If you suffer from slow Web connection, here are a few Internet accelerators which can solve this problem. All of them require no new hardware and work with any low-speed Internet connection, including dial-up, ISDN, iDSL, DSL, and wireless.
They're more than just downloadable utilities. They're services which use collections of strategically deployed servers that allow to greatly reduce the amount of data transmitted to your PC and, consequently, the time it takes to download a Web page.
NetZero HiSpeed
NetZero is a popular Internet Service Provider (ISP) offering low-cost ($9.95/month) unlimited dial-up Internet access and
free Internet access - 10 hours/month (more info...).
They also offer a dial-up Internet accelerator NetZero HiSpeed
which includes their standard access and accelerates it by up to 5 times with no additional equipment.
NetZero HiSpeed accelerates Web page text and graphics. Secure or encrypted Web pages, streaming audio/video, digital photographs, MP3 or other music files, executable files and other downloads will not be accelerated.
How it works
NetZero HiSpeed is not a broadband service and actual data transmission rates are not faster than standard dial-up Internet service. Like the other Internet accelerators, it uses the following methods of acceleration...
- Data compression
NetZero HiSpeed Internet accelerator compresses the text and graphics that make up Web pages before they get sent to you over your phone line. - Cashing
NetZero HiSpeed caches elements of frequently visited Web sites so they load faster on future visits. Your surfing will get faster as you continue to use this dial-up Internet accelerator. - Faster connection to websites
It optimizes the communication between your system's modem and NetZero's network while you are online to shorten the amount of time it takes to connect you to the sites you visit. - Pop-up blocking
This dial-up Internet accelerator includes a pop-up blocker, which means that you don't have to wait for pop-up ads to load.
If broadband connection isn't available or you need Internet access when you travel,
NetZero HiSpeed is a good solution
combining low-cost dial-up Internet connection and thousands of access numbers nationwide with
efficient acceleration.
ONSPEED
This Internet accelerator allows to increase any existing Internet connection speed by up to 10 times. It's a simple software download which works with PC and MAC and speeds up:
- Dial up x 10 times
- GPRS and GSM x 10 times
- Broadband (300k and under) x 5 times
ONSPEED accelerates Web page access and email traffic (IMAP, POP3 and SMTP), but doesn't currently accelerate file downloads such as music files, streaming audio/video and HTTPS (secure websites). Additionally, it includes pop-up and banner-ad blockers.
You should pay a small fee in order to speed up your connection. ONSPEED costs £24.99 / $49.99 per year. In case you are not satisfied with your new connection speed, they offer a 14 day unconditional money back guarantee.
How it works
ONSPEED has its own network of servers. The maximum emphasis is placed on efficient text and image compression. They use several patented and proprietary algorithms that greatly compress Web pages and e-mail messages. For all text parts of a Web page or e-mail (html, text, javascript, style sheets, etc.) this compression is lossless.
For pictures and other graphic images, the proprietary compression algorithms strip out the redundant colors and pixels to reduce the size of the image. There are 4 settings of speed/image quality. By playing with these settings you can find the best compromise between quality and speed. For example, you can choose to receive a little less speed improvement and improve the image quality. Additionally, it uses background image loading to ensure text loads up first.
Free Internet accelerators
You can also find a lot of tools designed to optimize Windows configuration settings that affect your network and Internet connection speed. The standard Windows settings for many of the parameters controlling online performance are in most cases not optimized for your particular Internet connection and prevent you from reaching maximum download and upload speeds.
Generally, you can expect to achieve an improvement in the region of around 15-30%. It depends on your line quality, connection type and the performance of your provider.
Here are two free Windows Internet accelerators...
- Ashampoo Internet Accelerator (select it from Quickfinder drop-down menu)
- SpeedGuide TCP Optimizer
These fast and free Internet accelerators work fine wherever there's a phone line and are a good alternative to DSL and other broadband solutions which are expensive and not yet available everywhere.
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