Your intenet connection isn't as fast as you would like it to be. No matter how rapidly you can upload photos or download video, everyone would like it to be better.

One option is to fork out for the huge 40-50mbps broadband packages now offered by Virgin and BT, a cheaper one is to speed up what you already have. Here's how:

First, check what speed you are achieving
Websites broadbandspeedchecker or mybroadbandspeed will instantly tell you what upload and download speeds you are running at. If they are substantially less than you are paying for – as many people will find – call your provider and demand they sort it out or give you a discount.

Password-protect your wireless signal
If your neighbours are a bit sneaky, they may be leaching off your signal, rather than paying for their own. This will use up bandwidth and slow you down.

Disable unused programs
Some keep running in the background and use bandwidth. Ant-virus software which automatically updates, Skype or peer-to-peer file sharing software could significantly slow your performance.

Clean out your cache
Your internet cache is a sort of short-term memory. Clean it out from time to time (just as you should run your hard disk defragmentation program occasionally) to speed things up.

Be a night owl
The heaviest internet traffic is in the evenings after people come home from work. If you can do your downloading in the middle of the night you will find more bandwidth on the internet as a whole. Alternatively, you should also get good speeds during the day when most people are working rather than surfing.

Go low-tech on your connection
Wireless routers get rid of all those untidy wires, but you might find if you use a long ethernet cable to connect to your router instead of the wireless signal it will be faster and more reliable. You can also adjust your router's settings to your requirements if you check the manual, which can help.

Get a better router
You may have got one free from your ISP. There are probably better ones on the market. You can even just replace the aerial on the router with a longer, stronger one.