Who is Using your Internet Bandwidth?

The first thing to check is how many people are using your internet bandwith. In my house, one computer is connected directly to the router while 2 other computers connect wirelessly. There are different types of internet surfers under my roof and each has different Internet needs. The teenagers play games, download Music files and watch videos – all bandwidth intensive activities. VOIP systems are another bandwidth drainer. These are phones that run through the internet. They generally depend more on upload speed then download speed but still require some of your bandwidth. Depending on your internet speed, when everyone is downloading or uploading at the same time, there may not be much bandwidth left for you. I once scoured all computers in my home to see who was hogging the bandwidth. I was stumped when I couldn’t find any downloads or uploads in progress. A small light led me to my teenage son’s room. Thinking he was asleep, I snuck in to see where the light was coming from. My son was lying in bed, playing an online game on his PSP! Look out for invisible users in the night

One way to stay on top of what your kids are up to on the internet and consequently the amount of bandwidth they are consuming or the risk they are putting your computer at is to use computer monitoring programs which record all internet and computer activity.

Is your Router secured?

If your router is left unsecured, neighbors can connect through your Internet connection and drain your bandwidth. People don’t always connect to you intentionally. Their wireless may just connect to the best available connection in range and that could be your unsecured connection. Imagine that you  have 3 computers in your own home using the internet and 5 more of your neighbors doing the same. There won’t be much of the pie  left for you.

Do you have viruses or spyware on your computer?

Viruses, spyware, adware and malicious software such as Internet Speed Monitor can significantly impact your internet speed. Some spyware monitors your internet activity so that it can automatically bombard you with Ads based on the websites you frequent. It’s like having a Siamese twin use your computer at the same time you are. Run Spyware detection software regularly to detect and remove these bandwidth eaters. It is also important to make sure that your virus protection is updated. Although your antivirus software should be set to detect any incoming threats, it is a good idea to do a deep disk scan periodically.

Some antivirus programs themselves are the culprit of slow internet speed. It is wise to investigate different software choices to find one that doesn’t not hog system resources. Completely removing your antivirus before installing new antivirus software can be tricky as some files remain on your computer after uninstall. An antivirus removal tool will help you solve this problem.