Why Is My Internet Suddenly So Slow?

#1. Is your router’s power-saving mode turned on?

Most routers come with an in-built power saving system. Some of them even have them turned on by default. The main goal of a power saving system is to save a few miliwatts. But unfortunately, this results in a significant reduction of bandwidth.

Hence, it’s advisable to turn off your router’s power saving mode as soon as possible to amp up your network speed.

#2. Poor location choice

Most business workplaces prefer to hide their router from plain view. They do it for a handful of reasons that might be related to workplace aesthetics to curbing WiFi misuses.

You must remember that poor location choice might result in a significant loss of bandwidth resulting in slow WiFi speeds. For example, if you place your WiFi router underneath the stairs, it might slow your WiFi down to a crawl.

Your router should always be out in the open and should preferably be in a central location. Do not keep your WiFi routers near a water-enclosed container because it will result in significant signal blockage. Keeping it in the open is the only solution.

#3. Poor antenna designs

Weak antenna designs can be one of the main culprits behind significant loss of WiFi speeds. Your router’s WiFi can really be the culprit that we are talking about right here.

There’s not all bad news though. You have an ace solution up your sleeve especially when this problem is concerned which is nothing but a replacement. You can actually replace the built-in antenna of your router with an upgraded and more powerful antenna available in the market.

It’s a bit of a hassle but it is definitely worth it. Go for it and you’ll definitely notice the improvements in your WiFi speeds in almost no time.

#4. Your CPU signals might affect your WiFi signals significantly

Most CPUs these days work in the Gigahertz spectrum. Remember that your WiFi transmitter’s picking up that noise at every instant of its functionality.

The higher the noise is, the more likely it’ll be for your router to lower its bandwidth value. The entire process is not within your control. The process of lowering down router bandwidth is fully automatic. So what can you do curb the issue?

Try to keep your router as far away as possible from your working PC or laptop. Once you do it, you are bound to notice the rise in your router bandwidth in almost no time.

#5. Check the number of devices connected to the router

The number of WiFi devices connected to the router at the same time plays a big role in affecting its performance. If it’s too many, it almost goes without saying that you’ll notice a significant drop in your WiFi speeds because of performance load issues.

So you must know about these devices* that are working on your wireless network and you should also do your best to reduce the load especially during your peak business hours.

*Note: These so-called wireless devices include things like smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs but that’s not the complete set. Don’t forget about your smart TVs and wireless printers (if any) because they are also working on the same network ad can actually slow your WiFi down to a crawl.  

#6. Old firmware or driver

Old firmware or driver issues are a common problem that’s overlooked by many business organizations. Ensure that you don’t make the same mistake as they do.

Check your router’s firmware from time to time. Is there any latest update available in the market? If the answer’s “yes,” go for it without further ado. The new firmware is more than capable of boosting your WiFi speeds in the best possible way.

You should also know that most of these driver updates are available for free in the market. So stop procrastinating and get updating. You will definitely benefit yourself in the long run.

#7. Is your router using a crowded transmission channel?

Your router’s designed to use the least crowded transmission channel by default. But sometimes manual selection is considered more important over automatic selection and the same thing is applicable in this case.

If your router’s transmitting data over a crowded channel, its bandwidth is bound to bog down to the level of minimum in almost no time. Hence, the checking isn’t just important; it’s MIGHTY important.

You can use certain tools to your benefit especially when the question of finding out the right transmission channel is concerned. One such tool is InSSIDer.

With the help of this tool, you will be able to know about the details of your workplace WiFi spectrum and the channels that are the most crowded of the lot. If you find that your current channel is crowded enough, consider changing to a sparse one ASAP.

#8. Last but not the least, there’s the problem of interferences

Many common workplace devices can significantly affect the performance of your WiFi router.

Like CPU signals (mentioned above), other devices like microwave ovens, gaming systems, cordless phones as well as Bluetooth headsets can significantly interfere with WiFi signals and are more than capable of bringing your WiFi speed down to a crawl.

Many workplaces have these devices in place for the benefit of their employees. If your business workplace has even one of the aforementioned devices in place, consider placing your WiFi router as far away as possible from the very same device.

Conclusion

So that’s it then. You can very well see the ways through which you can turn this problem into a part of the solution with systematic research along with a bit of common sense. Otherwise, there’s always the proven, tried and tested universal solution. Get a brand new router and every problem will disappear on its own. So what are you going to do? The answer rests with you.

Why Is Wi-Fi Coverage So Bad in My House, and How Can I Fix It?

Top 10 Ways to Boost Your Home Wi-Fi

4 Reasons Why Your Wi-Fi Is So Slow (And How to Fix Them)

5 surprising things that can slow down your Wi-Fi internet speed

Turn Your Old Router into a Range-Boosting Wi-Fi Repeater

If you're upgrading to a faster, stronger wireless router, don't chuck your older Wi-Fi box. With the magic of DD-WRT, you can turn your older wireless router into a range-expanding Wi-Fi repeater to cover everywhere you need a connection.

