Internet Speed Test

TCP/IP Optimizer

markd — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:23:09 +0000

A TCP/IP optimizer is generally a program for optimizing the TCP/IP settings of a computer to ensure maximum performance. Though this is dependent on the operating system and the connections type there are usually a dozen settings located in Windows registry capable of affecting the Internet and network performance. The program is capable of aiding both advanced and novice users in tweaking the related parameters of the TCP/IP protocol in Windows registry.

This tool makes use of advanced algorithms as well as the bandwidth’s delay product for finding the most ideal TCP window to be used for enhancing the particular connection speed. The TCP/IP optimizer has a provision for easy tuning for all the associated TCP/IP parameters and this includes RWIN, MTU and other advanced ones. All Windows versions are compatible with this program which is inclusive of additional tools like locating the largest packet size possible.

An improvement on TCP/IP performance guarantees high speeds and latency networks. The speed of all data transfers such as TCP is largely resolved through a line speed. The delay of data packets is referred to as RTT and this delay occurs every time the server is asked a question by the client computer until a response is received. With a TCP/IP optimizer, users can capitalize on their computer usage and make the most out of it.

Optimizing Internet Connection

markd — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:20:19 +0000

To achieve maximum performance from the computer, it is advisable that the internet connection be optimized. There are some ways that this can be achieved. A TCP Optimizer is a utility that may be downloaded from the Internet that effectively aids in the optimization of the internet connection. This can be done by selecting the “Optimal Settings” option and selecting the “Apply Changes” option so as to optimize the connection.

The optimization of the connection of the internet can be of essential benefit if it is carried out correctly. When the internet connection is tweaked, the amount of data that is received and sent will be defined and this will then help the user in knowing how to configure the system to accept the changes without the system and internet connection being slow. Although sometimes the optimizing can be negative with the desired results not being obtained or give drastic changes, it is one of the ways that improve the web browsing and downloads and this then makes it easier for work.

The main reason for altering the connection of the internet is because the internet may be slower than expected. When optimized carefully, the broadband speed increases and if it fails, the service provider may be alerted so that the problem may be rectified.

Verizon Internet Speed Test

markd — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:17:20 +0000

Verizon is the largest operators of the wireless network in the United States. They have in fact the largest mobile telecommunications network with 91.2 million customers. Verizon has been setting records regularly by having the second largest revenue in the wireless technology in the entire United States. Their speed test tools was created for their customers to check the connection status and the connection speed. This is to improve the customer satisfaction and making the company more reliable in terms of their service and reliability.

Verizon internet speed test is used to check the connectivity limitations while uploading and downloading the files when compared to both the performances of the server and the client. Verizon’s online tool analyzes and provides us the reason for the drawback of the speeds in the internet connectivity. The speed test measures the amount of data transferred from our computer to the internet with in a limited time period. It is the process known as throughput calculation, in this it calculates and finds how fast the system can send and receive the data from client to internet. Verizon internet speed test sends data in a randomly manner for every 10 seconds and calculates the upload and the download speed of the connection measuring the number of bits transferred with in the 10 sec.

Throughput value that is calculated varies on many factors like the type of the cable used to provide the connectivity or the condition of the cable, configuration of the client system or the server system from which data is requested, network congestion and the speed of the server. The Verizon speed test tool measures the time taken for the file transmission in milliseconds and the file size in Kbytes and the techniques used to test are not specific to the operating systems we use. All these tests are in support with the Java enables scripts. For our better understanding different speed test services available provide through different speed values to us when we work on them. This changes in the speed values depends on many factors and the different IP routes they implement. Different routes mean change in performance of the network and also depend on different work loads also. There are many philosophies that evaluate the measurement of the throughput. Many sites refer 1Kilo byte as 1024 bits per second but in implementation it shows as 1000 bits per second.

McAfee’s Internet Connection Speedometer

markd — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:14:43 +0000

McAfee is said to be one of the biggest developers of proactive secure systems from known and unknown system threats. It also provides the secure systems for the operating systems world wide, home users and for businesses. McAfee has developed a tool with which we can measure the speed / bandwidth. The speed can be measured for various connections irrespective of the speed of the connection we are using, the connection types can be like the Dial-up connections, ISDN or DSL connection. McAfee uses its speedometer to check the connectivity speed irrespective of the device or the technology we use to browse the internet.

