Broadband slow

[shazzabell]

My internet connection has really slowed down over the past few weeks. Could resetting my router speed things up?

[Mattk]

How do you know it has slowed and what type of connection are you on ie fixed or flexible.

some websites take a while to load regardless of connection speed.

[MartyW]

I don't think resetting the router would help a lot.

A big contributor to slow internet is spyware. Which can accumulate surprisingly in a short amount of time, if you've never checked you may be shocked to find you have a lot of unwanted files, most are harmless, the main downside being the decrease in speed.

Microsoft offers Windows Defender, a free scanning and removal tool, on the Microsoft website.

There's also AVG Anti-Spyware Free, which is a free (but still effective) program.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/20/lng/us/tpl/v5

If spyware isn't the problem, remember that your internet speed can vary depending on the time of day, as many other people are also online. You may find the internet slows down at peak times such as the evening.

Hope this helps.

[shazzabell]

It's definitely running slower, it's not the websites.

Mattk, I'm not sure what you mean by 'fixed' or 'flexible'?

I have checked for Spyware, MartyW, and didn't find any. Might download Windows Defender though.

Could it be because I've downloaded quite a few programs lately?

[Paulst30]

Yes your router can make your internet slow.

Its called the noise margin and if it drops below a certain number it can cause synching problems.

The best thing to do is re-boot the router at a time that is busy on the net, this will make it sync at a higher noise margin meaning that when teh traffic is low, your router wont drop to the lower amount as much.

There is loads of things of course like spyware, malware and a full temporary internet files folder, however most times its down to so many extension cables all linked to each other, dodgy filters and the bell ring loom in the main BT socket (everything apart from blue wires shoudl be disconnected)

[shazzabell]

Thanks Paul. It's not terribly slow, but noticeably. I will try resetting it. I've emptied my temp. files, checked for spyware etc. So, I'll give resetting a go now.

[LeMarchand]

Have you been downloading a lot of stuff? Some ISPs will throttle your speed if you have.

[poinsy]

Hopefully you have sorted this out now, but if not, this is such a tricky area, that much more info is needed in order to facilitate a helpful response (gosh that sounds like a service centre response). Does it slow down at certain times of the day? I take it that every site is slow? Can you provide your router stats for us. We are after the downstream SNR and Attenuation (Signal to Noise Ratio and line attenuation) specifically. Dodgy filters, or phone-extension cables can often cause this, or a neighbour who is downloading 24/7 

There is a good tool called TCP Optimizer available which can change various setting (MTU for instance) which I can recommend. The key is to ensure all connected PCs/laptops use the same MTU size (this is obtainable from your ISP).

As an aside, regarding browsers, Firefox renders sooooo much quicker than IE. I trust you are using this, if not, it is like getting a new pair of glasses, all of a sudden things seem so much clearer�..(subjective opinion of course)

Paul

[shazzabell]

Thanks poinsy for taking the time to reply. It seems to be a lot quicker now! It must've been because I'd downloaded quite a bit in one day? I'll probably use Firefox as I've heard it's faster/better.
Big thanks for all your answers!