Hello,

I have been having an issue with extremely slow web browsing for the
past couple weeks. I have contacted Charter's tech support a number of
times without any success. Initially they suggested that I may have
spyware but I assured them that I do not have spyware. I run Windows
Defender, Ad-aware, and spy-bot. None of which report any issues. I
have also connected a differenct PC to my cable modem and had the same
issue. I really don't think this is a PC issue. The strange thing is
that when I run a speed test it checks out fine. It's just browsing
that is verrrrry slow, especially if there ar graphics on the page. I
tried swapping the cable modem and had the same result. I also tried
manually entering DNS addresses in order to bypass Charters DNS servers
and this did not work either. I'm not sure where to go from here. This
is extremely frustrating as Charter is the only "high-speed" Internet
provider in my area. Any ideas? Thanks for the help!!

Raul

raul.s3@gmail.com wrote:
What browser are you using? If you use more than one browser, do you have
the same problem in them all?

If you're using Internet Explorer, try this:
1. Close all Internet Explorer windows.
2. Go to Control Panel > Internet Options, and delete all Temporary
Internet files.
(If you just go to Tools > Internet Options within IE, it won't delete the
Temporary Internet files currently in use by the browser. Always go to
Internet Options through the Control Panel.)
3. In the Temporary Internet Files section, go to Settings
4. Don't set the space available for the Temporary Internet files to be
more than 60-80MB. Bigger than that and the browser takes too long to
search the caches.
5. Press the View Objects button. Pull down Edit > View, and if you
don't have it set to Details, set it to Details.
6. Note the status of the items listed. Delete any that are damaged.
7. Note what objects are there. Are there any that don't look familiar?
Google them to see what they're about, and delete any extraneous objects.

Something else that can affect your browser's speed are settings on
anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. How many of these programs do you
have installed? How many are trying to scan everything you're downloading?
If your browsing habits take you to sites where live virus and malicious
spyware are a problem, perhaps you may need a lot of redundant
protections, and a speed hit is desirable compared to the dangers. But if
you're regularly doing full scans, and are browsing only to safe sites,
you may want to consider your protection choices. Multiple anti-virus
programs can cause problems just by being installed on a single machine,
even if the automatic settings are turned to off.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.

Power Lawncare Tools for Spring Clean-up:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blackanddecker/

Warren wrote:
I'm using Win XP Pro SP2 with IE7. I was using IE6 when the problem
began. I upgraded to IE7 thinking that the browser was having problems.
I have also tried Firefox. Every browser has the same issue. I also
tried a different computer, running a W2K and IE6. Same problem.

I regularly delete all of my temp files.

I use AVG free for AV, and I use Microsoft Defender for Anti-spyware

I don't browse to any unsafe sites. I have very basic browsing habbits.
I rarely download anything as I am very aware of the dangers that lurk
on the Internet. I ran a netstat -a and there are no established
connections. So I really don't think this is a trojan issue. My PC is
clean as far as I can tell.

I'm actually thinking this may be a routing issue on Charter's side.
Any other ideas?

Thanks for the help Warren!

Raul

raul.s3@gmail.com wrote:
I've also been getting rough connections. It is very intermittent. The
bandwidth tests have only gone as low as 1.3 (I have the 3mb
srvc)...but I swear it's worse than that. I'm not even sure it's a
speed issue as much as a load issue or routing issue...it -seems- to
have started after a phone calling asking if I wanted to upgrade to the
5mb speed. I'm in Michigan if that makes a difference. No spyware,
viruses, etc.

I live in Long Beach, CA in a area too far away to be reached by DSL.

Charter has a monopoly in all things broadband and cable in my area and
is indifferent to customer problems.

They charge $49.95 per month for a supposed 5Meg connection but the
best I've ever tested was 1.2Meg. Usually I am connecting below 500Kb.

Charter claims that the problem is with my firewall or with my spyware
or with my IE internet security settings or with my router but not once
do they admit that the problem is with their network loop which is
overburdened with large numbers of subscribers using telephone, TV and
broadband all over the same cable line loop.

These are the results of the monopoly that the City of Long Beach
awarded to this company. Verizon will soon be installing FIOS
fiberoptic in my area and I will be their first customer.