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How to Speed Up Internet Browsing
If you've ever tried to stream the most recent episode of your favorite show in full HD, or play a modern online game which requires a fast Internet connection, you know how frustrating it can be when some of the data packets aren't being sent and received, and the action freezes for good.
This issue is well known and very serious, and yet over 100 million Americans have poor Internet connections – or no web access at all! So, if you want to improve your Internet browsing speed, the very first step is to ask your Internet service provider if you can upgrade to a better data plan. Begin by evaluating the current speed of your Internet connection by using a site like this one; if the data isn't transferred at a speed of at least 50 Mbps, you should strive to upgrade your Internet plan asap.
But let's assume that you are getting a data throughput of 100 Mbps or more, and yet your browsing experience feels sluggish; what else can you do to fix the problem?
Begin by restarting your router. Just like your computer, the router can benefit from regular restarts, which will help free some of its memory cells. This simple step will often work wonders, and yet very few people know about it and apply it. Don't be like them; unplug the router's power adapter, wait for 20-30 seconds, and then plug it back. Wait for a minute or two, and then see if things work better than before.
Use an Ethernet connection whenever it is possible to do so. It is true that people love to connect their devices wirelessly, but if you have a computer or laptop that doesn't need to be moved around, an Ethernet-based Internet connection will work much faster, and will have a much lower latency as well.
If you really need to use Wi-Fi, switch to the 5 GHz band; it will improve your Internet browsing experience, because that wireless network can transport more data each second. Additionally, most people continue to use the old 2.4 GHz band, and this means that the newer 5 GHz channels are much less crowded.
Some Internet-connected devices may work slower because they are infected with various species of malware. To fix this problem, install an antivirus, and then run a full system scan. Get rid of any viruses that may have been found, and then restart the device.
Most websites thrive because they serve lots of ads which get clicked, or at least seen by their visitors. Unfortunately, most of these ads use a lot of bandwidth, affecting your Internet browsing experience. To solve this issue, install an ad blocker such as AdGuard or CyberSec; you should see less ads, and website pages should load much faster.
Maybe the browser is to blame for your poor Internet experience. If this is the case, start by removing the unused browser extensions, which utilize Internet data and may even leak private information to their makers and other interested third parties. You will find the installed extensions in Tools –> Add-ons (Firefox), or Settings -> Extensions (Chrome), and so on. Examine each extension carefully, and then decide if you need to keep it or not.
It's time to clear the browsing cache and the cookie files. Most browsers make it really easy to delete the cache by getting rid of it as soon as you delete your browsing history. And if all these things don't work, it may be the time to start keeping the number of open browser tabs to a minimum.
Another good idea is to switch to a different browser. I used to recommend Chrome in the past, but Firefox has made some really good progress during the last few years, so that is my favorite browser, at least for now. And let's not forget that Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, values our privacy. No matter what browser you choose, be sure to keep it updated; many of the updates fix previous bugs and patch security holes, improving people's web browsing experience.
