Speed up your Internet Connection?
Updated 12-Dec-02

Browsing the net, you're likely to see various advertisements for software claiming to boost your Internet speed by up to 200%. BE WARY of such claims! Bonzi Software was one of the top-trafficked sites in the world - all the result of misleading advertising: (Your Internet Connection is Not Optimized! For $30 we'll double your speed - just download InternetBoost '99 - now renamed InternetBOOST! Similar products are called NetBoost and Speedboost) and now, InternetALERT: Also see this page. (InternetALERT claims to protect your computer from attack when, in fact, it makes your machine more likely to be attacked!)

• FACT: Often you can speed up a modem connection by slowing it down: See: Faster = Slower
  

• FACT: The modem driver (or firmware for a hardware-controller based modem) may have an impact on your speed, and connection reliability. See the Modem Driver Page.
  

• FACT: Other devices on your phone line may impair your connection - see Testing Your Wiring.
  

BONZI SUED: A nationwide class action against Bonzi software was filed by Lukins & Annis in November 2002.

This is NOT an error message. It is NOT a system message. It IS an ADVERTISEMENT
You cannot click OK. You cannot X out of the box. The advertisement is one graphic that leads you to the Bonzi site that wants to sell you their snake oil.

Most of these products do little more than change some Windows registry settings - for $30 or more.  Before you purchase a product like this, consider:

Similar software is available FREE.
Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000 and XP are already optimized - Windows 95 is the only product likely to show a benefit - and then, only in some cases.

WARNING! Bonzi's web site clearly indicates that the purchase of InternetBoost comes with a (60-day) money-back guarantee; however, there is no mention of how you can obtain the refund! There is no contact information on the site. I have been contacted by purchasers who have been unable to obtain a refund without doing one or more of the following:

Dispute the charge with your credit card company
Use whois to get e-mail addresses; send them e-mail demanding money back;
There will also be a USMail address in the whois record.
Contact the Better Business Bureau.
Contact your state's Consumer Protection Agency.
Contact the California Consumer Protection Agency.
Contact the Federal Trade Commission.
Contact your state Attorney General's Office
Contact the California Attorney General's Office

Try this Link: At last check the Bonzi website has a page (you can't get to through normal navigation) that is a SECURE REFUND REQUEST FORM. (Link updated 13-Mar-02)

EasyMTU - This program is totally freeware. No charge - now, later, ever. And even if you have Windows98, Me, NT, 2000 or XP, the software will test and show you the results of changing the MTU settings: despite the optimization of MTU in later versions of Windows, some people claim to get better results with using a fixed MTU. EasyMTU makes it easy to test, change, or restore to system defaults.  EasyMTU is available for download from Modemsite.