A download speed tester tests the speed of your Internet connection by downloading a temporary file to your computer's hard drive. The download speed tester times how long it takes for the temporary file to download through the Internet connection onto your computer. The tester will issue a report that tells you how fast your Internet connection or bandwidth is. Bandwidth is the speed with which data is transferred through your Internet connection.
Usiing Trusted Download Speed Testers
There are many download speed testers on the Internet. It is important to only use a site you trust, because you have to allow the tester to download a file onto your computer. A website that is not trustworthy may download a virus onto your computer.
Using a Download Speed Tester
To use a download speed tester, you have to grant the website permission to download a file onto your computer. Depending on the software installed on your computer, you may not have to take any special action. If you have a firewall installed on your computer, you will either have to disable that firewall or set it to grant download permission to the download-tester website. Usually, the firewall will open a pop-up window that announces, "The following website is attempting to download a file onto your computer. Do you wish to allow this?" Simply click "Yes" and the download speed test will begin.
Speed Tips
Internet speed can vary at different times of the day and on different days. Basically, Internet connections are shared. For example, if you have a DSL connection, many homes or businesses are tapped into the same DSL phone line. When many people on the same DSL phone line are using the Internet at once, download speeds will be slower.
Software running in the background during an Internet speed test can slow download speeds. The reason is that the computer system's resources, such as memory, are used to process incoming download data. Computer software also uses computer-system resources. Software that is running during a download uses some of the system resources that could have been used to process downloading data. Less computer resources available equals a slower download.
