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Never forget to check broadband speed as you may find you are paying for what you cannot use.

If you are paying for a top of the line broadband connection with all the bells and whistles but your computer is as old as your first Oasis c.d. single then you will probably find that you are not making the best use of your broadband package. Most old PCs are not able to keep up with the broadband revolution and it's worth investing in a hardware upgrade to make the most of the internet speeds you are paying for.

But what if, on the other hand, you have the most fandangled PC that money can buy, all your friends are jealous, your wallet is lighter but yet this finely tuned piece of engineering mastery, when you check your connection, is still pretty slow. Then, you want to look at these things:

Your browser settings

Ok now, we know it's easy to ignore all those updates your PC is always telling you that it needs but seriously, if you are still using Internet Explorer 6 then get with the updating straight away. Microsoft's latest version is Internet Explorer 7 and most web pages are optimised for it. Using an older version will slow you down.

Alternatively you could try changing to Opera or Mozilla Firefox. They are long-time geek favourites but both are quickly becoming common in the workplace and family PC's too.

How far from the exchange are you?

Your superfast connection will be impacted by how close to the exchange you are. The further you are the slower your speeds. A faster broadband package will give you better speeds but you will always be effected by your distance from the exchange. If this is the case you should talk to your ISP about ways to boost your connection. Don't worry, there are ways.

Your router

Make sure there are as few walls, cupboards, ceilings and large objects as possible between your PC and Router. Much as we love wifi, the more objects that block the signal the slower your connection will be. If you have no choice but to have the router in the basement when your PC is in the penthouse then buying a longer aerial will boost he signal by 30-50%. A standard aerial is 2dBi but you can buy ones up to 9dBi.

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