my internet conection speeds up and slows down

[thesinter]

Here is an overview of my conection:
I have Comcast high speed internet(broadband internet)
I have McAfee virus scan and firewall on(i have it were it scans at 4:30 a.m. every day)

Everyday when i get home from school the internet works fast and fine, and after a while of searching the forums and checking out gamespot etc. it starts to slow down. i can tell because i watch videos from youtube.com and gametrailer.com and they load up fine, then randomly it will slow way down and load up the video or site very slow, somtimes the video or site will not load up at all.

So what i need to know is if anyone knows what is up with my conection and how can i fix it?

 

[DannyBoy1]

happens to me as well. I just assumed it is normal.

 

[thesinter]

that is what i assumed too.....but do you guys think that it might be my internet provider.

 

[Deathstar1]

Wireless?? Is your network secure? someones not stealing your bandwidth are they?

ISP Server load possibly, you could call them to verify that, my ISP has a network status page where we can check for possible server problems but I don't know about yours.

Do you have any programmes set to update at these times?

 

[thesinter]

im not wireless, and no one is stealing my connection, and there is only one computer hooked up to the internet.

 

[Deathstar1]

ISP and updating programmes would be the next to avenues I'd explore then.

 

[thesinter]

i dont know much about what you are talking about...can you explain more.

 

[Deathstar1]

Well, updating programmes, do you have any programmes set to connect via the net to update themselves at the times your connection speeds drop? If so they will be using bandwith thus making your net access slower, the same goes if you have a lot of browser windows open, they all use bandwidth, the more you have open the more bandwidth is used

You state YouTube amongst other things that load slowly, this could be caused by user load on the YouTube server i.e. if a lot of people are accessing it at that time the server might be having difficulty coping with the demand.

Your ISP may have a server that is being upgraded or serviced which would possibly also slow your connection speed.

 

[hypetech]

Has it only started doing this recently? Your router may be going bad.

 

[setishock]

The biggest clue is the time of day. Let's assume you get home around 4pm.
Runs fine for a while then slows down. Hmmm After 4pm people are getting home from work and getting online. Students, already home, have already jumped online. Your ISP is loading up. Sites are getting loaded up as more and more uses go to the sites.
Things will slow down some.
Another thing is what DeathStar pointed out. Some programs will actively phone home to check on updates. Way to fix ones that do is to go in to the set up for the programs and either turn that feature off or set it to manual. AntiVirus is the exception to that rule.
Another one is you're visiting a lot of sites and picking up just boatloads of pure junk.
www.ccleaner.com has an excellent program for getting rid of most of the crap. Hence its name Crap Cleaner. Also click the tools selection in the IE browser and select internet options. Delete files, clear cookies, and clear history are a must to run from time to time.
And the big one. AdAware Get that from www.filehippo.com Make sure you keep that puppy updated. You have to start the update manually.
A clean system and a savy operator make for a smooth running rig.