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This goes against the grain, so there’s something wrong. You may have a slow Ethernet connection for the following reasons:

• The Ethernet cable you’re using is faulty or damaged.
• Ethernet cable is of a lower category and has a lower data transfer cap.
• Ethernet ports where you are connecting the Ethernet cable are having a problem.
• You are running outdated drivers on your device.
• Your device is connected to a VPN.
• You have outdated router firmware.
• The connection settings are messed up.
• Your device has been infected with malware.
• There is a problem with your router’s hardware.

Let’s explore how each of the above causes contributes to slowing down the Ethernet connection and how you can fix it.

Performing Some Preliminary Checks

Perform the following preliminary checks before proceeding with serious troubleshooting:

• Check the internet speed of both wired and wireless connections and compare the results to confirm Ethernet is slow. Don’t make a guess.
• Reconnect the Ethernet cable to your router and PC.
• Restart your router and device to ensure the temporary glitch isn’t slowing down the connection.
• Turn off your VPN connection.
• Check with neighbors who use the same ISP to ensure your internet service provider doesn’t throttle the Ethernet connection. Switch your ISP if others are experiencing the same problem.
• Try the same Ethernet connection on another laptop. If it continues to be slower than Wi-Fi on other devices, you can skip the operating level fixes because it is most likely a cable or router problem.

If preliminary efforts prove unsuccessful, apply the following fixes.

1. Make Sure Your Ethernet Cable Is Intact

The speed you get with an Ethernet cable can be significantly diminished if it’s damaged or faulty. So, before anything else, take a close look at the Ethernet cable from start to end to see if it has been flattened by furniture, bitten by your pet, or stretched to the point of damage.

If there are any signs of damage in the middle of the cable, it’s probably a damaged Ethernet cable slowing down your connection. Therefore, replacing the cable should resolve the connection issues.

2. Check the Ethernet Cable Category

Are you using an Ethernet cable that is a couple of decades old? If so, check the cable category. Those of a lower category, like category four, could only transfer data at 16Mbps. It is the maximum speed you can achieve with such a cable, regardless of how fast your Wi-Fi connection is.

Therefore, if you have a Wi-Fi connection with a faster speed than an Ethernet cable can handle, you can expect to have a better wireless connection. You can increase the speed by replacing the cable with a higher category one.

3. Ensure the Connecting Ports Aren’t Faulty

When the ports to which the Ethernet cable is connected are faulty, even an intact or brand-new Ethernet cable will not perform optimally. You can confirm this by connecting the Ethernet cable to different LAN ports on your device and router.

If you notice a significant increase in speed with this switch, one or both ports are faulty. Therefore, you should avoid using them in the future. If this change makes no difference, suggesting ports are intact, move on to the next fix.

4. Update Your Network Drivers

The internet connection can also be sluggish due to outdated drivers. Even though Windows usually updates drivers automatically, it doesn’t always do so. Follow these steps to update network drivers:

1. Right-click on the Start button and select Device Manager.
2. Expand the category for Network adapters.
3. Right-click on the Ethernet adapter driver and click Update driver.

Alternatively, you can download drivers from the official website of your router’s manufacturer or get them from your ISP. If updating or installing new drivers does not make a difference, move on to the next step.

5. Update Your Router’s Firmware

In the same way that updating the network drivers is crucial for smooth signal transmission, updating the router’s firmware is also essential. Therefore, if your Ethernet is still not providing the best speeds, you should update the router’s firmware.

While updating your router’s firmware may differ depending on the manufacturer, most of it will be similar. Our guide to updating the router’s firmware will be a good place to start. If the firmware interface of your router seems complex, visit the manufacturer’s website for instructions.

6. Reset Your Network

Performing a network reset can fix underlying network problems, but it’s not recommended because it resets all networking components to their default settings, reverting any customizations you might have made.

However, if your Ethernet is still slow, you should try this less desirable solution. Our guide to resetting your network settings on Windows shows you how to do it.

7. Cut Off Electromagnetic Interference

An Ethernet connection is not immune to electromagnetic fields, which are poisonous to network connections. Having your Ethernet connection pass by a large electric motor may induce a current in the cable, resulting in signal distortion.

Check the appliances you have placed near your Ethernet cable and move them away from it if they could interfere with the signal. If that doesn’t solve the problem, it’s likely a hardware issue.

