My iMac's internet is super slow!!!!

Could be internet plug ins....

Try this - launch safari. Reset safari, by clicking on the word safari beside the apple, then "reset safari". Uncheck "Remove saved names and passwords" and "Reset Top Sites", but keep everything else checked, and reset it then quit safari.

- click finder in the dock, so the word finder appears beside the apple. Also note in the top menu, is the word "Go", click the go menu and then hold down your option key on your keyboard. This will make a "library" appear under your home in the Go drop down. Select the library, then go to your the safari folder. Inside here, drag "webpageicons" to trash.

- go back one screen and select the "preferences" folder - drag "com.apple.safari.plist" to trash

- go back one screen and select the "internet plug ins" folder - this folder should be empty. If it is not......drag what you see out to the desktop....not the trash, just in case you find you need one of them.

- launch safari and test it now

How about unplugging the router for 20 seconds or so to see if it resets itself, then plug it back in to see if this resets the Netgear modem and returns some of your Internet speed.

I, occasionally, have to do this with my router box from Comcast to resolve router connection/speed issues.

Unfortunately, if his other products are functioning as expected while connected to the same network, the issue is not the modem or router. The issue is isolated to a setting or resource on the iMac. I would be systematic with my approach in order to isolate the beahvor. On the iMac, create a new Admin user and test specific web pages. Compare the behavior with what happens in your user account.

Network settings for the iMac are considered system-wide, so whatever user account you're logged into, the same network settings are used. Here are a few isolation steps:

1. Test in a new user account

2. Test another browser (Chrome, Firefox, etc.)

3. Create a new location under the Network preferences (this sets up default network settings)

4. Check for other software running on the system that may be the source of the issue (Login Items, Startup Items)

Other users, including myself, have offered other options for you to try as we all believe there is nothing wrong with your network, but with your iMac.

Why haven't you tried any other options that other users have given you?

Kalob has offered a good procedure by creating a new user acount and testing your various browsers and websites under a new user account to see if the issues go away when using a brand new account.

Also, checking your Login/Statrup Items to see if you have too many background apps running in the background at Login/startup.

Tthat would tell us that your regular user account has an issue.

I offered that you temporarily disable your virus software to see if the virus software could be slowing your iMac.

I, also, ask you to open Activity Monitor to see if there are any processes that maybe robbing your system of performance.

Why have you not tried these things? Clearly we have all determined that your network is ,probably, no longer the issue.

We need to narrow down the options to determine if there is something wrong with your regular user account that could be causing your issues of your iMac.

Use Disk Utility to Check the S.M.A.R.T status of your hard drive.

How exactly did you reformat your iMac?

Do you have a backup of all your data and your current OS?

When you used Disk Utility, did you erase and reformat the drive as HFS+ ( journaled) with GUID partition scheme?

If your network is working well (which we should all agree that it is), and you've done a clean Erase & Install (no restoring your data from a Time Machine backup because that would be bringing the problem back onto the drive), then you should have absolutely no other issue unless you're trying to access specific websites (in which, that would be a problem with those websites).

If you have the ability to do another Erase & Install, I recommend doing that (through Recovery HD, open Disk Utility and repartition the internal drive to a single Mac OS Extended (journaled) partition and start a new installation of Mountain Lion.

If your internet browsing resumes to what it should be, then you have the fun task of MANUALLY restoring your files by copy-and-pasting them from each corresponding Home folder. DO NOT restore items from the hidden Library folder. All of that will be reloaded once you sign into your iCloud account (you do use iCloud, right?) and re-add your email accounts (that are all IMAP, right?).

Hope this helps.

Boot into Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.

Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.

From the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. While in Recovery, you'll have no access to your saved bookmarks or passwords, so make a note of those before you begin, if they're needed for the test.

Test. After testing, reboot as usual and post the results.

With regard to Virus Barrier, don't just disable it, run an uninstaller and/or entirely remove it and any associated files/kexts etc. Then restart. THAT will let you know if VB is playing any part. Simply disabling it won't. I don't expect it to be the answer but it should be elliminated as a possibility.

Agree!

Lots of times, virus software can interfere with the normally smooth operation of a Mac.

Sorry for hijacking the thread but I seem to have the same problem as this fellow but with rather different symptoms. All of my devices (Iphone 5, andoid phone, mac mini and iMac) are taking a long time loading pages.

The link you guys provided for the apple website using IP adress worked fine but the regular one took a long time to load.

What could it be?

Thank you.

Thanks karenselena for your suggestion. I had an identical problem with a slow internet on my iMac and I followed your instructions on Safari via the library and all is well and up to speed again. Your input was very helpful.

Thanks so much!

Lori

Thanks guys! Had excactly the same problem, first I tried resetting Safari, nothing happened. Problem solved when I switched to Firefox:))