h4ng -
if your talk with time warner goes well, breeze by this post.
-what is the exact model of your router?
-what are the exact models of all network cards connecting to the network (unless you only care about your ping)
-run a speedtest. although this won't tell you your latency (ping) sucks, it will tell you if you're getting the thoroughput you're paying time warner for. (test here)
i'm asking for router/network card info to help you find the latest drivers. if you know how to do that, or what to look for, do that first and foremost. also, if you have an onboard network card, and updating the driver doesn't work, you man want to look and see if your chipset manufacturer has a new system INF file available. ask if you need help...
are the pings consistantly high, or is there a pattern of midweek afternoons and weekend evenings? maybe not exactly that pattern... also, a few complaints to sbc yahoo had technicians here. they ended up realizing they were over capacity for our neighborhood and have since upped the cap.
also, re: spyware/viruses. get ms anti spyware beta1 (here). it's good. also, try avg anti virus free edition (here) if you're not running something. even if you are, you need to update definitions daily...we do it 3x/day at work!