Certain circumstances--including natural occurrences and technical and software malfunctions--can affect the speed of your Internet connection. The seven possible causes enumerated here are some of the most common.
Software Problems
When you visit websites, your browser collects information, such as passwords, usernames and even information about the types of content you read on the website. The information collected is stored on your local hard drive in a file known as a cookie. Over time, these cookies can compromise the speed of your Internet connection, particularly if you visit many websites during a browsing session. Deleting cookies, along with your browsing history, at least once a week will solve the problem of cookies compromising the speed of your Internet connection.
Unavoidable Natural Circumstances
Sometimes the weather can affect the speed of your Internet connection. Although you may be tempted to find the latest weather information on the Internet in the middle of a storm, stormy weather in and of itself, and high traffic on the Internet in your area, can cause your browsing speed to be slower than normal due to the amount of users exceeding the amount of bandwidth available on the network.
Technological Circumstances
Sometimes your Internet Service Provider performs maintenance work on the communication lines and equipment in your area, which can compromise the speed of your connection to the Internet. Upgrades and maintenance are usually short-tern nuisances.
Too Many Connections
Your Internet Service Provider is allocated a certain amount of bandwidth. Of the many connections accessing the ISP at any given time, the amount of bandwidth must be allocated among all of the incoming and outgoing connections. Extremely high volumes of connections can affect the speed of your own Internet connection.
Malware, Spyware and Viruses
Sometimes the files you download from the Internet, especially those from a peer-to-peer network, can contain harmful software that can slow your Internet connection, as well as your entire computer. Enable real-time protection, as well as automatic updates on all of your spyware and virus scanning programs, so a vast majority of these types of infections can be detected and removed immediately.
Placement of Modems and Routers
Modems and routers placed on top of your PC tower, near an electrical outlet, or next to wires (including networking, telephone line and cable lines) can sometimes cause the speed of your Internet connection to be slow.