Web Accelerators

Speed up Browsers, but may cause problems

Faster Surfing
Using a modem to surf the web? It may be possible to improve your internet performance, but there are caveats to be aware of....

Improving Internet performance in Windows Me is the topic of a new how-to guide at 3DSpotlight.
Although the cynic in me believes most web accelerator programs cause at least as many problems as they fix, some users have reported improvements after installing NetSonic 2.5 Pro, generally considered the best in this category:

Wrote one Usenet contributor:

"...I had netsonic pro 2, it's damn good! [It] makes previously loaded pages load instantly. I'm now running NT so it doesn't run, but for 95/98 it's amazing."
 
HOWEVER, some users report problems after installing NetSonic including:
 
"... since I installed the free version of Netsonic I can't browse any web pages off line. Am I doing something wrong? I used to be able to see loads of stuff off line. I have a 30mega Temporary Internet File setting - the files are there but I can't get them from IE5 and if I try to load them direct from the Temp. file, same thing, the IE5 'page unavailable off line' story. Any ideas?"
 
and
 
"... I recently installed netsonic and ran into trouble with my computer so I had to uninstall it. I then reinstalled it and when I went to the set up install page it said I had recently installed or uninstalled it and to reboot the computer before i could continue. I did this and I keep getting the same message. I also get the task bar on the bottom of my screen that started when netsonic is on but nothing else happens, the boost speed is always at zero. I went to the control panel to try to remove program but it was not there. Any help would be great.
 
or
 
"I seem to remember reading here not long ago about problems with Win 98 SE and IE5 with NetSonic...."
 
and, finally, this one, which I'm sure you can guess the gist of:
 
"NetSonic y otros aceleradores de navegación, totalmente incompatibles con IE5."

Perhaps the most telling comment on Usenet comes from "Scott," who wrote:

"...I've used Netsonic in *many* of its incarnations--I beta tested the freeware version before it went "gold," I used many different "Deluxe" and "Pro" versions, and I've tried two of their very latest "Pro v2.5" beta versions. I've come to the conclusion that it is far from refined. It works beautifully for awhile, and really makes you glad to have it. Then WHAM! A total system freeze, one browser crash after the other, etc. etc. etc.

My advice would be to uninstall that damn thing. "Disabling" it is not good enough, nor is preventing it from loading at startup, because Web3000 replaces the wsock32.dll file. You have to totally remove the shabby-code piece of muck."

'nuff said.

Product: NetSonic

What it is: A replacement for your browser's default caching system.

Available from:  www.download.com

Send comments, suggestions, or links to your own favorite access control solutions to gben...@istar.ca.

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