Hi guys, wonder if you could offer your advice on something. Windows 8 is great, works fine and browsing is nice and fast. However, my download speed has reduced from like 1.5MB/s down to 400KB/s. Its not my ISP as I have checked with them, and its only after the Windows8 install. I've noticed that the Wi-Fi light on my laptop has been constantly on since the install, like its downloading in the background.. Whats going on, and how can I disable it from chugging away and stealing my bandwidth?

cheers

Chris

There are several apps that access the internet within windows 8. Check Task Manager (Cntrl+Alt+Del) and see what apps you have running then you can determine which ones access the internet and either stop them or disable them. Be careful though some might be needed for Win 8 to keep working! Maybe just try stopping them so as to eliminate the ones that are causing the problem.

Hope that helps

I use a little app called What's In Startup for checking just that. This little app is great for seeing, then either disabling or deleting start up items.

It sure does sound like something is running and perhaps phoning home. Viruses are also know to slow things way down. You might try to download, install and run MalwareBytes Antimalware.

Besides that.... every OS has a set group of parameters, (up to 77) that all have to be set, just so....in order to optimize your download speed.

Over the years I've tried several programs that claim to be able to Optimize your download speed. Most of them failed miserably to make any measurable difference.

However, just this year I finally found one program that does work. It's "AVG Tune-Up".
I used it to optimize my own download speed and it made a huge difference.

Then to add even more speed, I use the "Internet Download Manager", (IDM)
My typical download speed, without IDM is around 65 kbps. And WITH IDM, it's around 680 kbps.




But to see what's going on with your Wi-Fi, open the control panel for your Wi-Fi connections and see if it's actually downloading data and how much.

Are you running any Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware software? How about any other programs that get auto updates?
Windows update? (that's a biggie!)
Just eliminate all the possibilities, one at a time.

Good Luck,
TechnoMage

Thanks for your help guys! - hmm well I've checked task manager and nothing is officially using the bandwidth, gonna get mean with some anti-malware and see what happens!

Flushing your router may help also. The simplest way to do this is to remove the power from the router, leave it unplugged for at least a minute. If you have a cable modem & wireless router, do the cable modem 1st, the wireless router 2nd.

Whenever I notice my download speeds to begin to slow, that's what I do & it works (most of the time). You can also check your speed at SpeedTest.net.

Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test



Here's mine. I'm getting what I'm paying for. It meets my needs just fine.

Cat

I wonder if flushing the DNS cache might help. This can be done manually using this method.

Also the DNS cache is flushed with each reboot.

I noticed that CCleaner has this option, & Ted's post above made me aware of what it's for.

Being that I normally run CCleaner before shutting down, or anytime after making a financial transaction of any type, I've checked for the option to run.

Thanks Ted, for bring this to our attention. We learn something new each day.

Cat

Thanks Ted, I've tried that but looks like my Wi-Fi is still working overtime! - I've had a friend contact me who is having the same problem on his tablet PC, so may be an unresolved bug with the W8 preview version..

One thing that shouldn't be overlooked, is to make sure that your wireless router is accessed by a strong password, to prevent freeloaders from using your wi-fi. I realize this most users does this, but sometimes it's overlooked, or if the ISP set up the router, they often use easy to guess passwords.

Such as your phone number or last name, or even the name of the router itself. Make sure that your connection is protected by WPA2, that's the gold standard of today's wireless routers. Along with a complex password that a casual freeloader will have trouble guessing.

Just making sure that this isn't your issue. Sometimes the simple is overlooked.

Cat