Issue:
When the F-Secure FREEDOME VPN connection is on, my internet connection is very slow. With the connection off, the connection and speed are normal.
Resolution:
A certain decrease in network speed is to be expected when running any VPN solution due to the different ways the web traffic is being handled. You can refer to the following community article for more information about this subject.
If your internet connection is very slow on a Windows computer after turning the FREEDOME VPN protection on, you can try to change the VPN protocol:
- Open F-Secure FREEDOME
- Go to Settings
- Click Choose VPN protocol
- Switch between OpenVPN and IKEv2
- Turn the VPN protection on
If the connection speed for some reason would still crawl to a halt, you can try these steps:
- Resetting your network router.
- Try FREEDOME with a different network connection to make sure it is not a router issue.
- Try to temporarily disable any antivirus that you have running (for example Panda Security has been known to cause slowness in the FREEDOME VPN connection).
- Reinstall FREEDOME.
- On Windows do DNS flush.
In command prompt enter:
ipconfig /flushdns
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ipv6 reset
- On Mac clear local DNS cache. Click here.
- Delete the existing WiFi profile, and re-connect to the network once again.
If all else fails, then try changing the DNS settings:
Important: Before you start
Before you change your DNS settings to use Google Public DNS, be sure to write down the current server addresses or settings on a piece of paper. It is very important that you keep these numbers for backup purposes, in case you need to revert to them at any time.
We also recommend that you print this page, in the event that you encounter a problem and need to refer to these instructions.
Google Public DNS IP addresses
The Google Public DNS IP addresses (IPv4) are as follows:
The Google Public DNS IPv6 addresses are as follows:
- 2001:4860:4860::8888
- 2001:4860:4860::8844
You can use either address as your primary or secondary DNS server.
Important: For the most reliable DNS service, configure at least two DNS addresses. Do not specify the same address as both primary and secondary.
You can configure Google Public DNS addresses for either IPv4 or IPv6 connections, or both.
Change your DNS servers settings
Because the instructions differ between different versions/releases of each operating system, we only give one version as an example. If you need specific instructions for your operating system/version, please consult your vendor's documentation. You may also find answers on Google user group.
Many systems allow you to specify multiple DNS servers, to be contacted in a priority order. In the following instructions, we provide steps to specify only the Google Public DNS servers as the primary and secondary servers, to ensure that your setup will correctly use Google Public DNS in all cases.
Note: Depending on your network setup, you may need administrator/root privileges to change these settings.
Windows
DNS settings are specified in the TCP/IP Properties window for the selected network connection.
Example: Changing DNS server settings on Windows 7
- Go to the Control Panel.
- Click Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
-
Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:
- To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, right-click Local Area Connection > Properties.
- To change the settings for a wireless connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection > Properties.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
-
Select the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and then click Properties.
-
Click Advanced and select the DNS tab. If there are any DNS server IP addresses listed there, write them down for future reference, and remove them from this window.
-
Click OK.
-
Select Use the following DNS server addresses. If there are any IP addresses listed in the Preferred DNS server orAlternate DNS server, write them down for future reference.
-
Replace those addresses with the IP addresses of the Google DNS servers:
- For IPv4: 8.8.8.8 and/or 8.8.4.4.
- For IPv6: 2001:4860:4860::8888 and/or 2001:4860:4860::8844.
- For IPv6-only: you can use Google Public DNS64 instead of the IPv6 addresses in the previous point.
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Restart the connection you selected in step 3.
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Test that your setup is working correctly; see Test your new settings below.
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Repeat the procedure for additional network connections you want to change.
If the issue continues, gather FREEDOME logs, and take speed tests with FREEDOME On, and Off, and contact our customer support.
Note: If you have hybrid broadband, that might be causing the issue, as the VPN traffic will only travel through the landline portion of the hybrid broadband, not through the wireless portion of the hybrid broadband.
Article no: 000002395
