Tips on Optimizing a Broadband Internet Connection

Tips on Optimizing a Broadband Internet Connection
Page content

While most people have an internet connection in their home and use it daily, you may not have the speed you want. One of the fastest types of Internet connection is broadband. Broadband can be further divided into a Cable or DSL connection. As an average internet user you probably will not be able to differentiate between the two, as there is only a slight difference, if at all, when it comes to the speed.

Compared to dialup internet, a broadband connection is definitely faster with speeds ranging from 384kbps to 10Mbps, or even more. However, consumers don’t normally get the advertised speeds due to several things. These could include technology limitations in terms of data transfer or your computer. But, you’ll be glad to hear you can optimize your connection to improve your speeds.

Security

Secure your connection. It is standard in most households to have multiple computers using the internet connection. For everyone to be connected to the internet at the same time, a modem router or stand alone router is used to allow multiple connections. Wireless routers are also very common in order for laptops to also be connected.

You should always password protect your connection or you may have neighbors, as well as members of the household, connect without you knowing. The more people using the connection, the slower the speed. It also leaves you suceptible to hacking. Make sure to password protect the moment you set up the router. Also, if the router is capable, make use of the WPA instead of the WEP as it is more sophisticated and less prone to hacking.

DNS modification

DNS modification. The Domain Name System (DNS) is used by the computer all the time when accessing the internet. It is the service that translates the web URL into an IP address and vice versa. The speed of the DNS service in the computer dictates how fast websites will load in the computer monitor. The faster the DNS service is, the faster your internet connection experience will be. You can get faster speeds by switching to openDNS. This can be accessed through https://www.opendns.com/start/.

Tweak your router

<em>Tweak your router settings</em>. The MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) is a setting in your router that can affect the speed of your broadband connection. Here are the suggested MTU settings depending on your connection:

CABLE = 1500

ADSL PPPoE = 1492

ADSL Static IP = 1500

SDSL/VDSL/IDSL/HDSL = 1500

All these tricks will help you improve your speed, but you will still need a reliable internet service provider which has very minimal downtime and the technology to accommodate several users at a time.

WEP and WPA security for Wireless Routers

How to Improve Your Broadband Internet Speed

How to Setup Your Broadband Internet