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Friday, November 24, 2006
Here’s how to be well-connected
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When I started messing with computers, connecting to another machine or network online was an exciting and unreliable affair.
It sounded like a convention of drunken ducks as the dial-up modems squealed and squawked. Back when modems worked at 300 baud the connection was so slow as to be practically useless. Text often appeared on the screen one letter at a time — like watching the typing of a slow-witted ghost.
Nowadays, connections are instant and fast. It’s practical to download large files — even entire movies — using the high speed connections that have almost become a given for home users.
That change has transformed the online world from an impractical place for hobbyists into a nearly essential tool for working from home, keeping in touch by e-mail, ordering from online merchants and banking and bill paying. It’s a true home emergency when there is a slow connection or you are unable to connect at all.
Today we’ll explore ways to keep your high speed connection working reliably.
Before we are done we’ll get into some fairly technical ways to help slow connections.
But the first tip, and it’s my favorite, is anything but technical. We’ll use it to tackle the most important problem — no connection at all. You should consider it the Holy Grail of fixes.
If your connection stops working, simply turn off the high speed modem, let it sit for a moment, then turn it back on. In most cases that will restore your Internet service. The why of this is fairly easy to understand. The two modems — yours and the one on other end — must operate in synchronization. When that synch is lost the connection goes away. By turning the modem on and off, you are forcing it to re-establish that synch.
Now — empowered with that one tip — you are almost a network engineer. So, lets expand your newfound skills by working on slow connections.
There are a lot of what the techies call “tweaks” that can improve the speed of your connection. But before you start tweaking remember that, like a physician, your first rule should be “do no harm.” Blindly making changes that you don’t understand can take a slow connection and quickly turn it into a no connection.
That’s why I recommend that you go to this Web page
It provides a service that is very much like having a technician check out your computer and connection and then recommend fixes.
Using it is simple: Just press the start button on the page and let the Web site’s software check your settings and connection speed. That takes about 20 seconds. Once done, simply press the button labeled “results.” You’ll be asked to fill in some information about your computer and then get a page of data and recommendations.
Do me a favor, though. If the test says your system is working fine, do not try to make things finer. Also, if you don’t understand some of the results or tweaks, then use the clickable links on the page to get advice and help. You’ll find all sorts of links, including a section that explains the various terms. So besides testing your system, you’ll learn enough to explain your problem in case you need to call in the professionals.
There are other things you can check at home before asking for help.
For instance, you need to know that the most common cause of a slow computer and slow connection is adware and spyware. It’s easy to understand why this nasty software is a prime suspect.
These are tiny programs that run in the background while you go about your business. The best of them simply provide marketers with an anonymous record of the sort of sites visted. The worst of them literally spy on what you do.
Since these programs are constantly running, they slow down your computer. And since they are constantly reporting back - using your Internet connection - that added traffic slows the speed of the data that passes over the connection.
That’s why eliminating spyware/adware can make a huge difference. There are plenty of choices when it comes to programs that do this. I use SpyBot Search and Destroy which can be downloaded here. Microsoft also offers a free tool called Defender, you can download it here.
There are also some quick checks you can make when it comes to hardware.
If you are using a wired router (as opposed to a wireless one) make sure there are no sharp bends in the ethernet cable. Crimping the tiny wires inside the cable can slow down, or even kill, a connection. Wiring can be tripped over or stepped on and a connection that was fine one day can be a bad one the next.
If you use a wireless router, make sure the antennas on it are vertical and that it is close enough to the computers that use the connection to offer a decent signal.
I’d estimate that these tips will cure balky connections about 70 percent of the time. But the best tips often come from my readers. So if you have suggestions on this topic, please share your tips here.
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