Boost your Internet Connection in 2 minutes
I just came across a great little utility today, and am amazed I’ve not heard about it before now. Its called TCP Optimizer, and it’s greatly boosted my download speeds.
Why You Should Care
If you have a “broadband” connection, but it still crawls, or if your ISP advertises 2Mbps downloads but your *local* speed tester shows more like 900kbps, or if you just wish things would download faster, then TCP Optimizer can make you a happy little surfer. Now I’m sure you’ve seen annoying pop-up ads before telling you “your connection is slow, speed it up here!” or something to that effect; I know I have, and I also know they’ve made me skeptical of any free “speed improving” product. However, you needn’t worry my friends, for this little freeware util. is virus free and spyware free. Best of all, it really does work!
The Skinny
On most all Windows OSs (even XP) the network settings are configured for low-speed connections and devices. This increases dial-up speeds, but can greatly slow our superior broadband connections. TCP Optimizer works by tuning your TCP/IP parameters in the registry, mainly the networking related buffers, increasing your connection speed by as much as 200%.
The Simple Setup
TCP Optimizer is set up so that complete novices and power users alike can enjoy a faster connection. For novice users:
- Simply download the program, run it (theres no installation), and for safety’s sake, click “File” > “Backup current settings” and save it somewhere. This will let you go back to your default settings just in case.
- Set the slider to the speed your ISP advertises in kbps (kilo-bits, not kilo-Bytes!).
- Choose your Network Adapter, or check to “Modify All Network Adapters”.
- Choose the “Optimal settings” radio-button near the bottom of the program and click “Apply changes”. Reboot when prompted by the program.
Thats all there is to it! Now don’t get snarky and set the slider to more than your reported speed, as it may actually lower your rate. For power users, there are options for setting your MTU (it will even calculate the largest unfragmented MTU size for you!), maximum connections per server, QoS, TOS, DNS error caching, and multiple-site latency. Now if thats all mumbo-jumbo to you, just use the novice steps above and you’ll be humming along in seconds.
Compatibility and Concerns
I suppose you’re now wondering what the downside to this is. Well… there are none. Seriously! Lets address some concerns you may have, and whether or not it will work on your system.
This program doesn’t slow your computer down, because it changes the settings then doesn’t run again. The settings stay through reboots, and you never have to run it after the first time. In fact, you could delete it once you’ve tweaked your connection if you wish, bud it’d keep it around, as you may want to change your settings in the future.
TCP Optimizer doesn’t install anything, and you can revert to the default windows settings with a simple click of a button. It works behind routers and firewalls, and supports Dial-up, Cable, DSL, 1 and 2-way Satellite, and T1.
Supported OSs include: Windows 95, 98/98se, ME, 2000 pro/server, XP home/pro/sp2, and 2003 server.
All in all, I cannot think of a single reason not to use this wonderful utility. It does exactly what I need it to, does it very well, and is as unobtrusive as you can get. I think everyone with a windows computer should use it to get their computer’s internet connection running at peak performance. Try it for yourself. I guarantee you wont look back. Do a couple speed tests at your favorite testing site, I strongly recommend speedtest.net, use TCP Optimizer as explained above, reboot, and try the same speed test again. I bet you’ll soon be telling all of your friends about it too!
For more information on TCP Optimizerview the documentation, and check out the FAQ.
Update: Speeding up BitTorrent Downloads
If you want to further speed up BitTorrent downloads, I strongly suggest you read these three great articles at TorrentFreak.com:
Speed Up Your Torrents
Speed Up Bitcomet and uTorrent
Speed Up Your Torrents II
