Using the Internet with dial-up service can be a challenge, but it's not impossible. If you are looking for more ways to speed up your Internet without paying a large monthly fee for a faster Internet connection, look no further. Follow these simple steps to get maximum performance from your machine.
1. Save time with email. Find the Outlook Express (may be called Windows Mail if you have a new computer) or Microsoft Outlook on your computer and set up a new mail account for your email address. You will be able to download all of your messages in one easy step. Then, when you are offline, you can browse through your emails, read them, and create replies to them. All you have to do is send out the messages the next time you connect! This save you time you would have to wait for each individual page to load when viewing, replying to, and deleting messages. You can do all of that from offline!
2. Clean up your computer! Sometimes your Internet is running slow because your computer is bogged down with multiple unnecessary programs and files that have been downloaded and added to your computer over time. From your Control Panel, click on Add/Remove Programs (or Programs and Features on new computers), and a list of installed programs will appear on your screen. Now you can uninstall any program you don't need anymore. Here's a few things to keep in mind:
* You only need one firewall program and one antivirus program. Uninstall any extra spyware, adware, antivirus, scanner, robots, protectors, and malware programs you don't use as your primary protection. These programs probably seemed great at the time you downloaded them, but these programs will only conflict with one another.
* Uninstall any messenger, weather, toolbars, and pop-up blockers that you don't use. Some of these handy-dandy shortcuts not only take up space on your hard drive, but are set up to load themselves when you turn on the computer, and to gather updates when you connect to the Internet. When you're trying to get to your bank site to make a quick payment, the last thing you want to do is wait for five programs to load themselves and hog bandwidth!
*If there's a program that you don't recognize, you better leave it alone. It probably a driver or system update that is necessary for your computer to run properly.
3. Clear out your temporary Internet files. From your Internet browser, click Tools, then Internet Options. On the General tab, click Delete. You will be taken to a page listing several categories of files that you can delete. While these files are helpful for Internet browsing, if there are too many of them stored on your computer, your browser may struggle to load pages completely or very slowly because it has become bogged down with unnecessary files and information collected from websites. Many of these website could be ones you will never visit again, so there is no reason to keep piles of files, cookies, and history for them.
4. Check with your ISP for ways to get your Internet service working faster. They may be able to offer you other access numbers that are not as heavily used or from a more reliable network. Write down as many as you can for your area and experiment with different numbers to get one that works the best. This may change over time so keep those numbers nearby. Your ISP technicians may also be able to help you adjust your modem settings or recommend software or upgrades that you can install to get the best service you can.
5. Check with your local technician. Many times a sluggish and malfunctioning Internet is because of malware or viruses that have been downloaded on the computer. If this is the case, you may need to get a tuneup from a computer technician. He may also be able to increase your Internet connection by recommending browsers, software, or accelerators that will improve your connection speed. Also, your computer service technician can check for programs that are using your bandwidth and eliminate or restrict them so that they are not using the Internet connection unless you want them to.
