 
First start-up the Ping program. 
  Select 
ASYNCHRONOUS
          PING (BLOCKING PING isn't recommended), 
and enter a host name or
          address in the specified windows.  
Clicking OK will send a data packet
          to the address, and then bounce it back to your local system.  Ten
          packets are sent out and back. 
          At the end of the pinging process, statistics are 
displayed, including
          the percentage of packet loss.  
If this value is high (ie. 20% or
          more), then you likely have a poor PPP/SLIP connection.  The problem could lie in your modem connection, or the problem could lie within the Internet. 
Think of it as
 sonar for your computer submarine ... see what you can ping off. (try 198.70.186.1)

