There are few computer-related issues that are more irritating than a slow browser. If it takes more than a few seconds to search for a job, chat with your friends, or check the latest news, the experience can be exasperating. If your browsing is constantly slow, check these things to get it back up to speed.

Before you look into these issues, take care of the obvious things, like having too many tabs open, updating your browser, and getting rid of malware or spyware. If you still have performance problems, move on to the items on this list.

1. Social Media Tabs

We’ve already mentioned that your browser may slow down if there are too many tabs. However, social media tabs may be the ones that take most of your resources. This is because your browser keeps using data to load your feed and keep it running in the background.

If you don’t want to manually hunt down tabs that you no longer need, you can install OneTab. This extension is designed to keep unnecessary tabs from hogging your system resources, as it closes them after a preset time.

Keeping tabs that you no longer use is one of the multiple ways to organize your browser and boost your productivity.

2. Evil Extensions

You might already know this, but it's so important that it's worth mentioning first. The browser extensions that you have installed can significantly impact your browsing speed. The first thing you should do is go through your list of installed extensions and delete any that you're not using.

That could make a big difference immediately. Once you've done that, if you're still having speed issues, you can look a little more closely at which extensions are using resources.

On Chrome, all you need to do is go to Menu > More Tools > Task Manager, and you'll see a window that details how much memory each tab and each extension is using. If there's an extension or two that seem to be using a lot of memory, you'll need to decide if they're worth keeping around.

If your default browser is Mozilla Firefox, go to about:processes to check which extension is using too much of your resources. On other modern browsers, you can access the Task Manager through the browser’s menu.

Browser task manager

If you notice a few browser extensions are taking a lot of system resources, disable or remove them from your browser. If you still need them, search for an alternate solution.

3. Annoying Antivirus Software

Inefficient antivirus software will slow down your entire computer, but you might notice it the most when you're using your browser. Independent testers have done a lot of testing of antivirus packages, and one of the things they usually test is the amount of system resources that they use.

Both AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives have done extensive testing, and they've revealed a huge discrepancy in how much memory your antivirus could be using.

Speed Check Frerik Lipfert Unsplash

Check out the results of these tests to see if your antivirus could be slowing down your computer, and if it is, consider going with a different provider. Because there are many good free antivirus solutions, it should be easy to find another one (if you're willing to pay for one, even better).

4. Diabolical DNS

A DNS (Dynamic Name Server) is like a phone book for the Internet—it tells your computer where to look to find the URL that you've entered in your address bar. You might not think that this could make a difference in how fast your browser works, but it can have a surprisingly significant effect.

Choosing the best DNS for your location could speed up your connection significantly. While it may seem a bit complicated, you can change your DNS settings to make your browser faster.

5. Boundless Browsing Data

Did you know that your browser stores a massive amount of data about where you've been and what you've looked at? In addition to this being a privacy concern, it could also potentially slow down your browsing.

Fortunately, this is an easy one to take care of: go to your History menu or your browser settings, and find the "delete browsing history" button. Get rid of your browsing history, cookies, cache, download logs, and anything else that you don't need. While it might not make a huge difference, it could contribute to a faster browsing experience.

6. Using a VPN

There’s no doubt that using a VPN makes your browsing more secure. However, your browser might slow down if you’ve connected to a server that is too far from you or if you’re using a free VPN, with a limited speed.

Test your internet speed with or without the VPN. If you notice your browser is slower while connected to the VPN, there are a few things you should try to fix a slow VPN.

Get Up to Speed In Your Browser

After addressing these six issues, your browsing should be quite a bit faster. If it's not, there’s more you have to do than close a few tabs or clear your browsing data. If every device on your network has slow internet, you might even have to change your internet provider. Also, it might help to know which form of broadband internet is the fastest.