Safari really slow, as are all my browsers...why?

Question

I have DSL internet service. i am connected wirelessly through but i can also hardwire directly to the Lynksis 2.4 Ghz Wireless G router. the modem is a Seimens Speedstream 4200. the problem exists no matter how i connect.
About three weeks ago, my Safari slowed to a crawl and has been that way ever since, but only at the office. it typically takes 30-60 seconds to access each web page. when i switch to firefox or camino, i have the same problem. none of the other computers on the office network (Mac and Windows) are having this problem whether they are hardwired or wireless, just me.
Any other internet stuff i do is fast. if i do a download from safari (or any other browser), it is as fast as any other computer on the network. my email is as fast as normal. when i connect wirelessly on my home network, my browsers work perfectly in all respects so i only have this problem on this specific network (my office).
why are my browsers so slow?
thank you,
Ian

Answer 1

If your browser is suffering the issue at work, but not at home, it may be something to do with the way the work network is set up. My work network goes through some kind of packet sniffer to help ward off viruses and consequently slows things to a crawl sometimes. What it will do with a download is trickle enough data to the browser to make it think they file is still downloading while it downloads and inspects the whole file. When it has the whole thing, it opens the pipe and lets the computer download it at full speed. So, it seems like a nearly dead connection until the whole page/file is loaded, then gets it. Not quite the same as your case, but I think you may want to talk to your IT department and if they're doing something like that which might cause your slowness issue.
Since it started 3 weeks ago, ask them or the internet provider if anything changed in their setup.