Satellite broadband Internet access is one of the fastest connections available to consumers. The speed is simply incredible. When you have this much Internet speed, however, there are some things to keep in mind to make certain the experience is the best it can be.

Fast Internet means fast downloads. Of course, this carries with it the temptation to download just about everything under the sun. The rules of safe surfing apply more than ever to those with fast connections. First, you must have anti-virus software and a firewall attached to your computer. Many viruses turn infected PC's into "zombies" that spew the virus with which they're infected all over the Internet. This will not only spread the infection, it will eat up all your bandwidth as your computer will be constantly connecting to virus servers. When your Internet provider finds out what's going on, it will also get your connection shut off, in most cases. Make sure you have, and understand how to use, anti-virus software. Your firewall will prevent your computer from hooking up to certain "services" but this in and of itself is not anti-virus software. Remember, you need both.

Your connection speed will slow if there are a great many users on your connection at the same time, especially if they're all using high-bandwidth features. If your connection seems slow, check to see how many people are online before calling tech support. If you, the kids and their friends are all using video sharing sites, playing video games and streaming music at the same time, it will affect your connection speed.

Sometimes Internet connectivity will be reduced, or simply go out, intermittently. Most of the time, this can be fixed by "rebooting" the modem. This procedure is very simple: Just cut the power to the modem for 30 seconds and plug it back in. You'll be surprised how many problems can be fixed this way. It's not a hardware or a connection flaw; it's just the way the Internet works.

Unfortunately, the Internet suffers from a lot of piracy of video and audio material. Remember that, even though you can download just about anything in minutes, it may not be legal to do so. The good news is that there are a huge number of sites that allow downloads for free which are entirely legal. Learn about which ones are okay and which ones to avoid. The pirate sites are often virtual Petri dishes for viruses, so it makes sense to stay away from them as much as possible.

Also make sure to install any updates of which your computer notifies you. These updates frequently have to do with security and security is imperative for broadband users. Because your connection is so fast, it won't take but a few minutes to download the necessary software for the updates and the benefit is that your computer will be protected against the latest threats. Satellite broadband not only makes surfing easy; it makes security easy, as well.


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