There are many internet connections that vary from computer to computer and this variation depends on many factors that combine to generate the internet speed. McAfee uses a double testing strategy to check the connection speed. In this the speedometer will perform one or two tests on the client system to generate the actual report. Initially it will send the 150 KB file to the system and then it goes with the 600 KB, 1.5MB or 3MB files to check the throughput of the client system based on the file download and the upload time. Based on the time taken to download the file from server to the system the McAfee speedometer does a second test to calculate the accurate throughput value.

During test phase, McAfee’s internet connection speedometer provides the user with a snapshot of the test results. Such results may vary based on various factors. However, one can run the test and check results several times to determine accurate values of the internet speed. McAfee’s utility comes handy while surfing the internet to perform a speed test. This test is simply performed by just opening a new site or downloading a web page and users should not be bothered about the unnecessary files for using up the system resources as there is no impact of the unnecessary files on the system performance.

McAfee’s tool is indeed free and will help users check the throughput value of the internet speed. Resulting figures will help in making decisions such as whether to upgrade the package to a faster connection, change the service provider or check if there are any problems on own computer.

CNET Internet Speed Test

markd — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:06:11 +0000

Planning to take advantage of VOIP and other high speed net connections? CNET internet speed test is the one of the services offered by CNET to check the speed of the one’s online connection. Their bandwidth meter speed will check the bandwidth of the internet connection against the top quality DSL connection, cable modem and other broadband services. This speed test is limited to the United States and if any request is made to same server to check the connectivity speed other than United States the results many not be accurate.

Do any one aware what is a bandwidth meter? Bandwidth meter is the device that measures the capacity of the information carrier between the client system and the server system. Once the capacity of the data carrier is tested then the process is said to be initiated to check the internet speed. The process involves different phases while checking the connectivity speed. The CNET bandwidth meter will first download an image to the computer and the image size may vary from connection to connection. The file size of the image will determine the throughput of the connection speed. Once the throughput value is achieved the server will display the stats based on the connection speed and the maximum connection speed of the service provider.

The CNET Internet speed test many not provide us the accurate results because of many factors. The factors include the distance between the client and the CNET’s server, conducting other operations of server download at the time of the speed test, running many services that use the bandwidth while testing the speed, Quality of the cable we use and the environmental changes and while checking the speed connection with the use of 56kmodes, the speed of the 56k modem is regulated to 53k by the FCC. Many of the users perform this test to check the throughput value of the connection regularly from the services provided by the internet speed testers. Here they check the performance and they learn with curiosity to improve the performance of the connection when they check the speed for the next time.

Try out our free internet speed test here on testinternetspeed.org!

YouTube Bandwidth Costs

markd — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:37:14 +0000

While you may pay a good amount every month in order to connect to the internet, giants on the World Wide Web may be paying significantly less or even nothing at all. A recent report published by Arbor Network suggests that Youtube, in spite of sharing 100 billion videos throughout the globe every year, does not have to pay a single penny in bandwidth bills. This further suggests that the popular rumor that the internet morphs itself according to the user’s behavior may indeed ring true in some cases.

Google’s traffic has been observed as fast approaching as much as 10% of the total internet traffic in the world. This has probably given Google a significant advantage. It now has so much fiber optic cable at hand, that it is trading traffic with other ISP giants. This, in turn, is bringing down the expenses of Google. Craig Labovitz, Chief Scientist at Arbor, commented on the findings, saying, “I think Google’s transit costs are close to zero.”

This trend lends credibility to the concept that the way internet traffic is maintained is undergoing rapid evolution in recent years. In fact, top 30 websites on the internet, with Google in the lead, serve up around 30% of the total internet traffic. This serving may be done via data centers located at various places around the world, or via the website’s own fiber optic network.

A major portion of the internet was served by a total of around 30,000 servers in 2007. In 2009, as much as 50% of the internet was served by as few as 150 blocks of servers. This shows that the control over internet traffic is slowly being taken up by a handful of servers.

Lebovitz commented on the scenario, saying, “What we mean by the internet is changing and it’s happening really quickly. I was blown away to find out that one-tenth of the internet is going [to] or coming from Google.”

