Windows only I've helped all kinds of people troubleshoot "slow" Internet connections, and more often than not it has something to do with the twenty toolbars they have installed in their browser. Sometimes, however, there has been a legitimate concern with their ISP.

If you're reading this site there is a pretty good chance that you already know how to use the ping and traceroute commands from the command prompt. If you only have to do these once in awhile I'm sure you don't mind opening up the command prompt, but if you're anything more than a casual pinger you may find the free PingMaster app to be useful.

Have you ever been in the situation where you're left wondering whether your Internet connection is messing with the quality of your VoIP calls or your online video game experience? You can sit there and test your bandwidth all you want, but the fact is that the speed of your Internet connection might not be the culprit.