Maximizing Your Internet Speed
In this day and age of Internet usability, speed is everything. Narrowband connections have been replaced across the board for the most part by broadband connections such as cable, DSL and Wi-Fi, which is becoming more and more popular every day.
As a result of the increase in high speed Internet connections, the World Wide Web has been able to grow in leaps and bounds, adding various types of media content and more depth than ever before. Streaming audio, streaming broadband video, downloading files and sharing them over P2P networks are all possible with a faster connection. Faster Internet speeds have created a need for faster Internet connections, which in turn, are begetting faster Internet speeds. It is an exciting process that will continue to yield incredible results.
A Word About the Google Web Accelerator
In addition to purchasing a superior broadband connection, there are various other methods through which Internet users can improve their Internet speed. One of the more controversial methods currently being employed by many people is through the installation of the Google Web Accelerator.
The Google Web Accelerator is basically a software tool that has the intention of improving Internet speed by accelerating the process through which Web pages are downloaded. Google has essentially backed up the entire World Wide Web on their servers. The Google Web Accelerator therefore redirects all domain lookups to the Google server with a result yielding an improved Internet speed, even in the case of broadband Internet connections. (index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=128&Itemid=161)
Google’s motivation for its Web accelerator came from the fact that the company already caches an incredible amount of site information throughout its many servers for its world-renowned search engine. The combination of the caches they already have stored, along with caching your own surfing habits is what produces something like a backup version of the entire Internet.
The Controversy of Google’s Improved Internet Speed
While Internet users everywhere are excited at the prospect of improving high speed Internet service even more, there is a great deal of concern regarding Google’s invasion of privacy that clouds the jubilation.
There is a worry that the Google Web Accelerator can cache more data from users’ computers than users might find acceptable. People have reported problems with the beta version where they actually find themselves logged into a given site as someone else. The service has the ability to receive information such as a user’s IP address, computer and connection information, and “personally identifiable information,” (as Google calls it) which could potentially include e-mails, IDs, social security #s, etc.
Others believe that the privacy concerns are being overblown, emphasizing the fact that the current Google We Accelerator is solely in the beta form and that it is customizable just like standard Internet options so that users can select what they want/don’t want to be cached, along with clearing all stored files relevant to their computer.
