Just curious to know if anyone uses an internet accelerator and if so, does it really speed up a dial-up connection? My ISP is offering high-speed dial-up and I'm considering it since I can't afford cable modem or DSL. Also, by installing an internet accelerator, would any spyware be put on the pc? Thanks.

Nope !!! They dont speed up your download ,it is all dependin on your isp and phone co.

Those dial up "speed up" programs do nothing but cache the visted web pages on your hard drive, so they load faster. If you read the fine print it will tell you that it does not affect upload or download speeds. There are some Registry tweaks that do work a little. I've used them on several occasions wilth fairly good results. But be advised the FCC, not your ISP limits the dialup speed connection to around 52 kbs. Larry

"Those dial up "speed up" programs do nothing but cache the visted web pages on your hard drive, so they load faster." Is similar to what the "high speed dial up" is; only it caches the pages on the server. If you were the first person to visit the site in question then once you load it then the ISP's server will save it for another to view quicker. I suspect, but do not know, that you would wind up hitting the Refresh button often just to be sure that you are viewing the most current page. If true, then it would actually take more time. Once to load the server's cached page and then a second time to refresh. It would seem that it might be just as good to make your own TIF folder about 500mb and use that cache for the cheaper money. I am on cable so it doesn't make a difference to me. I could do the same thing but it's fast enough as it is. (Getting downloads between 200 and 300 kbps now since they upgraded) Bryan

The only real advantage some offer is that they save part downloads if you get cut off. You can then pull them back together again. MS incorporate their own "resume" but I've found that it doesn't always work too well. The big problem these days is trying to find one of those programs that does not incorporate spyware. D

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the info and what was said confirms what I thought.

My ISP has recently offered it for an additional $3/month. Here's how they explain it: "Dialup Express compresses this data using a proprietary technology, and sends it over your existing dialup phone line. This compression process allows a smaller amount of data to be sent, up to five times less, making the download time of your web pages and your online experience that much faster. As an added download time reducer, Dialup Express stores elements of the web sites you visit frequently eliminating the need to re-download them every time you visit these sites" Notice it doesn't mention anything about downloads or uploads of files...only webpages