speeding up the net
 

hello there
i am using a 2 mbps net connection in my hostel with my friends windows computer as the server and cc proxy as the software to share the net.six computers use this net connection at the same time and i want my computer to have the maximum speed.in the server no bandwidth limit has been placed for any of the systems so i think it would be competitive allotment..could any one tell me how to optimise the net connectio..as for your knowledge i am using ubuntu gutsy and as of now mine is the slowest in the whole network..
thanks

This would be cheating, but..

Dig up some old 10mb/s ethernet cards and put them in the other computers. Leave yours and the server as 10/100/1000.

You should also make sure you have the address of a good nameserver in /etc/resolv.conf. I've found that makes a big difference.