet operation may be due to the fact that a traffic “eater” has settled on your computer - a program that clogs up a significant part of the Internet channel with its data. Such a “devourer” can be:

• Torrent clients. Especially those running on several computers at the same time.
• Viruses – worms, spam senders, etc.
• Operating system and applications while downloading updates. Especially when there are many such applications and the connection is not very fast.
• Clients cloud services during data synchronization (Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, Evernote, Yandex Drive, Google Drive, etc.).
• A browser minimized to the taskbar with many open tabs.

To find out which processes are actively using the network, run Task Manager, go to the tab " Performance" and click on the link " Open Resource Monitor».

IN Resource Monitor open the tab " Net" and expand the list of processes. To see what share of traffic is consumed by any process, check the box next to it.

The presence of unknown objects in this list, as well as high network activity of operating system processes, is a reason to scan your computer for viruses.

Checking if there are any “left” connections

If you use a wireless access point to access the Internet, .

After this, open the section “ Traffic monitoring"(if any) and see how traffic is distributed between devices. If there is a clear consumption leader among them, you need to look for the source of the problem first of all.

We identify and strengthen equipment bottlenecks

Network cables

Let's start with something simple - by checking the cables between computers and the router, as well as between the router and the provider's equipment. Poor contacts, creases, close proximity to sources of electromagnetic interference (for example, power lines) significantly impair signal transmission. If you find a problem, fix it if possible.

Router (router)

The router is the second most common culprit for slowing down Internet speeds. In the home segment, budget models with low speed characteristics are common. A device purchased for 2-3 thousand rubles is unlikely to give you the feeling of flying, especially if you connect more than 3-4 consumers to it. The maximum speeds indicated in the characteristics of inexpensive devices are almost never achieved in reality. At best it will be half. If the quality of the Internet connection decreases when using a router, but increases when connecting the cable directly to the PC, it is obvious that this is exactly your case.

To get the most out of a weak router, update its firmware to the latest version and place it in a point in the apartment where each connected device will receive a good Wi-Fi signal. Do not place the router close to heat sources, as overheating is another reason for its slowdown.

In the Wi-Fi access point settings, make the following settings:

• Wireless mode– 802.11n standard. If possible, disconnect all devices operating under 802.11b/g standards from the access point so that the speed is not limited by the level of their capabilities (802.11b mode operates at 11 Mbit/s, 802.11g - at 54 Mbit/s, 802.11n - at 600 Mbit /s). If you have such devices and they need the Internet, connect them via cable.
• To maintain speeds above 54 Mbit/s, activate the “ Wi-Fi Multimedia» ( WMM).
• Experiment with broadcast channel width. Choose between 40 MHz and 20 MHz. When the signal level is low and unstable, a 20 MHz channel often provides better throughput than a 40 MHz channel. The “auto 20/40” mode also does not always work optimally.
• Use authentication method"WPA2-PSK", encryption algorithm - "AES". Disabling encryption completely will improve the performance of the router, but it will make your network open to everyone, and this is unsafe.
• Using the brute force method, find the optimal broadcast channel (option “ Channel» in the wireless network settings).
• Select the optimal power of the wireless signal transmitter (option " TX power"). Sometimes lowering it significantly improves transmission quality.

LAN card

Outdated drivers and some network adapter settings can reduce communication speed. Start by updating your drivers to the latest version - download them from the manufacturer's website motherboard computer or laptop manufacturer and install as a normal application.

After that, launch Windows Device Manager, open the list " Network adapters" And " Properties» the one you are using.

If you are connecting via cable, go to the " Additionally" and set the value of the parameter " Speed ​​& Duplex» to the possible maximum for the device. Choose from two options " Full Duplex"(in this mode, the adapter receives and transmits information simultaneously).

On a similar tab of the wireless adapter properties, set the priority of working in 802.11n mode (the option may be called “ 802.11nmode», « 802.11npreamble» « 802.11n direct connection mode", etc.) and just like on the router, enable support WMM (« Wi-FIMultimedia" or " Multimedia and gaming environment»).

