isposure is a freely-downloadable Windows application that you can use to test the overall performance of your Broadband connection. It performs numerous tests on your connection including:

• Line Speed (both download and upload)
• Web browsing speeds
• Ping Times
• DNS times

All of these measures when taken together provide a truly accurate picture of the quality of your Service Provider's broadband service.

isposure results are extremely accurate. The Line Speed test, in Countries where the metric is available, uses isposure-specific testing servers located at key Internet Exchanges in your Country's core network to allow us to judge your internet line speed in the most accurate and efficient way possible. The Browsing Speed test performs multiple download tests to servers around the world, giving you the accurate and truly indicative web browsing speeds.

isposure is a completely free service to consumers.

isposure is provided free as we provide performance data to Epitiro Technologies - the independent Global Broadband Performance Authority and the developers of the isposure application , who in turn analyse the output and provide the resulting performance reports to Broadband ISPs who are prepared to pay for the information. This information is exclusively limited to performance data and does not, and will never, contain any private information about users.

We respect our customer's privacy over all else, and as such, we adhere to a very strict privacy policy. The following kinds of information are NEVER monitored, collected, or transmitted:

• Web sites visited
• Any 3rd party software or applications loaded
• Your internet activity or any other internet-related actions performed

To improve your network service, we schedule the Agent to occasionally perform a suite of standard network tests in the background, such as uploading and downloading files and "pinging" a series of network locations. The data contains no identifying information that would violate your privacy, and does NOT monitor what you do, such as which Web sites you visit. In typical Agent configuration, the following kinds of information relating to your Broadband service access are uploaded after each successful Internet connection:

• isposure User ID
• Your country code
• Your Postcode/ZIP code if provided
• Your PPP server IP address e.g., "100.0.0.2"
• OS type and version "Windows XP, SP3"
• Network configuration settings
• CPU type, total physical memory

isposure is designed so that its Internet testing is unobtrusive:

• Testing does not interfere with your Internet session operation
• isposure waits for a period of inactivity on your Broadband connection before beginning testing

• Make sure that your Broadband connection is up and running.
• Using your web browser, visit the isposure website download page - at http://www.isposure.com/download.htm
• Select the language version you require from the dropdown list and then click 'download'
• Run the setup: go to Start, select Run, find the downloaded isposure install file, select it and press enter.
• The isposure desktop agent will now begin installation
• Once installation is complete, if successful, you will see the isposure icon on your desktop tray

NOTE: Firewall or anti-spyware programs may show alert dialogs relating to the isposure installation. Please allow the isposure program to proceed should you see one or more of these alerts by selection selecting an option such as:

• Allow
• Permit
• Unblock
• Yes

Blocking the installation at any point will likely cause the isposure program to fail

If you are using anti-virus software (McAfee, ZoneAlarm, Norton) you may well get further messages telling you that isposure:

• is trying to communicate with remote service(s)
• might be a virus or other form of malicious software

Should this be the case you will need to ensure that your anti-virus software allows isposure to proceed or it will not be able to function correctly.

After isposure has been installed on your PC for the very first time, the application should run its first series of tests. You'll know this is happening because the icon will begin flashing, changing colour from to intermittently. A standard series of tests should take less than about 1 minute to complete.

isposure results are presented in your web browser. To get access to your results page at www.isposure.com - right-click the isposure icon on the tray and select the "View isposure result online.." option. Once you've done so, the application will launch your default web browser and access your isposure results portal. If this is the first time you've accessed your reports page on the website then you will be asked to fill in some information fields about your broadband subscription to complete the registration.

After installing isposure, you will be asked to fill out some details to complete the registration. Only some of the fields have to be filled in - these fields are necessary to correctly register your Broadband test results in our database and allow us to provide you with the best Broadband Comparison service possible. Accurately completing the registration process ensures your reports are accurate and allows us to compare your performance to other equivalent subscriptions.

If your Broadband Package is not in the list we provide then simply select "Other". This will allow you to fill in your package details - we will review the entry and likely add it to the isposure package list or your ISP.

Ideally the Line Speed test results should provide a value equal to your Advertised Line speed. However, all your data transfers are transmitted over your Broadband line using TCP/IP over ATM.

ATM is a protocol for transferring data between two points. ATM has an overhead of about 10%.
TCP/IP has an overhead in transmission of roughly 5%.

So you can expect to lose about 15% of your advertised speed when measuring the actual application transfer rate - before you even begin to consider all the other factors.

Here's a good rule of thumb Take your advertised broadband line speed, dividing by 8 (to get bytes) and take off about 15% and you'll be left with the maximum likely Line speed (in bytes of data) you will ever manage to get.
 
The following table roughly outlines what you should be seeing:

Stated/Advertised Speed Mb/s	Ideal Line Speed (Mb/s)
2	1.7
4	3.4
8	6.8
16	13.6

If many applications on your computer, or other computers within your home or office network, are accessing the Internet at the same time then they will all be sharing the Broadband capacity being provided to you. If you run the isposure tests during this time you will notice that the results will most likely be lower than usual. Therefore, to accurately determine the actual Line Speed of your Broadband connection be sure to stop your Browsing the web, close your email, Peer-to-Peer, and any other internet applications before testing . Also, In terms of Broadband speeds there are a few factors that will affect the reported speeds you receive:

• The number of users on a web site or server you are using at that time
• The number of people sharing your network at that time
• How far you are from the local telephone exchange (ADSL, ADSL2+, VDSL). (The distance from the exchange does not typically apply to Cable broadband connections)
• The number of users in your cell - if using Wireless 3G Broadband

After installation isposure will typically runs one set of default tests per day. This may be just after you've connected your Broadband service or on a 24-hour cycle if you tend to leave your Broadband service connected and your Computer running. If your connection feels slow anytime you can always do an on-the-spot set of tests by selecting the "Run tests now ..." option from the isposure menu. - This will run immediately and present the results to you via the online portal.

We do hope that you never have any problems using the isposure application. However, in the unlikely event that you do have an issue please feel free send us a message using the form on the contact page.

Reported Speeds too low?
In most cases users don't get near the line speeds that their ISPs is supposed to be providing to them and users find it difficult to understand why they are not getting the advertised speed as promised by the Service Provider. Many suspect that ISP is not providing the desired bandwidth. Whilst this is sometimes the case there are lots of other factors that will contribute to your broadband performance - even if the advertised full bandwidth is actually available and your ADSL line is functioning correctly. Common factors include:

• The quality of your line,
• The distance to the local exchange,
• Your equipment at home (Computer, Modem/Router, Configuration, Firewall)
• Insufficient RAM - Add some more and your whole computing experience will typically improve
• Underpowered CPU in our PC - Might be time to upgrade!
• An unstable Windows Installation
• Too much Shareware installed, particularly Spyware
• Background Peer-to-Peer applications (Limewire, BitTorrent, Kontiki)
• Windows updates downloading in the background.
• The capacity of the servers begin used to test the Line Speed

Reported Speeds too High?
Some users report that the speeds they're getting from the Line Speed results exceed the stated Line Speed that they've purchased. In most cases you will find that your ISP has upgraded your line without informing you.

You can change your package details at any time by clicking the 'Edit Details' button and changing the Package details to any of those listed. Again, if your package is not in the list, use the 'Other' option and type in new details.

Not a problem. If you change ISPs, isposure will, in most cases, detect this situation has occurred and allow you to create a new profile for that ISP . If you moved location then simply change your location details at any time by clicking the 'Edit Details' button and updating your information.