Some questions from a poor soldier in Thailand.

Regarding portable harddisks, is it possible to install programs on the portable harddisk and still have it run on the computer itself? Asking becasue the only broadband I can have access is in internet cafes, and I really need some programs for my internet needs. MSN messenger I may not have to worry, but mIRC and bittorent (ask OA) could be a problem.

Also, regarding dialups, I heard of rumours of methods that can jack up the speed of 56k connections. Don't know if this is true or not, but if it is (hopefully), can anyone tell me what exactle I need to do so?

Much appreciated for any help provided.