on windows, click on the windows start button and type "cmd" followed by enter. That opens up a black window where you can type "ping nya.kano.is" (or whatever). Your miner may also have a ping option in your network configuration area.
thank you very much! and what is considered to be a good response time? it shows 33/34 ms for me.
That seems great to me since it is pretty much what I am getting from Wisconsin to New York. If you end up going across the ocean, it can be 125ms and more so those are the one you like to prevent if you can.