8. Check for Hardware Problems

If none of these fixes have worked so far, your hardware may be defective, which is the cause of the problem. Perhaps, your router is outdated or has technical issues, your network interface card (NIC) isn’t performing well, or some other network setting is limiting Ethernet’s potential speed.

To rule out these possibilities, take your router and device to the nearest PC repair shop, where a technician will test them for hardware issues and help you resolve them. Unless a technician has identified and fixed any hardware problems, it’s time to call your ISP and have them resolve this annoying problem.

Don’t Let Your Ethernet Connection Deviate From the Norm

Having an Ethernet connection perform poorly than a Wi-Fi connection could be one of the most frustrating experiences. Hopefully, our article will help you figure out what’s causing your Ethernet connection to be slow as a tortoise. Additionally, the fixes covered will assist you in speeding it up. If none of the methods work, your ISP should step in to save the day.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology

An unreliable home internet connection can make even the simplest Google search super frustrating. If you find that your Wi-Fi is always slow, no matter what internet service provider you have or how many devices are online, what do you do? Sometimes paying monthly fees to an internet service provider or having your router professionally installed might not even solve the immense problem of a slow and weak internet connection.

cnet© photo

For most apartments and smaller homes (under 1,500 square feet), a single wireless access point should suffice. That said, if your router is several years old, you may want to consider upgrading to a newer model with support for 802.11ax, or Wi-Fi 6. That’s the latest generation of Wi-Fi technology, and it’ll give you the fastest wireless speeds possible and the best overall coverage.

For bigger, multilevel homes, it’s worth considering making the upgrade to a mesh network to offer consistent coverage throughout the entire house. Once the main access point is installed, if you find a far corner of your home doesn’t have solid wireless coverage, just add another node to that area. Problem solved.

What’s the best place to put your router?

Choose a central location

Routers send the signal out in all directions, so if it’s left in the corner of your home, a significant percentage of your wireless coverage is being sent outside your home. That’s why your best bet is to move the router to a central location to optimize the signal.

Installing a router across the house from the modem may prove troublesome. It may require manually running an especially long CAT5 or CAT6 Ethernet cable under the floor or along the bottom of your walls, or enlisting the help of power line network adapters, which use your home’s electrical wiring to pass an internet signal from point to point. But the improved wireless coverage will be worth it.

Raise the router

Routers tend to spread their strongest signals downward, so it’s best to mount the router as high as possible to maximize coverage. Try placing it high on a bookshelf or mounting it on the wall in an inconspicuous place. 

Avoid other electronics

Try to pick a location that’s away from other electronics and large metal objects. The more walls, large obstructions and electronics near your router, the higher the chances are that something will interfere with the signal.

One type of electronic device to especially avoid is the microwave, which emits a strong signal in the 2.4GHz band, the same wireless band your router operates in. You’ll also want to be careful not to stick your router behind a large TV, which can cause electronic interference while also physically blocking or disrupting the signal.

Along with electronics, keep an eye out for bulky furniture that might be limiting the signal’s reach. Wi-Fi doesn’t travel well through water, for instance, so if you have an aquarium in your home, try to avoid situations where it’ll be in between your router and the device that needs to connect.

Those funny-looking antennas? They do actually matter

Some routers have no antenna at all, but some have up to eight. These antennas help direct the signal. If there are two or more antennas on your router, don’t position them all in the same direction. 

Instead, make them perpendicular to one another — position one horizontally and the other vertically. Or slightly change the position of all the antennas to cover a wide range of angles. You might have to experiment a bit to find the most effective configuration. 

The signal from each of those antennas will come out like a wave traveling in all directions, and that wave will be perpendicular to the antenna itself, so a vertical antenna is going to be more helpful in single story homes, while a horizontal or angled antenna is going to put out a signal that travels upward, which might be more useful in a multi-story home.

Map the signal

In worst-case scenario situations, it may prove useful to map out the signal in your home to see where there might be gaps or problems areas in your coverage. Several years ago, we used NetSpot software to map out the signal strength throughout the CNET Smart Home — in the end, we got a great look at the weak spots in our Wi-Fi network, which helped us shore things up by moving our hardware to more optimal locations.

