How Does Internet Speed Testing Work?

What an Internet Speed Test Is

An Internet speed test is a service that you can find online that tests the speed of your Internet connection. Most of them free, but there are a few that you must pay for. Whichever one you choose, you should research it before using it as there are some out there who will download a virus to your system while "testing" your download speed. While your virus software will most likely catch it if this happens, there are some viruses that could possibly get through, particularly if they are new ones that haven't had the information added through updates to your virus software.

What Bandwidth Testing Entails

Testing bandwidth can be complicated. Whether you are talking about DSL, or cable modem, or even dial-up speeds, when testing for bandwidth, the tester must take into account the devices that the chunks of data travel through. In addition, the type of Internet service it is and its normal speeds must be accounted for as well. In other words, if you are testing your dial-up connection, the tester will take this into account when testing the speed of your connection because data will be traveling at a slower rate than if you had DSL.

Getting an Accurate Test of Your Internet Speed

The speed of your Internet connection is based on several factors including the time of day. Internet speeds vary during the day, so if you really want an accurate test of your Internet speed, you should test your speed at different times of the day. Other factors that you should take into account when attempting to get an accurate Internet speed test are any programs you have running and/or programs that your computer has running automatically at startup. The reason for this is that if there are a lot of programs running when you do your speed test then there is less space to run the Internet speed test on your hard drive and this may cause the speed to come out as being slower than it actually is.
Finally, if you are using a DSL connection there may be many individuals and businesses that are tapped into the same phone line using their Internet service at the same time. This can drastically reduce the speed that your chosen tester gives you when you do the test. Because of these factors it is a good idea to close as many programs as you can to be sure that you get as accurate a result of your Internet speed as possible.

Resources

• Internet Speed Test