KenK wrote:
My computer is working very quickly today. Fast retrieves from the net
despite my dial-up connection, programs responding swiftly.

I'm worried. This is very abnormal. I wonder what's in store next.

What does your Network Connections control panel show ?

Maybe the computer (like Skynet), has discovered another
networking path ?

Some dialup implementations, the ISP provides a caching option.
It saves frequently used web pages, and gives the appearance,
at least for a small percentage of the things you do, of
faster operation. Since it is dialup, you'll never
be under the illusion it's fast. It still sucks.
Like, try to do Windows Update over dialup...

Paul