When you first got your computer, you effectively sailed around the Internet. But if loading websites now takes forever, some simple maintenance will help you speed up your browsing.
Think of your browser as a bike; the more belongings you load onto it, the slower you will go.
Toolbars
Toolbars are infamous resource leeches. Rule of thumb is if you are not using a toolbar several times a day, ditch it. In Firefox, go to Tools, Add-ons, and Disable Toolbars. In Internet Explorer, go to Internet Options, Advanced Tab, click reset.
Add-ons and Extensions
These are like toolbars but may be running in the background. Check to see you are really using these tools enough to merit their resource consumption.
• In Internet Explorer, go to tools Internet Options, Programs tab, and Manage Add-ons. You will see all the add-ons that are enabled. I say disable everything but the Shockwave Flash add-on.
• In Firefox, hit Firefox, Addons, then uninstall/disable everything you can.
• In Chrome, go to Tools, Extensions and disable everything you can
Bookmarks and Favorites
Another drag on your browser comes from bookmarks; mainly because those links tend to be scanned by Antivirus software. Limit them to 25 or so, and keep the rest in a separate Word file on your desktop.
Change Browsers
Toms Hardware is a tech site that tests the speed of browsers yearly. Their most recent assessment shows Firefox is fastest, then the Chrome browser, Internet Explorer second to last, and then Apples Safari is slowest.
Even just getting a new browser, one you have not played with, can be faster than your previous browser.
Defragmenting
Defragging your hard-drive is a well-known tool for speeding up all facets of computing – even web browsing. Hit Start, type “defrag” in the search bar and open Disk Defragmenter.
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