The majority of the blocks are from servers of Google and popular content-delivery networks, including Limelight and Akamai. These transfer content from server farms around the world to various websites, at rates far lower than what would be needed to self-host the same content.

Giants like Google may also start asking organizations like Comcast to connect the Google tubes directly with the smaller, localized ISP networks for a fee. That way, the users will be most benefited, since they will experience much faster download speeds on sites like YouTube, as well as faster browsing speed when conducting a Google search. Lebovitz added that the consumers would be most benefited, should an arrangement like that actually take place in future.

Don’t forget that if you need to perform an internet speed test, try out our free tool on homepage.

Speed up Windows 7 with ReadyBoost

markd — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:01:29 +0000

Did you ever use the ReadyBoost feature on Windows Vista? Remember how your otherwise sluggish rig with 512 MB RAM suddenly handled Vista a lot better, as soon as you plugged in that teensy-weensy little pen drive? ReadyBoost was one of the few points about Vista that was actually well-received by most users of that bug-ridden operating system. The feature dramatically increases the size of your hard disk cache, so that applications load a lot faster than before.

Now, Windows 7 is shipping with an improved version of the ReadyBoost feature that has been designed to provide your PC with a rather large shot of adrenaline, sending its performance level through the roof. If you have USB 2.0 ports in your motherboard, you can give your PC performance a substantial boost, without having to invest in pricey RAM.

In Windows Vista, the maximum amount of memory that ReadyBoost could handle was 4 GB. On the other hand, in Windows 7, it has raised to as much as 256 GB! The feature now also supports a maximum of 8 removable Flash drives, as opposed to just one in Windows Vista. The ReadyBoost feature has been completely revamped by Microsoft, and it’s the consumers who gain the benefits.

If you purchase Windows 7 and find your PC struggling to keep up with all the graphical details this operating system puts on your RAM, here’s what you can do:

Boot up your PC. When the operating system finishes loading (wait for the HDD diode to stop blinking repeatedly), plug in a removable Flash memory drive in one of the USB ports of your PC.
A dialog box named “Autoplay” will appear with a number of options. Select the tab named “General”.
Select the option that says, “Speed up my system”.
A Properties dialog box will show up. Click on the tab named “ReadyBoost”.
The tab will give you three options. The first one will allow you to turn ReadyBoost off, in case you are already using the feature. The second option will say “Dedicate this device to ReadyBoost”, and will use all remaining space on the drive. If you have any files in the drive, those will not be affected. The third one will let you decide how much available space on the drive you wish to use for ReadyBoost. Simply click on “Use this Device”, and adjust slider to decide the amount of space you wish to use on the drive.

That’s it. You’re done configuring ReadyBoost for your PC. Fire up a memory hungry application now, and see how well it runs.

Stop Windows 7 thumbnail animation preview

markd — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 08:38:56 +0000

Windows 7 has brought a truckload of graphical enhancements with it, which are sure to test the capabilities of your video card. One of the most notable features is the Thumbnail Animation Preview, visible when you minimize any window to the Taskbar. The feature shows a thumbnail preview of the window, which you have minimized, along with specific icons pertaining to the types of files stored in that particular folder.

The enhancement sure looks great, but it may seem a little awkward to users of previous versions of Windows operating system. If you think that you would rather not have the thumbnail animation enabled, you can turn it off any time you want. Disabling the option will also save some memory and processing power, so if your PC is not exactly a powerhouse, disabling previews will allow you to extract slightly better performance from it. Here’s how you can disable this feature from the Group Policy Editor:

Click on the Start button and select Search.
Type “gpedit.msc” (without the quotes) in the Search bar, and hit Enter.
When the window opens, click on User Configuration, and then on Administrative Templates.
Select the option Start Menu and Taskbar located in the left pane of the window.
Find the option “Turn off Taskbar Thumbnails”, now visible on the right pane of the Group Policy Editor window. Double click on this option.
Choose the option “Disable”.
Click on Apply, and then on OK.

Now close the Group Policy Editor window, and check out your Taskbar. You should find that the Thumbnails are not showing any longer. Another way of disabling thumbnail previews would be to disable the Aero theme in Windows 7. If that theme is disabled, thumbnails will not show up on the Taskbar at all.

