I can't guarantee this will work for everyone, but for me and a others that have tried it, it works great. This tweak will help web pages load faster, not a great effect on downloads, but web surfing will be faster.
Navigate to this registry entry and change the following settings:
For XP & 2K
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ServiceProvider
For 98, 98SE & ME
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP\ServiceProvider
On the right for ALL OS's change these entries: (ALL values are HEXIDECIMAL)
DnsPriority - 7
HostsPriority - 6
LocalPriority - 5
NetbtPriority - 8
Write down the current values PRIOR to changing them in case it doesn't work so you can revert back. To change the value right mouse click on the value and select modify and enter the values above once you have done all of them reboot to take effect and see how fast your pages load.
:) :D :)