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[rallier]

40 Kbits per second... divide it by 8 you get 5kb/s at optimum levels! (that means in perfect utopian conditions most probably it will be 4kb/s or less depending on the line quality etc) when you are surfing many of the sites you go are already in your computer's memory so they may load pretty fast, however when downloading things are different..... especially when the server requires uploading and lot (confirmation of packets etc etc etc although small but many) it may choke your connection hence a slower download speed.
Furthermore if u have a firewall IT WILL i repeat IT WILL hamper ur speed no matter what the settings are...... you would say yes but just a little....well in modern era that almost everyone uses ADSL 1kb/s down is meaningless but for a 40kbit modem is no less than 20% of performance down.

What i imply is that most probably there is nothing unnaturally wrong with your pc or the connection, and as internet security increases modems will eventually be unable to surf at all. what i suggest to you my friend is to get an ADSL connection, it's fairly cheap and it may even prove cheaper than normal modem connection since it is not using the telephonic line as a telephone line (works at higher frequencies so the line is not busy).
what i am writing now is not by a run of the mill user you may encounter since i am working at an ADSL line provider along with the ISP and i've got a Bsc in Comp. Science, nothing to brag about it but just to give you clear indications that these are not speculations but facts.

Personally i rendered the modem usage obsolete and have one in commision just in case of an extreme emergency.