Internet Browsing Speed

I know this will not come as much of a newsflash to you regulars out there, but this is something that shocked me, and I wanted to post to help others in a position similar to me. I had problems with my PC downloading content on mainstream websites. Once I fetched a URL, it would take forever to download, as I could hear and sense the computer in background blocking all kinds of ads and interfering third party stuff. At first, I thought this problem had to do with malware or settings. But after I fixed all that, it still went on. Not expecting anything to come of it, I took the (incidental) advice of one of the regulars out there that had helped me with my other problems. I forget who it was, but they said they would never use Internet Explorer, and that Firefox and Opera were better choices. Well, I tried Firefox, and my Internet downloading is ten times faster now. No more background delays. I don't know what it is about Internet Explorer that makes it so slow, but most people out there, myself included, just don't see how switching browsers could make that much difference. I'm not sure if the same problems exist with Chrome and Safari, but it really does make a big difference, and I'm sticking with Firefox from here on out.

 

Firefox is good choice browser but it has slowed with the new updates but google chrome in my eyes has got to be fastest browser out there in the market. But if you are on windows 8 or 8.1 then the new IE11 is fastest of them all especially in metro mode.

Hope this helps.

 

What could I try with IE to see if it's not the browser? It was happening both before and after I disabled the add-ons. It just takes so long to pull up the page and start to allow scrolling. It's not the connection, as most of the data on a page appears right away. It's just like I said, busy blocking stuff in the background.

 

Have you tried updating your java to see if that is any better.

 

At someone's advice in this forum, I previously removed all old versions of Java. Should I remove the most current version as well?

 

OK, done. From your perspective, can you tell me what Java does that is worthwhile?

 

You are asking someone who has intentionally removed Java completely from their system, whether they think Java is worthwhile.

Read the articles and decide for yourself.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070628210538AANzVR9
http://www.java.com/en/download/faq/whatis_java.xml

 

I have no Java on my system and no OpenOffice component has ever issued a complaint about needing Java, so they must have fixed that. Actually, I've never had any program complain about needing Java.

 

The only reason I have Java is that when I didn't have the current version, a web site I visited said I needed it. I can't remember what the web site was, it has happened several times in the past, but it was somehow "important" enough for me to go ahead and download the current version. I just assumed Java was something like Adobe Flash, an add-on, that was generally needed to run a lot of web sites properly. I will go ahead and read the article you linked. Thanks! :wave

 

I too was surprised to learn how few websites actually required Java. I learned a thing or two from the articles I referenced in my previous post so I think it would be worth your while to take a peek at them. Hopefully, "peeking" doesn't require Java

 

Ever since I disabled add-ons in IE, every time I visit a site I get the message at the top of the screen that "Internet Explorer is currently running with add-ons disabled. Click here to manage, diable, or remove your add-ons." What add-ons should IE be running? One of the reasons I am back to trying IE is that in Firefox I was trying to view some movie trailers, and they keep pausing in the middle. Play for two seconds, then pause, then play again, then pause. All the way throughout the trailer. Can you tell me what causes that?

 

Nobody responded to my last post, I don't know if it was missed, but could someone tell me which add-ons Internet Explorer should be running? Thank you.

 

AloisD...

Tried to find a reference in the thread, but I couldn't. Could you say which version of IE you are using?

I have several listed in my add-ons list in IE8. Most of them are MS Office plug-ins or anti-virus. Also have Java and Shockwave listed there...

 

AtlBo, I am using Internet Explorer 8. I did try Mozilla Firefox, as someone suggested, but there seem to be some drawbacks, like the appearance of text and font. What exactly is it about IE that people in this forum dislike so much? I'm curious. I'm sure there are valid reasons. I just don't know they are, except that I know a lot of people don't seem to like Microsoft. Thanks again!

 

Try torch browser there isn't a link on here for it. But it seems to be faster than google chrome and you can download the google chrome apps and work and it works on windows xp and higher.

here is the link http://torchbrowser.com/

 

I can't speak for anyone else but I'll give you a few possible reasons.

For a long time Internet Explorer (IE) has been the most used web browser with Windows computers, mostly because it's included with the OS.
Because of that, it is a favorite target for the jerks that create malware of various types.
Also, IE uses some components, like ActiveX, that make it vulnerable to attack.
In addition, IE was very slow in adopting and properly implementing current standards for web design.
Other browsers such as Firefox and Opera did much better in that regard.

If you are using Windows XP, you are not able to upgrade IE past version 8.
The current version is 11 and performs noticeably better.

You may be able to improve the performance with IE 8 by clearing out caches, saved content and cookies.
If nothing else works, you can try an IE Reset to default values.
How to reset Internet Explorer settings

This may be of some help:
http://support.microsoft.com/mats/ie_performance_and_safety

 

AloisD...

mjnc I think said it very well. Microsoft chose to exclude Windows XP users from access to IE 9, 10, and 11. On the other hand Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and all the others that I know of have included XP users as they moved forward.

For me, using a browser other than IE is a matter of the way the pages open when using IE 8. It seems like there is a big lag from the time I choose a link to the time the page loads and then it loads all at once. It's like being struck by lightning the way it loads pages for me. I've tried IE 8 on several PCs but haven't been able to achieve better results. Firefox and Opera pages load better as do pages in Google Chrome, although I don't have GC on my primary PC.

I had a similar problem to you with video using Opera 12. Never did determine what the source of the problem was, but it made watching video very difficult. Eventually, I began relying on Firefox because it didn't have the problem. A short time later, for other reasons, I was forced to reinstall Windows, and, when I reinstalled Opera, the video stopping problem was gone. I stuck with Firefox, though. There was an Opera style side bar add-on that made Firefox like Opera (the way I use it anyway with the side bar open), and I have stuck with FF so far.

One thing you could check is the Adobe Flash site to make sure you have the latest version (be careful to uncheck any extras Adobe might try to sneak in with the installation)...

 

Well, I have Windows XP for the time being, so I can't do any better than IE 8, unfortunately. Therefore, I am going to try Google Chrome, as you recommend, much as I can't stand Google. Thanks for your help!

 

I have mostly tried to avoid Google simply because I thought the company was a little bit to aggressive with things like automatic updates, and I wasn't really sure of their information gathering policies. I do have GC on two PCs, because it does work. One of the PCs is really old, and it helps on that one, since it is a pretty light program.

If you have any other problems, please post back. The delays with answers are sometimes just the regulars trying to get a handle on what you are asking or just putting together ideas or whatever. Hope it doesn't get you discouraged. Not many go unanswered, but, when they do, it's always just a matter of the question being ultra specific and about something ultra obscure...