Choosing the fastest DNS server

DNS servers - nodes that map domain names of devices and websites to IP addresses - are essential components of any Internet connection and also affect its speed. Some of them work faster, others slower, some are geographically located closer to you, others further away. Some are heavily loaded, others are lightly loaded.

To determine the fastest and closest DNS server to you, we will use the free Namebench utility from Google.

Namebench runs on Windows, OS X and Linux platforms and is available in graphical and console versions. You can choose any one, and I will tell you how to use it, using a graphic example.

Namebench will search for the optimal DNS server based on the opening time of web pages in browsers, data from network traffic analyzer utilities (tcpdump and winpcap) and some other information.

Once launched, Namebench will automatically detect your location and current DNS addresses. You only need to select from the list " Querydatasource» maximum points for calculation (number in brackets). Above the dotted line of this list is a selection from your browsers, below are standard test sets of the program itself.

To start the scan, click " Start Benchmark».

Upon completion of testing, the result in the form of a table will open in Internet Explorer. The top right shows the recommended DNS servers - the fastest and closest to you. On the left, where I say “Fastest” - how many percent is the best DNS faster than the current one.

;

• Go to the folder " Network connections"(via the context menu of the Start button or "Network and Sharing Center").
• Open the context menu of your connection and select " Properties».

• In the list of components on the tab " Net» check « IPv4" Click " again" Properties».
• Set the switch to " Use the following addressesDNS servers" and indicate there what the program advised.

Also change DNS in the router settings:

Choosing the best browser

Open the same website in several browsers and see that they have different loading speeds. According to the results of comparative tests, the maximum performance is shown by Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Yandex.Browser. In addition, the latter two have a “Turbo mode” option, which speeds up the opening of pages on a slow connection.

Also, to improve browser performance, do not forget to close unnecessary tabs and disable unused extensions.

Using the TCP Optimizer program to speed up the Internet

There are a lot of programs that promise to speed up the Internet by 100-200-500%, but most of them are paid and are not nearly as omnipotent as they are written about. I will tell you about one of the free ones that does not make empty promises, but simply works - the TCP Optimizer utility. It can increase network throughput by approximately 15-20% while supporting all types of connections.

Despite the many options, using the program is not difficult. The optimal parameters are selected automatically. To do this, you only need to perform a few operations:

• Run the utility with administrator rights (it does not require installation).
• On the scale " ConnectionSpeed» specify the maximum speed of your connection.
• From the list " Networkadapterselection» select the current network adapter.
• In the list " Choose settings» check « Optimal».
• Click " Applychanges" and restart your computer to apply the settings.

In automatic mode, TCP Optimizer automatically sets the optimal TCP (main network protocol) window parameters for a given connection speed. And if you want to understand the program in more detail in order to change its settings manually, there is a link on the developer’s website.

That's all I wanted to say on today's topic. Of course, on the vastness of the global network you can find a lot of other tips on how to speed up the Internet by 1000%, but some of them have long been irrelevant, and some are downright harmful (like suggestions to abandon the antivirus and disable Windows updates). And the main advice is this: speed up, but maintain a reasonable balance between online comfort and data security on your PC. After all, the second, whatever one may say, is more important than the first.

Is it possible to speed up the Internet at all? Easily! Below is a simple set of measures that can significantly increase Internet speed in Windows.

Potential for acceleration

For example, if your contract with your provider states 10 megabits per second, then in reality you will get a download speed somewhere around 1 megabyte per second, or even lower. The fact is that Windows has a QoS service, which Maybe reserve up to 20% speed for your tasks. The browser also waits for a response from DNS servers. And in advanced cases, the browser may have hardware acceleration of page rendering disabled. And then web surfing turns into torture. Therefore, if you disable QoS, enable DNS query caching, and activate hardware acceleration in the browser, your Internet speed can increase significantly.

The easiest way to speed up the Internet on Windows

The simplest and safe way disable QoS and add 20% to speed - edit the security policy. You don’t need to go into the registry and risk the performance of your entire computer; just uncheck one box in the convenient settings editor.

