computer experts please(*_*)

ok i got windows-xp-home..basic computer..aol..dial-up..i installed all updates at microsoft and sp2..before installing sp2 my download speed was on average around 4.5 to 5.0 kb/sec..now its 2.8 to 3.2...whats the cause of this? would the windows firewall cause this? any info on speeding up my connection or fixing this situation will be greatly appreciated..please hook me up with some info...

 

All Maxthon is is a skin for IE, remove IE from your system and Maxthon is nothing but a bunch of pretty icons with nothing to do. Whatever security issues concern IE concern Maxthon, Avant, Slim, etc. I used Maxthon for ages, back when it was known as MyIE2; it's the best skin out there for IE, tons of options, but no more secure than your current IE is. The folks at Maxthon wrote a couple of fixes for these issues; they weren't successful. Check out their forum: one somewhat worked, one didn't. There are much more secure alternatives out there than anything that runs off IE.

 

ok..thanks doods..i got my connection speed back to normal..adjusted port settings/internet explorer settings and a couple reboots...new questions>i have 256 ram,after i load up windows i wait a minute or two then i go to system tools/system information and it says physical ram 256 available physical ram 90...whats using all my ram? i stopped/disabled some services that i dont need(info from black viper) and still i get ram in the 90's after boot-up...would it be the intel graphics on my motherboard using the ram?...anyone know about that longhorn transfomation pack 8? i heard it is not smart to install it...just wondering...

 

thanks halo...im not going to install that longhorn pack(not worth the risk)...i dont have any extra start-up programs..am i missing something? what else can be using up so much ram? any recommendations on software to increase overall performance? which one really works and is safe and reliable?

 

bump=)

 

thanks again halo....