If you’re considering upgrading your router, be sure to check out CNET’s picks for best routers. For homes with children, make sure to explore the parental controls of your router, too.

Story by Ry Crist for cnet© Source: http://www.msn.com

The updates are numbered 15.4.1 for the iPhone and iPad, and 12.3.1 for the Mac.

They bring some small changes, including a fix for a battery bug that meant that iPhones and iPads lost charge more quickly than they should after a recent update. While it is not clear how widespread that bug was, affected users said their devices had been losing charge more quickly since iOS 15.4 was released.

OS 15.4 was made available by Apple in mid-March, and included a range of features, including the ability to unlock an iPhone while wearing a mask.

But as well as that battery fix, the new updates also fix a critical security bug that Apple warned could already have been used by hackers.

It did not give detailed information about those bugs, how exactly they could be exploited or how many people are likely to have been hacked. The company often withholds informations about such security flaws so that attackers are not able to exploit them.

Installing the latest updates should however secure devices against anyone trying to make use of the attack.

That is done by opening up the Settings app, clicking through to software updates, and pressing the option to install the new version of the operating system. Macs, iPhones and iPads should also prompt users to update too.

Apple has pushed out a number of security updates over the year, aimed at fixing similarly dangerous bugs.

By Andrew Griffin for The Independent©

Source: Apple pushes emergency update for iPhone, Macs and other products amid fears of dangerous bug (msn.com)

So, your internet is acting funny, maybe a little sluggish, even after multiple router resets and disconnecting excess devices. While there are many possible reasons your internet is acting up, many folks will understandably start to wonder if one of the neighbors is mooching off their wifi.

While unlikely, it’s actually pretty easy to break into someone else’s wifi network using simple hacking software and a little patience—though it’s also possible your neighbor just overheard your password or made a lucky guess. Maybe you loaned them your wifi login when they were over once and they never stopped using it. Regardless of how they got in, you can check which devices are connected to your network and boot off any outsiders using your smartphone or PC—no extra software required.

Step 1: See who is using your network

There are a couple of ways to see who is currently using your wifi. Some routers and ISP offer network management apps for mobile and desktop that show you a list of connected devices and let you change permissions—including removing a device from the network and banning it from reconnecting. For example, Comcast/Xfinity customers can monitor home network activity through the Xfinity app. Check if your router or internet provider offers a similar app.

The other method is to access your router’s interface on a computer by typing in the local-access IP address into an internet browser. You can find your router’s local-access IP address using the following steps:

On Windows

1. Press the Window key + R then type cmd to open the Command Prompt.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type [ipconfig] then press Enter.
3. The IP address should appear next to “Default Gateway” or “IPv4 Address” from the results.

On a Mac

1. Go to System Preferences > Network > Advanced > TCP/ICP.
2. Look for the IP address listed next to “IPv4 Address.”

Type the IP address you found from the steps above into the internet browser of your choice. Your router’s configuration interface should appear, then login with your network password. Once you’re in, you can now review network activity.

Step 2: Ban unwanted devices

Whether you’re using a mobile app or connecting directly to your router through an internet browser, the next step is to see who’s using your wifi and block unwanted access. However, the steps for finding and managing the list of connected devices will depend on the app you’re using, and/or your router’s make and model. Consult your router’s user manual or look up steps for the specific model online.

When you find this information, confirm that only devices you or members of your household are the ones connected. This should be easy to tell just based on the names of the connected devices, but since some devices only list their MAC address (aka Media Access Control, which is another unique identification number devices use to communicate with the router), you may need to manually cross-reference each device’s MAC address.

If you do, in fact, find a moocher, you can ban them from the network. Once again, the method differs between router interfaces, but is usually performed from the device’s preferences menu.

Step 3: Enhance your security

Lastly, you need to change your network’s password and ensure it’s using the strongest possible security protocol to prevent moochers from breaking back into your network. Just like the previous steps, finding these options depend on your router’s software, but should be easy to locate. Make sure you create a strong password, and enable the highest network encryption possible—for some devices, that may be WPA3, while others may only use WPA2-AES or WPA2-TKIP. If your router doesn’t support at least WPA2, we strongly recommend upgrading to a newer model.

By Brendan Hesse for Lifehacker©

Source: How to Tell If Someone Is Stealing Your Wifi (and Boot Them Off) (msn.com)