Fortunately, Aero theme does not get enabled by default in Windows® 7. Only if your PC has the necessary hardware for Aero, it will be enabled by the operating system. Otherwise, if you select an Aero based theme for Windows 7, then the thumbnail previews will be enabled along with the theme.

Thumbnail Previews on Taskbar may look real nice, but do consume significant amount of system resources. If you have a moderately powerful PC that can barely run Windows 7 properly, then make sure that this feature is always kept disabled. Your PC may run a lot smoother, and handle applications better.

Password protect Internet Explorer 8

markd — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:38:34 +0000

Is your home PC used by a number of people in your family, especially kids? Then it might make sense to password protect internet access with a password. It is not always possible to monitor kids when they are happily clicking away. You can never be sure of what websites they are surfing through, until you check the web history, and by then it is usually too late. If you keep your internet browser protected with a password, you can at least be sure that your kids cannot browse the internet, unless it is under your supervision.

So, let’s see how you can password protect your Internet Explorer 8 (IE8), so that nobody can surf the internet unless they know the password. The process is not at all complicated. Here’s how you can get it done:

Run Internet Explorer.
On the top menu bar, click on Tools, and then on Internet Options.
Click on the tab named Content.
In the section named Content Advisor, click on the button named Enable.
A new pop up window will instruct you to enter the supervisor password. Enter the password in the field named Password. Then, enter the same password in the second field, named Confirm Password. Note that these two passwords have to be exactly the same. The passwords are also case sensitive, so make sure that the Caps Lock key on the keyboard is turned off.
You will see a box named Hint under the Confirm Password box. If you have entered a rather complex password, then it is a good idea to add a hint here that will help you remember the password in a jiffy. However, make sure that you do not enter the actual password in this field. Some users have been found to actually make that fatal mistake.
Click on the OK button when you are done.
Close the Internet Options box and restart IE8.

That’s all you have to do. Now, whenever attempts to connect to the internet from your PC, the browser will ask him/ her to enter the supervisor password. Without it, nobody will be able to browse the internet from your PC. One may argue that this won’t apply to other browsers in your system, but if you have only IE8 web browser in your PC, then this trick will work like a charm. Anyone trying to download another browser will also have to get it through IE only, anyway.

Fast internet connection has become a necessity

markd — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:14:30 +0000

In these days, having 24/7 access to a fast internet connection is something that many people cannot afford to live without. Sure, there was a time when most people accessed the internet via phone lines, at speeds of 56 kbps or less. Those times are over. Now, having at least a 256 kbps connection has become a standard, even in third world countries. For technologically advanced nations, 1 mbps is the bare minimum internet access speed required by most consumers.

Many people spend a lot of their time on the internet these days. Social networking websites attract a lot of internet traffic every day, indicating that these sites are getting more and more members with every passing day. Users like to share what they do each day with their friends, leading to the huge popularity enjoyed by websites like Facebook, Orkut, and of course Twitter. In fact, the last one has also gained quite good popularity as a business networking site, allowing thousands of business owners to reach a far greater fraction of their consumer base than was previously possible.

Online gaming has gained substantial popularity as well. Back in 1990-s, few users had an internet connection that was fast enough to support online gaming. Frame rates would lag as soon as 4-5 users joined a server, as packet switching technologies were not advanced enough. Today, thousands of players join servers of games like World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, Warhammer 40k, and Eve Online. Massively multiplayer online (MMO) games are being developed by the leading game development studios, in order to gain advantage of this new tendency among gamers from across the globe.

Some technologically advanced nations have understood the importance of having a high speed internet connection at home for their citizens. They are undertaking measures to make sure that their citizens have fast internet connectivity, 24/7. Recently, Finland even passed a national law declaring that no ISP in the country would have the right to provide internet connections slower than 1 mbps. This is certainly a major indication that even governments are beginning to take notice of the situation. Finnish Government has even predicted that the speed of connectivity may be increased to 100 mbps by 2015.

Finland is not the world’s first country to undertake such measures, and won’t remain so, either. A new era of lightning fast internet connectivity is coming up fast. Now all that remains is for nations to realize the importance of this service in the daily lives of their citizens.