Help! My Internet is Running Slow

You just upgraded your high speed Internet from 1MBps to 6MBps to make sure that you can enjoy your favorite online game. Everything is going fine, your speeds are quite good but then one day even opening websites takes a long time.  When you do a speed check you are getting 28kbps.  Wow! Even dial up is faster than this. Before you call in technical support and say “My Internet is running slow!” Let’s try to find out if there is something we can do on our end.

Internet related problems can be broken down into two reasons. One, it is a problem on your providers side in which case you have to call in so that they will be aware of it. Two, it could be on your end, on which case we have to try to resolve it. Here are some steps to follow to have our Internet running at full speed.

Reset equipment. A quick power cycle on all your equipment usually does the trick. Your modem, router and computer should be turned off to refresh their signals. In turning on the equipment, it should be modem first followed by your router then by your computer. This is called sequenced power cycling and is done so that you get the desired signal level. Try to a speed check using your favorite online speed checkers.

Optimize your browser. After using your browser for a long time it would accumulate lots of cookies. These additional data can slow down your internet connection. We need to clear your cache and cookies by clicking on tools on your browser then go to Internet options (Internet Explorer). From there you can delete the cache and cookies safely.

Bypass Router. If you are still getting slow Internet and your computer is connecting to a router then it’s time to connect your computer straight to the modem. Turn off all equipment and disconnect the router from your network. Connect the computer straight into the modem using the ethernet wire. Turn on modem first then turn on your computer. Try to check the speed again and see if there is an improvement. If your speed is what you subscribed to then the reason for your slow Internet speed was the router. Try to contact your router manufacturer to check on it.

Turn Off Firewall. If after bypassing the router your computer is still running slow then turns off your firewall and do another speed test. Usually, some updates on your firewall or some settings will cause your Internet connection to slow down.

Check any Background Programs. Programs that may be running in the background may also cause your internet connection to slow down. Programs such as peer to peer downloader or torrent programs usually consume a lot of bandwidth. Try to turn them off and perform another speed test.

Update Anti-Virus and do a Scan. After doing all of these steps and you are still getting a slow connection then make sure your antivirus program is updated before you do a full scan on your computer. Usually spywares and viruses can cause your connection to slow down.

After performing all these steps and there still is no improvement on your Internet speed then it’s time to call in your ISP’s technical support and say “Help! My Internet is running slow!

Help! I Can’t Connect to the Internet

Have you ever tried connecting to your favorite social networking site by clicking on your browser and nothing happened? You try to connect to a search engine and still nothing happens. All you can see is a message on your browser that might say “cannot display the webpage” or “server not found”. Chances are, your computer is offline and not getting any Internet signal. If you have an important file to send or are about to finish that last stage in your online game and you get disconnected, don’t panic.

It can be frustrating when you have an important online task to do and your computer suddenly goes offline. There are many reasons why this can happen but we can break it down to two reasons. First reason, it could be a problem on your ISP side. In which case there really is not much we can do but report the problem so that it may be resolved immediately. Second, it could be a problem on our side. This means that it could be hardware or a software issue on our end that is causing us not to connect to the Internet. In this case there is something we can do before we start calling the technical support department of our ISP and say “I can’t connect to the Internet!”

Reboot Equipment. This is one of the easiest ways to get you online. Most issues that deal with no Internet connection can be properly resolved by simply turning your equipment off and on. Let’s say you have a modem, a router and a computer. Turn them all off in no particular order but when you turn them on, modem should be on first followed by your router and then your computer. This is what we call sequenced power cycling and is important to establish a good connection.

Check Cabling. Usually, a loose network cable can cause your computer to go offline. Check the network cable on your modem first and see if it is properly secured. Check on your computer side as well if it is tight. It would be good if we took them out and then reconnect them, this way we can verify if they have been indeed securely connected. If you have a router, check the connection on your router side as well.

Do an IP check. We have rebooted the equipment and all cabling seems to be good but we still can’t get online. We then proceed to check our computer. Every computer has a valid IP address that identifies them on the network. If you are using a router then chances are your IP address would start with a 192.168.x.x. If your computer is connecting straight to the modem you may have an IP provided by your ISP which could be 10.x.x.x or 121.x.x, etc. What we have to avoid is the IP that begins with 169.254.x.x. A good IP address would mean that you should be able to get online.

To check on our IP address on XP click on START then RUN. In the open field type CMD and press enter. A black window should appear. Type on the black window “ipconfig” then hit enter to get your IP address. If you get a 169.254.x.x then call your ISP. If it says “media state media disconnected” then there is something wrong with your network cable or network card. Try to replace your network cable, the one connected at the back of your computer going either to your router or modem. We have to refresh our network card as well by typing on the black window “ipconfig /release” then hit enter. After you get a value of 0.0.0.0 type in “ipconfig /renew”. This should get you a valid IP, if not then there is a problem with the network card.

Do a Ping Test. You have a valid IP address so it’s time to do a ping test. A ping test actually sends out packets of data to a particular site to check on our connectivity. If we get an error message then it means we do not have connectivity. A normal ping test should have a 0% loss in packets. To do a ping test type on the black window “ping yahoo.com”.

Turn Off Firewall. Most firewalls are accidentally set to maximum protection by users. Try to disable your firewall and see if it is blocking your Internet.

After doing all of these basic troubleshooting procedures and you still can’t get online then it’s time to call in technical support and say “I can’t connect to the Internet!”

Webmail Notifier

Are you tired of constantly clicking on “Check Mail” on your Yahoomail account to see if you have a new email? Do you want your webmail to act like your Outlook email wherein it would alert you of new emails? There is a way to do this and it is by adding the webmail notifier add-on in Mozilla Firefox.

With the webmail notifier you wouldn’t miss out on the new emails that arrive. If you have a business transaction with a client they would even be impressed by the promptness of your reply to their email.

Here’s how to get the webmail notifier. Just click on the picture below to bring you to the Firefox Add-on page

Once the page opens just click on the green button that says Add to Firefox.

Configuring your webmail notifier is easy. You would see a mail icon on the lower right side of your Firefox browser, right click on it and choose preferences. From there you can add your webmail accounts like Hotmail, Yahoomail and GMail.

There are settings you can change on the General tab of your webmail notifier. I let it check emails after every 5 minutes and if an email arrives I set it to open up in a new tab.

With this little add-on you would immediately know when an important email arrives in your inbox.