Like any major highway system, the Internet information highway has many roadways and interchanges, each with their own capacity and speed limit, and, like highways for cars, sometimes you get traffic delays. Just as you have to wait in a your car while other traffic goes through at a traffic light, data sent to your computer has to wait while other data passes through routers, the Internet equivalent of an intersection, on it's way to you.
You are more likely to run into slow Internet traffic during peak use hours than those times when fewer people are online, such as after 1:00am and before 5:00pm. When this page was being tested, I found that the results on my modem varied from a consistent 120 to 180 KB morning and afternoon, all the way down to 60 to 80 KB during evening peak-use hours. If you really want to find out what your best possible Speed Test result is, try the Speed Test at 3:00am on a weeknight, when almost everyone is asleep when Internet use is at it's lowest. (Friday and Saturday nights are not a good choice.)
To test your internet speed you can run the speed test found here.
This will test your connection from your computer to our head end where it then goes out to the internet, we are only able to control the speed you get to here, once your out on the internet you are limited by the above mentioned routers and speeds of the site you are visiting.
Some other reasons your internet may be running slower than usual:
Spyware A recent survey concluded over 20 million people have some sort of spyware or adware application on their computer tracking their every keystroke ...yikes! Even more amazing than that is these little applications can be (and usually are) installed on the "sly". If your Internet security controls aren't properly set, just visiting a Web site or clicking on a Web ad can install a spyware application without your explicit consent or knowledge. Here is a great article about spyware and some good methods of getting rid of them.
Spyware Article
Viruses If your computer is infected with a virus it will inevitably make your system run slow. Always ensure you have an up to date Anti-Virus program running that has been set-up properly. Update your Anti-Virus software frequently to receive the latest virus protection.
Routers Routers are great for a lot of things, but just like anything else they must be kept up to date. You should update your router with the latest drivers for your brand frequently. To do so go to your router manufactures website and look for drivers and download and install the latest.
Defragmentation After you have been using your computer for a while it becomes necessary to defrag it. Pretty much any version of Windows has a program on it for defragging your computer. You can usually find this program by going to Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools. If you have trouble finding it please call tech support. Here is a good article about Defragmentation.
File sharing Can also cause your internet to slow down because your bandwidth is being taken up by people downloading files from your computer. For more information on file sharing please visit http://www.masconcable.ca/kb/default.asp?ToDo=view&questId=213&catId=18
More RAM Although our minimum requirements are for 64MB of minimum RAM, which will get you up and running, things seem to run a lot smoother and faster with more RAM. We suggest running at least 512MB of RAM to get the most out of your computer.
Clean-Up It is always a good idea to clean up your computer periodically. You can either take it to a certified computer shop that will gladly do this for a small fee, or you can do some of the easier stuff on your own:
> Delete Cookies
> Delete Temporary Internet Files
> Delete Recycle bin
> Run Defrag
> Run a spyware program like Adaware or Spybot
> Do a full Virus scan
> Download and install any Windows updates
> Re-boot your computer
