Need Advice Internet connection slow- anything I can do??

My internet connection has been super slow the past few weeks. (I have Comcast broadband). I went to speedtest.net and it says my download speed is 491 KBPS. I have no idea if this is really show comparatively but its making it impossible to get any work done. Is there anything I can do to optimize my internet connection? I'm using a wireless router, although I never could figure out how to get a security key so I have just made my SSID hidden so no one can 'steal' my connection. Would this make any difference?

 

That's really low -- is it the same when you are close to the router? One thing you can try is to change the wireless channel of your wifi to see if that helps. But to narrow things do, I would plug directly into the router to make sure that it's only the wireless that is slow (likely).

 

Thanks! I will try changing the channel. The one problem is my router is in another room from my desktop so I can not plug it in directly. I will try plugging my laptop in directly though and see if that could help as well!

 

I could figure out how to change the channel, but I was able to connect my laptop to the router directly. That worked, but when I tried to go wireless (in the same room) my laptop would not work... my desktop (in another room) will work *sometimes* but when it does it is sooooo slow. Is this a problem with my router perhaps? Or are there settings I need to update?

 

Did you try repositioning the antenna(s) to see if that helped? (Shouldn't matter if your laptop was in the room and still wasn't working though) What type/model of router is it? Most routers you can update the firmware in them if the vendor has found any bugs or improvements to make. It's best to update the firmware while connected via a cable.

 

Hiding the SSID is not a replacement for security (WEP, WPA,etc). It is not that hard to "steal" your connection.

From an article about Hidden SSIDs:

Detecting a Non-Broadcasted SSID - Disabling SSID broadcasting from your wireless access point or router’s beacons, however, doesn’t prevent hackers or war drivers from detecting your wireless network and even the SSID. A wireless hacker could open a legitimate software program such as AirMagnet, and easily find your network’s SSID.

AirMagnet picks up the SSID from other packets sent from wireless devices on the network. The SSID is contained in the 802.11 association request, and in certain instances, the probe request and response packets as well, even though you have SSID broadcasting disabled. For example, the SSID of your network could be found by AirMagnet when a computer on your network is booted up and causes the wireless client to send an association request packet to the wireless access point to gain access to the network.

Hackers and wardrivers can also use tools like AirJack to reveal a hidden network’s SSID on demand. These tools usually work by sending a spoofed 802.11 Deauthentication frame to a particular wireless client. This causes the wireless client to re-authenticate and re-associate with the access point. The tools can then quickly capture the SSID of the network from the association request frame.

 

Thanks for the information!! I actually tried a few things (didn't check for firmware updates though) but nothing worked. I figured out how to change the channel and no luck. I went out and got a new router (same one) and within minutes I was back in business!! The old one was making some terrible noises and looked a bit burned out on the bottom. It was over 3 years old so maybe it was on its last leg. Who knows- regardless I'm able to get my work done!!

Also, thank you for the info on the hidden SSID!! Had no idea about that!! I was able to figure out how to get the WEP security (my laptop is so old and doesn't support anything better) but at least its a start!!

Thanks again everyone!

 

woah, noises, eek!... you shoulda said that to begin with! =)

 

Usually a bad sign - and a possible fire hazard

 

It's the smoke theory of electronics. Once you let the smoke escape, it will stop working.

qzpmal