So, click “Start” → “Run” and enter the name: gpedit.msc. The Security Policy Editor will open. We sequentially follow the following route: “Computer Configuration” → “Administrative Templates” → “Network” → “ QoS Packet Scheduler" Enable "Limit reserved bandwidth" but set the reserve to 0%. Ready.

Increasing DNS cache to speed up the network

The role of the DNS cache is to store the IP addresses of all Internet sites that you visit most often. If you have a tendency to visit certain Internet resources very often (for example social media VK, Facebook, Twitter, various blogs or multimedia resources YouTube, StumbleUpon), then increasing your browser’s DNS cache should have a positive effect on the loading speed of these Internet pages. To increase the cache size you need to do the following:

Click on the “Start” button, type the word “regedit” in the search and press the Enter key. The Registry Editor should start. Next in the editor you need to go to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\DNScache\Parameters

CacheHashTableBucketSize CacheHashTableSize MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit

And assign them the following values:

CacheHashTableBucketSize – set the value to 1 CacheHashTableSize – set the value to 384 MaxCacheEntryTtlLimit – set the value to 64000 MaxSOACacheEntryTtlLimit – set the value to 301

Speed ​​up the Internet by disabling QoS

As far as we know, in XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8 and 10 there is a system for reserving Internet channel width. This system (QoS Reserved Bandwidth Limit) specifically limits your traffic so that higher-priority applications, such as Update Center or other priority components, can function normally and pass through. The width of the reserved channel is about 20% of the maximum speed of your Internet. That is, with this limitation, you actually use only 80% of the speed that the provider provides you. Therefore, changing this percentage can significantly speed up your browser and the loading of Internet pages. In order to reduce the reserved channel width in Windows 7, you must perform the following steps:

As in the previous case, click on the “Start” button, type the word “regedit” in the search and press the Enter key. The Registry Editor should start. Next in the editor you need to go to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft

Now, right-click on the newly created key in the left part of the window, create a new parameter of type “DWORD” and give it the name “NonBestEffortLimit”. To disable channel reservation, set the “NonBestEffortLimit” key to “0”.

Disabling TCP autotuning

In Windows 7, the auto-tuning feature is enabled by default. This function may be one of the reasons why some individual sites or Internet services may load slowly, since this function does not work effectively with a large number of servers of different access speeds. In order to disable TCP autotuning, you need to run the command line as an administrator and enter the following command into it:

Netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

In order to return TCP autotuning back, you must enter the following command in the command line (run as administrator):

Netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal

And then reboot the computer as well.

Browser hardware acceleration

In some cases, you may have noticed that browsing certain Internet pages from your browser is significantly slower than in previous versions of the same browser. This may be due to the fact that in this moment Your browser defaults to software rendering mode instead of GPU rendering mode (that is, rendering using hardware acceleration using the GPU). This can happen to users who have outdated video cards or their drivers, which in turn do not support or have ceased to support GPU hardware acceleration. A possible solution to this problem may be to install the latest video adapter driver that supports GPU hardware acceleration.

If this problem was not resolved by installing the latest video card driver, then the only way out of this situation may be to replace the current video card with a newer one that will support hardware acceleration using GPU.

But you can make sure in which mode your browser is running. This can usually be seen in the advanced settings of the browser, and more specifically the hardware acceleration option.

Internet Explorer:

1. Open Internet Explorer and go to the settings menu “Tools -> Internet Options”.
2. On the Advanced tab, you should see a graphics acceleration option.

Now make sure that the “Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering” option is checked. If the checkbox is checked, then Internet Explorer uses software rendering mode. Uncheck the box if you want IE to switch to GPU rendering mode. If this option is grayed out and does not change, then your video card or its driver does not support hardware acceleration for the browser.

An example of how to see if hardware acceleration is enabled for Mozilla Firefox:

1. Launch Firefox and open the browser settings using the “Tools -> Preferences” menu.
2. Go to the “Advanced” tab, where on the “General” tab you should see the “Browsing” section. In this section there is an option called “Use hardware acceleration when available”. If this option is not checked, your browser is using software rendering mode. Select the checkbox to force Firefox to use hardware acceleration if your graphics subsystem supports it.

