Tips If You're Stuck on a Slow Dial-up Internet Connection

In an earlier article, I offered five tips for speeding up your Web browsing experience on a slow dial-up Internet connection. Here are a few more quick, easy and free steps you can take to greatly improve your time spent online and better handle downloading software with a dial-up service.

1. Don't just pick the cheapest dial-up Internet service. One of the reasons people stick with dial-up instead of switching to high-speed services like cable or DSL is the price. But if you pick the cheapest service you can find, you might find that awful reliability and terrible customer service come with it. I thought Wal-Mart Connect dial-up was a steal at $9.94 monthly -- until I tried to cancel my account. It took an excruciatingly aggravating 45 minutes spent on the phone with three representatives who tried a variety of downright ludicrous methods to keep me from canceling.

2. Use "Web accelerator" software if you want, but be aware of what it does. Some dial-up Internet services and third-party companies offer programs that promise to speed up your Web browing. Sometimes, these programs work quite well. But they often do their job buy compressing graphics that you download, causing pictures to suffer in quality. Also, the software itself can cause problems sometimes. My NetZero service worked fine until I tried to use its accelerator software, and then it all went down the toilet. A better option is to simply turn pictures off in your Web browser (see my previous article for more information) and then selectively load the graphics you want to see.

3. Check the size of programs before you get them. I consider 10 megabytes to be about the maximum amount I'll download at once (at home during the day, at least -- more on that next). Many excellent programs are available in small packages; you just need to look around.

4. If you really do need something, and it's a hefty download, there are two simple ways to get it. The first option is go to your local library and take advantage of its high-speed Internet connection. Many libraries let you burn things onto blank CDs; just don't forget to bring the CD! The second option is also simple: wait until you're about to go to bed and start the download then. It'll chug away while you sleep, and unless it's a monstrously huge download, it'll be ready in the morning.

5. If you're going to make a habit of downloading large files at home, get a download manager like the DownThemAll extension for Mozilla's Firefox browser (which you should be using anyway instead of Internet Explorer). Download managers like DownThemAll let you finish downloads if they're unexpectedly interrupted by a dropped dial-up connection or other such problem. Otherwise, you'd have to start your large download all over again.