No, it works best this way…

Not just I, my ISP’s software says this:

Diagnostic Tests: Test 1 - DNS Test Resolved: www.cnn.com Resolved: www.yahoo.com Resolved: www.google.com Resolved: webaccelerator.isp.netscape.com Test 2 - Server Proxy Test Connected to server Test 3 - Direct Connect Connected directly Direct connection speed = 205.17 Kbps Test 4 - Proxy Connect Connected to accelerated client proxy Accelerated connection speed = 407.09 Kbps Test 5 - Features Enabled Acceleration: Very High Image Quality: Good Email: Disabled Popup Blocker: Enabled Complete.

Yes, the box is checked in IE Internet Options. But, since the dialer (as well as my MOH) uses a loopback, technically, isn’t every connection ‘local’?

I don’t know much about networking. Just learning some of the terminology myself.

Nor can I. However, I think perhaps you might be using a more restricted definition of ‘proxy’ than my ISP (which is really AOL branded as Netscape). How could one have a ‘direct connection’ to all of AOL via slipstream? ???