Your Internet Might Not Be as Fast as You Think. How to Find Out

April 26, 2023 Floo

We’ve all seen the tell-tale signs of an internet connection that’s struggling to keep up. Maybe your latest round of Warzone was lagging, or Disney Plus keeps buffering while you’re trying to binge The Mandalorian. The next time you find your home internet connection getting in the way of your good time, take a few minutes to troubleshoot it. A good place to start is by checking your internet speed.

Amplifying any perceived connection issues from your internet service provider is that many of us are still working remotely, at least part of the time. Combine that with your roommates or fellow family members all working, schooling, playing games and streaming videos, and your internet speed can start to falter.

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The fix may be as simple as restarting your modem and router — which should always be your first step — or upgrading to a mesh network as a last resort. Below, we’ll show you how to check your internet connection’s speed and offer advice when it comes time to troubleshoot.

Run a speed test on your computer, phone or tablet

There are plenty of apps and websites that will test the speed of your connection. Some more popular speed test services include Speedtest.net, Fast.com or CloudFlare.

Whether you install an app or use a website, it’s a good idea to run the test a few times to get a sense of your connection’s performance. Each test will take under a minute to complete, offering the download and upload speed results.

The Federal Communications Commission published a guideline for household broadband speeds based on the number of devices and people connected to the same network. Basic service ranges from 3 megabits per second to 8Mbps and will be good enough for light usage (browsing, email, video calls, streaming HD video, etc.). Medium service is classified as 12-25Mbps and is best for up to three users or devices simultaneously, with medium to high usage depending on the activity. Finally, advanced service is any connection speed over 25Mbps and is best suited for those with more than four users or devices using the connection at the same time for more than light usage.

Your internet connection’s speed will vary based on the time of day, the number of devices connected and in use, and other factors. I suggest running multiple speed tests for a day or two, tracking the results, to gauge your connection’s true speed.

(For our tech-savvy readers, you can use a Raspberry Pi to run speed tests on a set schedule and upload the results to Google Drive for you to monitor by following this handy guide.)

Ideally, you’d connect your computer directly to your ISP’s modem with an ethernet cable to run a speed test,

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T-Mobile may perhaps have to cease contacting its Dwelling Web community ‘fast’ and ‘reliable’ quickly

February 25, 2023 Floo

A cell community operator first and foremost (and a really preferred just one at that), T-Cell got included in the house internet war reasonably just lately, seemingly putting extra and more economical and promotion exertion into tough industry heavyweights like Comcast, Constitution, and Verizon around the final couple of months.

The “Un-carrier’s” aptly named and quickly-escalating Property World-wide-web provider would make some massive guarantees inspite of its ultra-reduced price tag level, and although anecdotally lots of of its 1 million+ clients surface to be mainly content with how the community delivers out in the true environment, the Nationwide Advertising and marketing Division is having a stand against a quantity of claims characterised as insufficiently supported by difficult, aim proof.

In case you never know what we’re talking about listed here, this is an independent section of the BBB Nationwide Plans firm tasked with assessing the real truth and precision of nationwide marketing, as properly as settling disputes amongst companies… like Comcast and T-Cell.

What particularly did T-Cellular do improper?

In the NAD’s view, rather a few factors are not proper in some of T-Mo’s recent Residence World wide web marketing and advertising components, with the greatest and arguably most crucial place of rivalry relating to the network’s speeds.

Whilst it would seem not possible to contest that some “T-Hint” customers can get blazing quickly support in the comfort of their properties, the evidence is not “ample” to conclude that all clients have accessibility to “speeds previously mentioned the Federal Communications Commission’s specifications for higher-velocity broadband online.”

As this kind of, T-Mobile could want to either fall the “rapidly” and “significant-speed” marketing labels for its Household World wide web network completely or include a collection of disclaimers and apparent warnings of the important discrepancies that can be expert from area to region and from purchaser to consumer.

Community dependability is yet another make a difference where by the Nationwide Promoting Division ruled towards Magenta, locating no “fair basis to assist” the concept that T-Trace end users could “keep a trustworthy online relationship” at all moments and “continuously” squeeze “quick speeds and service without having disruption.”

In this case, the suggestion is crystal very clear and you will find no center floor that T-Mobile can stroll with warnings, explanations, and asterisks. The NAD would like the “Un-provider” to end calling its Household Web support “trusted”, as that can deliver a baffling or outright misleading message to potential new adopters of the network.

So what transpires now?

Though we will not have a crystal ball to clearly show us what the long term holds, the easiest and most secure-to-predict remedy is… not a great deal. Which is due to the fact these selections are not last, and as normally, T-Mo is intent to request a reversal of “areas” of the NAD’s most recent ruling with an attraction to the National Advertising Critique Board (NARB).

Even if the firm’s “guilt” will stand right after the completion of claimed appeals process, these non-income businesses

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Fast examine to see if another person is spying on your laptop

April 25, 2022 Floo

We all know the feeling. You are scrolling by means of your cellphone, and there it is. An advert that you can tie back to a current discussion with a friend. Faucet or simply click in this article for simple actions to make advertisers end monitoring you.

Terrible behaviors could spill even extra of your secrets and techniques. If you go the effortless route and use your Facebook or Google account to log in to other web-sites and apps, knock it off. Faucet or click below to see how significantly of your knowledge Big Tech and other people are obtaining freely.

Probably it is not advertisers or Significant Tech monitoring. Here’s a check to see if there’s anything quite sinister likely on — a copy of everything you do on your Computer system or Mac is getting gathered and sent to who is aware of who.

1. Look at the Job Manager or Activity Check

Malware arrives in numerous varieties that normally behave in different ways. Some are not possible to skip — like ransomware — and other folks retain a reduced profile.

Spy ware is refined in comparison to other kinds of malware. It hides in your program, trying to keep observe of each and every password you form, each and every video simply call you make, and every e mail you mail.

Although these pieces of software package are sneaky, they do go away behind breadcrumbs. Your first prevent is the Process Manager if you are on a Windows Computer or your Exercise Check on a Mac. Both give you an overview of everything taking place on your device.

Computer buyers: Follow these methods

Open up the Activity Manager by hitting Ctrl + Change + Esc. Underneath the Procedures tab, you will see the apps and background processes working on your Personal computer.

Glimpse by means of the checklist. If you see a title you really don’t figure out, do a search to see what turns up. In some cases, these systems and track record processes are genuine and of no worry, even if you never know the title at to start with look.

To shut out an app or system, ideal-click and hit Close task.

Mac customers: Observe these ways

To open the Action Observe, strike Command + Spacebar to open Highlight Lookup. Then, style Activity Check and press Enter. Verify in excess of the listing for anything at all you don’t identify.

To near out a system or method, double click on, then strike Stop.

Hear UP: Adware can be planted by a hacker, a jealous ex, a relative, or even your boss. In this podcast episode, I dive into how “bossware” works and everything your place of work might know about you and your tech behaviors.

2. Know what to be expecting

A single telltale indicator of a malware infection? Processes start off on their very own. Don’t write it off if an application launches alone out of the

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