is their a free program i can download off the net to speed my dsl connection?

Answer 1

There are actually several programs that can optimize your connection. The 3 free programs I would recommend are: CableNut, Dr. TCP and Speed Guide's TCP Optimizer. CableNut is a bit more complicated than the other 2. PC World did a great article on how to optimize broadband connections. The article is one of the easiest guides I've seen. Basically, you go to a website which measures your current connection speed. However, it goes one step further than other similar websites, if you give it the type of connection you have (i.e. DSL) and your advertised download speed (e.g. 1000 kbps), it will generate a list of changes to optimize your settings. Changing the settings requires editing Windows registry, which is hard and scary. However, with Dr. TCP and/or TCP Optimizer, you just enter the settings recommended by the website and the programs will make the changes for you.

"35 Things Every PC User Should Know
Want to speed up your broadband connection? Diagnose mysterious crashes? Move massive files across the Internet? Sooner or later, you will--and you'll find step-by-step instructions for these and other common PC tasks right here." -- written by Christopher Null, pcworld.com (http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128154-page,6-c,stepbystep/article.html)

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This a guide I wrote up for how to use TCP Optimizer

"Optimize your broadband connection" (http://winston-blog.blogspot.com/2007/02/optimize-your-broadband-connection.html)

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CableNut will probably optimize your settings the best; however, there is more work involve and it does get a bit complicated. But, if you are interested, the website Extremetech has a great guide with step by step instructions on how to use it.

"Hacking Windows XP: Speed Up Your Network and Internet Access" -- extremetech.com (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1722548,00.asp)

You can find the download links for the programs in the articles.

Answer 2

Speed Tests:
http://www.bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/
http://help.sbcglobal.net/dsl/speedtest/
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

Optimize internet speed:
http://www.dslreports.com/drtcp
http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php
http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/dfuetweaker_e.htm
http://www.pcpitstop.com/ (full tests)

Answer 3

http://tech.msn.com/speedtest.aspx?HTTP_HOST=tech.msn.com&url=/products/speedtest.aspx&wa=wsignin1.0