How to speed up the Internet on Windows 8 using NameBench

When your browser tries to access a website, it first contacts the DNS name server. The problem is that this server is physically located at your ISP. What are small ones famous for? commercial companies? That's right - the desire to save on everything. Therefore, the equipment purchased for the DNS service is weak. Well, you’re trying to access a website, the browser contacts the provider’s slow DNS server, and that’s when a delay occurs, which can be several seconds. Now remember that each page of the site can contain pictures, videos, Flash, etc. from other sites. These are again DNS queries to a slow server. As a result, the losses add up and the slowdown becomes noticeable. What to do? The answer is obvious: you need to use the fastest DNS servers. The program helps you find them NameBench.

What are we waiting for? Download NameBench (free) and run it. No installation required. After launch, indicate your country, the browser you are using and click the Start Benchmark button. The program will try several dozen DNS servers and select the fastest one just for you. On average, you can find a server that works 2-3 times faster than your provider's DNS.

After NameBench finds the fastest DNS, you will be shown the IP address of that server. This is what needs to be specified in the connection settings. Everything is as usual:

You will be pleasantly surprised when you notice that the Internet has become much faster!

Are web pages taking longer to load than usual, and file download speeds are not as good as advertised by your provider? This may be due to many factors. Fortunately, there are many tricks that can help you improve the quality of your Internet connection. You will notice the difference within minutes.

Steps

Checking equipment, network status and connection speed

Test your connection speed. Before you go to the hardware and computer settings, check the speed of your connection and compare it with that stated by your provider. There are many sites on the Internet that can help you check your connection speed. Just enter in the search bar Google request"connection speed test" and select one of the first results in the list.

• Different tests will show different results. Even the same test can show several different meanings during repeated checks. The test result depends on the location of the servers and the network load.
• Take several tests and find the average.
• To pass the test, you may need to download and install plugins.
• If the site asks you to select a server to test your connection speed, choose the one closest to your actual location. This way you will get the most accurate result.

1. Compare the test result with the data declared by the provider. Check with customer support to determine what your connection speed should be. Remember that the provider will indicate the maximum possible speed, but the actual speed will not always correspond to this figure.

   • If you haven't changed for a long time tariff plan, you may be able to get faster speeds for less money. Companies typically don't let existing customers know about better deals, so check to see if they've added any new rates since you started using their services. Check out what all providers offer in your area.
   • Remember the difference between megabits and megabytes. There are 8 megabits (MB) in one megabyte (MB), so if you pay for 25 megabits per second (MB/sec), then your maximum speed will be slightly higher than 3 megabytes per second (MB/sec).

2. Reboot your router. Restarting your modem or router can resolve many connection problems. If your modem or router does not have a power button, simply unplug the power cord, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. Read this guide to learn how to restart your home network.

   Check for conflicting signals. If you use a wireless router, check to see if it conflicts with your cordless phone or wireless camera. There are two main types wireless routers: 802.11 b, g, and n (2.4 GHz) or 802.11 a (5.8 GHz). If your cordless phone and router operate on the 2.4 GHz frequency, the Internet connection speed will be slower when someone is using the phone. The same applies to wireless outdoor cameras. Check the signal frequency of your phone and camera. If it is 900 MHz then there is nothing to worry about. If they operate at a frequency of 2.4 or 5.8 GHz, then they are likely interfering with your wireless network.

   Check if you have reached your traffic limit. Many providers set limits on Internet traffic, but do not always notify their customers about this. Log in to your provider's website or contact customer support by phone and check if you have reached your monthly limit. Usually, after exceeding the limit, the provider limits the connection speed.

   Call your provider's customer service line. Sometimes only your provider can fix a connection problem. Usually, to establish the causes of problems, a technician does not need to come to your home. You may be prompted to restart your router again.

