[ McGrath Alaska Community Message Board ]
Posted by Borealis Broadband on 4/17/2007, 5:29 pm Here are some common self-inflicted causes for slow Internet throughput and solutions that you can apply yourself. If you have good Internet throughput but notice that it sometimes (or often) slows down dramatically, please read and follow some of these steps (1 - 5 specifically) if you can, before calling for support. The same applies if you feel your machine is performing very sluggish in general. 1. Viruses 2. Adware Adware/Malware will throw up fifty-kabillion ads on your computer while you cruise the web. To get rid of this junk, try SpyBot. You can get it here (for free even): http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html 3. Trojan Horses Use the AVAST utility to search for and destroy these pests and always keep your windows software up-to-date. A trojan horse on your computer is a HUGE risk for you. 4. SpamBots 5. Home Wi-Fi Wireless connections IMPORTANT: If, during the course of performance troubleshooting, we discover that you have an open home Wi-Fi system that lets your neighbors use your internet connection (whether you are aware of it or not) you will be subject to having your connection terminated until the problem is corrected. Case in point: Here in Anchorage we received a complaint about slow throughput from one of our residential clients not too long ago. We investigated and discovered that the customer's home wi-fi wireless unit was completely unsecured. Further, the customer had two computers, but 16 computers were registered in the wi-fi unit's connection log. So, 14 of his neighbors and/or strangers were using his Internet connection through his home wireless network. I wonder what else they got access to. 6. Memory For Windows 98, we recommend 256 to 512 MB of RAM. And an upgrade to XP. For Windows XP, we recommend 1 GB of RAM, but absolutely no less than 512 MB. 7. Hard Drive Of course you can also call us for support at 907-563-3278 or email at info@borealisbroadband.net. If you call us at the above number, we'll call you back on our dime until we get the McGrath phone number forwarded. - Horst -
Board Administrator
Boys and girls,
Probably the number one cause for a slowdown in Internet speed (or anything else for that matter) is a virus infestation or a Trojan Horse. You should absolutely have a virus protection program running. We recommend AVAST, a free virus utility for private users. Download it here: http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
A guaranteed system performance killer is the adware that gets loaded on your machine through normal web browsing or by being tricked into downloading an email attachment that contains the bad software. Another favorite trick is to hide the Adware inside a piece of free software that you download.
Listed as a separate evil, the Trojan Horse is usually introduced to the computer by the user clicking on an attachment to an email, most often sent by someone the user doesn't even know.
BASIC RULE: NEVER, EVER, EVER, CLICK ON AN ATTACHMENT TO AN EMAIL THAT YOU CANNOT POSITIVELY IDENTIFY AS LEGITIMATE. ESPECIALLY IF THE FILE ENDS IN .EXE OR .CRD.
Like the Trojan Horse, a spambot is malicious software loaded onto your machine, typically through the email attachment technique. This software turns your computer into a spam-machine and robs you of your Internet bandwidth by sending tons of spam messages in the background. AVAST will find some of these, but not guaranteed.
If you have a home Wi-Fi (wireless) Firewall Router or Wireless Access Point, please make sure it is secure. We often trace down network performance issues to open Home Wi-Fi systems that lets the whole neighborhood cruise through your home network connection. Click here http://www.borealisbroadband.net/WiFiFixing.htm to read more about how and why you should secure your home Wi-Fi unit.
Check your computer's RAM (Random Access Memory). You can do this by going to the MY COMPUTER selection from your START menu and right-clicking and choosing PROPERTIES.
Check your hard drive space and see if it's full or not. Also, if you've been using the computer for a few months or years, your hard drive space might be very fragmented. Try running the Windows Defragment utility. Go to your START menu, choose PROGRAMS, then ACCESSORIES, then SYSTEM TOOLS, then DISK DEFRAGMENTER. You might notice a significant difference after you run the program.
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