Decreased download speed

kbe123

I've been using Vivaldi for over a year. I love it for so many reasons. I'm using Windows 10.

About a month ago, my download speed decreased from 100Mbps to a very consistent 13.5Mbps. The upload has remained normal at 100Mbps. At first, the problem was intermittent, but for the last two weeks, the slow download speed has been constant. After reading the forum on here and many other related discussions on the web, I have been unable to fix it.

It's interesting that:

When using Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and Brave, the download speed is normal (100Mbps)
When rebooting to Windows 10 Safe Mode, Vivaldi's download speed returns to normal.
Download speed did not improve after installing a standalone version of Vivaldi.
Deleting my profile, creating a new profile, deleting my browsing history, turning off tracker/ad blocking, removing all browser extensions, and turning off Safe Browsing did not fix the issue.
After uninstalling and reinstalling Vivaldi in the basic environment, the problem was not fixed. I performed the uninstallation/reinstallation twice.

As much as hate to do it, I've had to start using Firefox and Brave (still evaluating both) for work. We use VOIP phone system where the headset simply plugs into the Windows 10 machine, and phone conversations are adversely affected by the slow download speed. I'll keep working on this issue in the future, as I miss all of Vivaldi's great features.

Bummed.

Pesala

@kbe123 It sounds like each file is being checked by an antivirus while it is being downloaded. I only use Windows Defender and Firewall. Do you use a third-party AV?

kbe123

Thank you for the very quick response!

Yes. My IT department has installed Webroot and SentinelOne on all PCs in the company. In addition, I personally use Malwarebytes on all browsers that support it.

My IT guy said the same thing you mentioned Pesala. "Maybe something is examining your files during downloads." I agree that this could be an issue, but:

The slow download issue started about a month ago. Webroot, SentinelOne, and Malwarebytes have been on my work PC for going on nine months
The only browser that has slow downloads is Vivaldi. All other browsers named in my original post have normal download speeds
My computer is the only one in the company with very slow downloads. All employees have Webroot and SentinelOne installed. (I have uninstalled Malwarebytes just to see if it would make a difference. It did not.)

Thank you for your input!

Pathduck

@kbe123 said in Decreased download speed:

The slow download issue started about a month ago. Webroot, SentinelOne, and Malwarebytes have been on my work PC for going on nine months

How do you know these products have not been updated/changed and their rules changed? Security products often receive silent updates and ruleset changes in the background.

The only browser that has slow downloads is Vivaldi. All other browsers named in my original post have normal download speeds

Security products often have a list of "approved" software, for instance it might white-list chrome.exe installed in C:\Program Files but everything else not on the approved list gets extra scrutiny.

My computer is the only one in the company with very slow downloads. All employees have Webroot and SentinelOne installed. (I have uninstalled Malwarebytes just to see if it would make a difference. It did not.)

The only one with slow downloads in Vivaldi? Other computers have Vivaldi installed and downloads there are not slow?

Have you tested installing Vivaldi on another machine? Maybe ask a colleague for a quick test of Vivaldi on their machine.

Have you tried temporarily disabling Webroot/Sentinelone on your system, if allowed to do so?

Have you tried adding Vivaldi to the "whitelist" of these programs, if allowed to do so?

My IT guy said the same thing you mentioned Pesala. "Maybe something is examining your files during downloads."

I'm surprised at this attitude from IT. If they have mandated users install these programs on their machines, they better have a good understanding of how these programs actually work...

I'm also surprised that a company that would mandate users to install strict and invasive security measures on their machines, also for some reason allow users to install whatever software/browser and extensions they feel like. But hey that's just me, and good for you and Vivaldi I guess

iAN CooG

@Pathduck said in Decreased download speed:

I'm surprised at this attitude from IT

I am not. They are not paid to bother about a single user that doesn't use the software endorsed and used by the rest of the company.
They will care only when many, if not everyone, have the same problem with the same software.
I know for sure because I'm the only one using Vivaldi at my company, everyone else use Chrome and firefox.

kbe123

@Pathduck said in Decreased download speed:

@kbe123 said in Decreased download speed:

The slow download issue started about a month ago. Webroot, SentinelOne, and Malwarebytes have been on my work PC for going on nine months

How do you know these products have not been updated/changed and their rules changed? Security products often receive silent updates and ruleset changes in the background.

I agree. I really do not know which programs have received silent updates and ruleset changes in the background. I suppose I never really would know that if/when it happens.

The only browser that has slow downloads is Vivaldi. All other browsers named in my original post have normal download speeds

Security products often have a list of "approved" software, for instance it might white-list chrome.exe installed in C:\Program Files but everything else not on the approved list gets extra scrutiny.

Another good point.

My computer is the only one in the company with very slow downloads. All employees have Webroot and SentinelOne installed. (I have uninstalled Malwarebytes just to see if it would make a difference. It did not.)

The only one with slow downloads in Vivaldi? Other computers have Vivaldi installed and downloads there are not slow?

Yes. On my machine, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera and Brave had a consistently normal download speed of about 100Mbps. Only Vivaldi is slow at approximately 13Mbps. And no. I am not aware of anyone else in my company who is using Vivaldi.

Have you tested installing Vivaldi on another machine? Maybe ask a colleague for a quick test of Vivaldi on their machine.

No. I have not done this yet. GREAT idea.

Have you tried temporarily disabling Webroot/Sentinelone on your system, if allowed to do so?

I have tried to prevent Webroot and SentinelOne from starting during Windows startup, but I have not been able to do that. I'll run this by my IT guy.

Have you tried adding Vivaldi to the "whitelist" of these programs if allowed to do so?

I'll run this by my IT guy also.

My IT guy said the same thing you mentioned Pesala. "Maybe something is examining your files during downloads."

I'm surprised at this attitude from IT. If they have mandated users install these programs on their machines, they better have a good understanding of how these programs actually work...

I'm also surprised that a company that would mandate users to install strict and invasive security measures on their machines, also for some reason allow users to install whatever software/browser and extensions they feel like. But hey that's just me, and good for you and Vivaldi I guess

I've never considered Webroot and SentinelOne to be strict and invasive security measures, but I guess some folks would consider them to be. And before installing and configuring Vivaldi for my use, I obtained permission from IT.

If/when I have time, I'm going to start performing multiple computer reboots after disabling one application at a time. From what I've been able to assess, it's probably going to be the only way that "I" can possibly determine what is causing my issue. I just need a free weekend to do it.

I sincerely appreciate the information you have given me, Pathduck.

Pathduck

@kbe123 Sounds good, I'm sure when you get to the bottom of this there's a relatively simple explanation for this. One thing I do know is that there's nothing in Vivaldi specifically that will reduce your download speed.

Some internal URLs you can check for possibly some clues:

chrome://policy - if any GPO policies apply to the browser. Also check this in other (Chromium-based) browsers
chrome://net-internals - mostly to check if any proxy settings apply
chrome://net-export - allows saving a network event log. Not sure what good it will do for diagnosing download speed, but the Proxy/DNS views might give some clues, especially if compared to results from other (Chromium-based) browsers.

Also, it's great that your IT people are so liberal when allowing users to install their own software. But then again, I also understand if they will say "you install it, you fix it"

kbe123

I am checking these internal URLs right now. Thank you again!