   Check all devices on your network. If other users on your network frequently download data from the Internet, such as watching videos online or downloading large files, this may take up a significant portion of the network bandwidth.

   

   Reduce the distance between the router and computer. If you are connected to the Internet using Wi-Fi router, the reason for the slow connection speed may be a weak signal. Place your computer and router as close to each other as possible, or place the router on a cabinet to improve signal quality.

   • Clean any dust from your router or modem using a can of compressed air. This will protect it from overheating and increase the stability of its operation.
   • Provide good ventilation to all electronic components to prevent overheating.

3. If you use DSL technology, check your splitter. A splitter is a small box into which your landline phone cable is connected. On the opposite side there are two sockets - one for the phone, the other for the modem. If you are connected to the Internet via a landline telephone line, in order for the connection quality to be good, you must have a high-quality splitter installed.

   Check the weather forecast. If you use satellite Internet, your connection speed may fluctuate due to wind, snow, rain, lightning, static fields and other meteorological phenomena.

   Optimizing your computer and network

   1. Scan your computer with an antivirus at least once a week. Viruses can not only create the threat of leaking valuable information, but also seriously affect the speed of the Internet connection. Protecting your computer from virus threats plays an important role in ensuring good quality Internet connections.

      • Your computer should always be protected by an antivirus program, especially if you use the Internet frequently. It can be installed for free. There is no need to install more than one antivirus program, otherwise they will conflict with each other.

   2. Remove unnecessary toolbars. If you have many toolbars installed in your browser, they can significantly slow down your connection. By getting rid of these panels, you will speed up your browser and protect yourself from leaks of your personal information.

      • Sometimes it can be difficult to remove some toolbars. To do this, you may need the anti-spyware programs listed in the previous step.

   3. Change your browser. If your old browser is overloaded with difficult-to-remove add-ons and is too slow, you may need to start using a different browser. Firefox, Chrome and Opera are faster than Internet Explorer.

   4. Clean up your hard drive. If you don't optimize your work hard drive, then it can slow down your computer, and this will affect all your actions, including surfing the Internet. Optimizing your hard drive will only take a few minutes, but it will significantly improve the quality of your web surfing.

      • Defragment your hard drive regularly. Latest versions Windows does this automatically.
      • To clear your disk of temporary files that may be slowing down your browser, perform a disk cleanup.
      • Make sure that there is at least 15% free space on the system partition of your hard drive. If your disk is full, programs, including your Internet browser, will start and run more slowly.

   5. Check which programs are consuming traffic. Often the connection speed is reduced because the connection is being used by other programs. To find out if any programs are accessing the Internet without your knowledge, you need to use the Command Prompt. Press the keyboard shortcut ⊞ Win + R to open the Run dialog box. Type cmd and click ↵Enter. (For Windows 7 - open the Start menu>All Programs>Accessories, right-click on Command line and select "Run as administrator" from the menu.

      • Enter the command netstat -b 5 > activity.txt and click ↵Enter. A list of programs that use the Internet connection will appear on the screen. After a minute or so, press Ctrl + C to complete the scan. The system will create a file with a list of all active Internet connections.
      • Enter activity.txt and click ↵Enter to open the file and view a list of programs.

   6. Close all unnecessary programs. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys simultaneously and launch Task Manager. Go to the processes tab and disable all programs that may consume traffic. (Note: Interrupting processes with unknown names may cause programs to crash.)

      • View the process data in the "User" column. If the process is running as System, stopping it may cause other programs to crash and you will have to restart your computer. If your username is listed, terminating the process will likely not affect other programs or processes. Sometimes the system prohibits ending an important system process or automatically restarts it.

   7. Change Wi-Fi channel. If many people in your home share the same channel, your Internet connection speed may be slower. To detect free channels, use the inSSIDer application for PC and the KisMAC or WiFi Scanner applications for Mac. By switching to a less busy channel, you will get rid of network interference and will likely be able to access the Internet faster.

      • If you find an unused channel, switch to it to improve your connection speed. If you don't know how to change the wireless channel in your router, refer to the user manual or reference materials on the device manufacturer's website.