The advent of wireless home networks grew slowly in the past decade, but reached the point at which nearly every home with a high-speed connection had a wireless router that shared Wi-Fi connections throughout the home. Now Wireless N has become the standard at electronics retailers, promising faster connectivity with your wireless devices, faster transfer and streaming speeds between devices, and better connectivity. So what's to be done with your home's first wireless router?

Our suggestion is to install the open-source DD-WRT firmware on your router and turn it into a repeater for your main router, expanding your Wi-Fi signal to reach every nook and cranny of your house, and even into your backyard or garage, if needed. You'll be able to use the same password and security scheme, you won't need anything except a power outlet for the repeater when you're done, and most of your devices will automatically switch between the two signals when needed.

We've previously run down how to install DD-WRT on a Linksys router to give it many, many more features, including the repeater function we'll cover here. If you've already installed DD-WRT, then, skip to the section on repeater configuration. One notable difference in this guide, too, is that I'm installing a custom build of DD-WRT, the "micro" flavor, on a Linksys WRT54G ver. 6, or "version 6." Adam wrote his original guide in 2006, with a fully-DD-WRT-compatible Linksys WRT54GL router, and at that point, those who picked up a blue Linksys box without knowing about open-source firmware were pretty much stuck. Now there's a huge array of supported devices, and even my sadly restricted Linksys can run a Micro build, and Micro now includes a repeater function.

via lifehacker

Update your iPhone to avoid being hacked over Wi-Fi

It’s only been five days since Apple’s last security update for iOS, when dozens of serious security vulnerabilities were patched.

As we mentioned last week, the recent iOS 10.3 and macOS 10.12.4 updates included numerous fixes dealing with “arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges”.

Any exploit that lets an external attacker tell the operating system kernel itself what to is a serious concern that ought to be patched as soon as possible – hesitation is not an option.

After all, it’s the kernel that’s responsible for managing security in the rest of the system.

Sophos Home

Free home computer security software for all the family

Learn More

Take this analogy with pinch of salt, but an exploit that gives a remote attacker regular user access is like planting a spy in the Naval corps with a Lieutenant’s rank.

If you can grab local administrator access, that’s like boosting yourself straight to Captain or Commodore; but if you can own the kernel (this is not a pun), you’ve landed among the senior Admiral staff, right at the top of the command structure.

So make sure you don’t miss the latest we-didn’t-quite-get-this-one-out-last-time update to iOS 10.3.1:

iOS 10.3.1

Released April 3, 2017

Wi-Fi

Available for: iPhone 5 and later, 
               iPad 4th generation and later, 
               iPod touch 6th generation and later

Impact:        An attacker within range may be able to 
               execute arbitrary code on the Wi-Fi chip

Description:   A stack buffer overflow was addressed 
               through improved input validation.

CVE-2017-6975: Gal Beniamini of Google Project Zero

This is rather different from the usual sort of attack – the main CPU, operating system and installed apps are left well alone.

Most network attacks rely on security holes at a much higher level, in software components such as databases, web servers, email clients, browsers and browser plugins.

So, attacking the Wi-Fi network card itself might seem like small beer.

After all, the attacks that won hundreds of thousands of dollars at the recent Pwn2Own competition went after the heart of the operating system itself, to give the intruders what you might call an “access all areas” pass.

Nevertheless, the CPU of an externally-facing device like a Wi-Fi card is a cunning place to mount an attack.

It’s a bit like being just outside the castle walls, on what most security-minded insiders would consider the wrong side of the moat and drawbridge.

But with a bit of cunning you may be able to position yourself where you can eavesdrop on every message coming in and out of the castle…

…all the while being ignored along with the many unimportant-looking peasants and hangers-on who’ll never have the privilege of entering the castle itself.

Better yet, once you’ve eavesdropped on what you wanted to hear, you’re already on the outside, so you don’t have to run the gauntlet of the guards to get back out to a place where you can pass your message on.

What to do?

As far as we know, this isn’t a zero-day because it was responsibly disclosed and patched before anyone else found out about it.

Cybercrooks have a vague idea of where to start looking now the bug that has been described, but there’s a huge gap between knowing that an exploitable bug exists and rediscovering it independently.

We applied the update as soon as Apple’s notification email arrived (the download was under 30MB), and we’re happy to assume that we’ve therefore beaten even the most enthusiatic crooks to the punch this time.

You can accelerate your own patch by manually visiting Settings | General | Software Update to force an upgrade, rather than waiting for your turn in Apple’s autoupdate queue.

via nakedsecurity