6 Proven Tricks To Increase Your Internet Speed

Is you internet speed too slow?

Can't even download a 100 MB file in 1 day, can you?

OK..OK... Maybe you just want to increase your internet speed a little bit more than what you are getting now, right?

Internet speed is similar to a computer's speed in many ways. A shiny new computer runs very fast, but as it gets old, it gets a layer of dust on it, its temporary folders gets filled up with junk and at last - gets slow.

Similarly your internet connection gets a layer of dust on it. All you need to boost your internet speed is to shake off that layer of dust, alter settings here and there, clear up the unwanted junk and you will get a fresh new internet connection at no cost!

[Don't miss: How To Troubleshoot Common Internet Problems]

Let us see what you can do with your slow internet connection and how you can increase your internet speed  like a rocket!

How To Increase Internet Speed

1. Choose a better ISP

ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. It is the company which offers you a internet connection at a monthly or annual cost on the basis of data usage or connection period. In layman terms, ISP is the company who provides you an internet connection, like in India we have BSNL, Vodafone, Reliance and all other major mobile services.

Each ISP has its own technology for providing an internet connection and so they may be a difference in their  internet speed. 

Even for same type of connection, some of the ISPs have a better network and so they provide more speed than those with poor network. Taking an example of dial-up connection here, in India it shows 236.8 Kbps connection speed whenever we connect any major ISPs dial-up connection. 

But it is my own experience that some of the poor networks lag very behind when it comes to downloading speed. 2 weeks ago I decided to switch to a new ISP which provided dial-up connection at very low cost. But within 2 weeks I was totally fed up of the internet speed they provided.

So I switched back to my original ISP and I am happy once again.

The point to be noted is that both the connections showed a speed of '236.8 kbps' but there was a huge difference in the real speed.

If you are unhappy with your slow internet speed then maybe it is because of the poor service provided by your ISP. Switch to some other well know and more preferred ISP. Sometimes it may increase your monthly charges but at least you would be able increase your internet speed!

2. Clear unwanted internet junk to increase internet speed.

Some temporary internet files are stored within your computer which are supposed to increase your internet speed while surfing through those sites again. But when excess of those temporary files get stored on your computer, they can actually slow down your internet speed. 

Once in a week, you should clear your browser's cache, flush your DNS cache and clear your browser's history too. This will give a slight boost to your internet speed.

Flushing your DNS cache:

Open command prompt and give the following command:

ipconfig /flushdns

How to clear a web browser's cache and browsing history:

Google Chrome: Open Tools > Clear Browsing History

Mozilla Firefox: Open Tools > Clear Recent History

Internet Explorer: Open Tools > Delete Recent History (For newer versions of Internet Explorer)

3. Switch to public DNS servers

The first question in your mind would be - What is a DNS server?

The answer - A DNS server converts the web address entered by you into its  IP adress. Like if you type www.google.com into the address bar of your web browser, it gets converted into 74.125.143.106. All the data required for this are stored in DNS servers.

Different ISPs may use different DNS servers. Sometimes due to poor performance by these servers, you may end up with a slow internet connection or lots of errors.

There are 2 great DNS servers that are available free of cost to public, OpenDNS and Google Public DNS. I have tried both of them and it is my conclusion that both of them help you inincreasing your internet speed.

Here is how to change your DNS server settings in Windows XP:

Open your connection properties > Networking Tab

Select 'Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)'

Select 'Use the following DNS server addresses' and enter the following 2 addresses to use OpenDNS and Google DNS respectively:

1. OpenDNS: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220

2. Google DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

I use Google DNS as you can see in my screenshot and it does boost my DNS lookup process a bit.

4. Try a different faster web browser

Google Chrome is considered to be the fastest web browser today. But at times, you may notice better results with Firefox or Opera. Earlier I had prepared a list of top 3 web browsers which can help you choose a better and faster alternative to your current web browser.

Also if you are using Mozilla Firefox, then you can use some tricks mentioned in this post to increase your internet speed in Firefox and if you use Chrome, then I have some moretricks for you to increase your internet speed with Chrome here.

By the way...I suppose you are not using Internet Explorer, are you?

5. Block unwanted ads to boost your internet speed

Here is a bonus trick from my side. Have you seen a lot of useless ads running on many sites? Some of the sites are just full of ads!

And your mind has already grown uninterested towards those ads right? So all those ads do is waste your data usage and your precious time, right?

So why not block them? Here is how to block unwanted ads and boost your internet speed.

6. Upgrade to a different type of internet connection

If you are unhappy with your current connection type, then you can also upgrade your internet connection for a most costly but better connectivity.

Dial-up users can give a try with broadband connection and so on.

I know this might prove costly but if you are really fed up of slow internet and want a really really faster internet connection, then maybe paying some extra money is the best choice.

Hmm... Maybe I missed something?

Did I miss any other alterations or tricks? Do YOU have any of your special techniques to increase internet speed?

Then do comment and let me know!

And yes! Do let me know if these tricks helped you, OK?