At times, performance should be optimal, but the connection speed cannot be improved. Indeed, it appears that the connection has not been set up correctly for some reasons... and could therefore be enhanced.
Any expert will tell you this : the worse Internet slowdowns are not systematically a matter of a poor phone line quality... Sometimes, computers needs maintenance. To do that, you need to clean your computer regularly to get rid of viruses, spywares and adwares, especially if your operating system is Windows. You have to update your antivirus software as often as you can in order to eliminate the new viruses that appear every day.
Once you have set up a reliable antivirus, you will have to think about acquiring softwares which prevent you from being infested by spywares. Spywares are some malevolent programs which collect information on you and your habits. To send the informations to their « master », they use your bandwidth. As a consequence, your computer will trudge like a snail when you'll browse the Internet. From time to time, pop-up windows will appear on your screen, or even worse : you'll download unwillingly some other spywares. To fight against those creeps, go fetch an antispyware software.
The purpose of existence of adwares is ... advertisement. They sometimes provide some real services to users, but would you take the risk of leaving those programs on your computer, whereas they can launch pop-up windows, and provide informations about your browsing habits and... who knows ? Anyway, to prevent your computer from getting infected by spywares and adwares, many free specialized softwares for a home use do exist. It is highly recommended to scan your system from time to time in case there is any doubt about infection.
Your connection does not cause you any troubles but your speed is not regular, or some Internet pages cannot be displayed. You might need to consult your MTU. But what is MTU ? The Maximum Transmission Unit is the size of the largest packet that can be sent over a network. With a poor connection, more packets are lost and have to be transfered again from the source. To improve your connection, you can limit the size of the lost packets, so there will be less data to transfer for the source. To limit the size of the lost packets, you have to decrease the size of the Maximum Transmission Unit. If you happen to have a direct Internet connection which does not require a modem, the MTU can be adjusted on your computer. An easy way to do this is to use the free software TCP Optimizer which will automatically decrease the value of the MTU in your Windows registry. .
First of all, there's a thing that you ought to know : if you have an internet WIFI access rather your Broadband speed is less important than if you use an ethernet cable. This will also apply if you use a "USB" modem. The Internet connection slowness will be even more noticeable when you will play some online video games.
The Broadband boxes are updated automatically via the Internet connection
Do not switch the modem off during the operation
Firmwares are the programmable content of a hardware device. Thanks to a flash drive, you can update your modem : this procedure will ensure that the connection is optimal. Most of the time, the updates are made automatically, but sometimes you'll need to do it by yourself (information should be written in the user guide).
It is not recommended to use a telephone extension cable. Most of the time, it distorts the signal and consequently decrease the connection speed. It is also important to keep the telephone wire away from power lines. The current, while circulating down the cable, creates a magnetic field which alters signal.
Finally, it is highly recommended not to have more than 3 ADSL telephone filters at home, and not overlay, if possible, the telephone sockets. As a matter of facts, each new filter and appliance plugged affects the signal, which makes the Broadband speed decrease.
A halogen lamp, a ground heater, a vacuum cleaner... also play a role in the alteration of the signal. Keep them away from your modem and from the telephonic wires, the magnetic field would make your connection drop.
