Why is Flash game (Browser game) Slow and How to Fix It

PC Games, Software Update, Windows Freeware / By Theresa S. Kellerman

Flash game is usually the best platform you can play on, especially when it comes to casual gaming. The flash game has an edge over all other alternatives and that is; it can be played on the browser, and that also means you can play the game from anywhere and on different devices. One trade-off you may have to contend with flash games is that these games are not properly optimized like other games on standalone clients. This problem can lead to a drop in speed even if you are playing games with outdated graphics. The flash itself does not come with most of these problems that cause slow down, the problems are hidden in the browser. Many browsers do have resource hogs. Regardless of the problems you are facing, there are several ways to fix slow down on flash game

#1: Lower the quality of the flash

It is quite easy to lower the quality of the flash in order to increase speed. All you have to do is to right-click on the flash platform and then hover to the “Quality” menu. And you will see a drop-down of other options. The result of this step will totally depend on the type of game you are playing, and how intense the visuals of the game are. For some games, the change will be extremely obvious and for others, the effect can be minimal. You may not have to take this step manually as there are a number of Firefox and Chrome extension add-ons that can perform the change.

#2: Choose another browser to play on

Sometimes the best option you may want to consider is to change your browser option. If you are playing on Google Chrome, for instance, you may want to consider switching to another browser. Chrome browser has some 6 different tabs and dozens of extensions that can cause a slowdown in browser gaming. If you are using the chrome browser, you may want to do some research and see which browser performs better than others when it comes to flash gaming. You may want to download different browsers and use them one after the other to test your flash games. You can go through your preferences and then strip them down. You may want to disable non-essential add-ons and options because they may slow down the speed of the game.

#3: Hardware acceleration must be disabled or enabled appropriately

The “Enable” and “Disabled” options are two settings that most flash game players don’t want to toy with. Basically, accelerating your hardware will simply force your gaming PC to optimize its hardware to perform certain functions at a faster rate through the CPU. Depending on the specifications of your PC, accelerating the performance of the hardware may help or hurt your flash gaming experience.

You may want to test the enable and disable options to check which option works best for you. You should keep in mind that, you will have to restart your gaming browser after making this change. To access the enable or disable hardware acceleration options, you can simply go to “Settings”, then right click and you will see the option as the only one on the drop-down menu. You can read more on using this option of flash game enhancement via this link; http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-ways-to-improve-the-performance-of-flash-games/.

#4: Zoom out or resize

This method may be regarded as an unconventional method but it can help when playing certain flash games. The less you see by zooming in, the more information that needs to be processed, or the speedier the gaming becomes, this will definitely result in a better performance. If you are using a web browser like Opera, for instance, you can easily zoom in and out, with the use of a “hotkey”. There are many flash games that have containers around them, hence there are restrictions in zooming in or out because their sizes have been embedded, but you may enlarge or reduce the sizes of everything else around such games.

When you zoom a game out, it should look like the image below;

When you zoom a game in, here is what it looks like;

When you zoom your game in, there will be less pressure on your computer’s CPU, and the reason is that the CPU doesn’t have to process as many visuals as it would.

#5: Un-install and re-install your Flash and Java

For most people, especially those using IOS devices to play flash games, it may be ideal to use adobe flash, though it may not be necessary for all sites many flash gaming sites will require it. You need adobe flash or Java for websites that do not have mobile alternatives, and such sites will require that you need flash to navigate through. If you are gaming on websites that do not require adobe flash or Java, it can provide a smoother experience. Google Chrome web browser makes use of flash, however, such versions are not always stable until you install the appropriate plugin- this will eventually provide speedier browsing. If you are still finding it difficult to have great performance despite installing adobe flash, you may want to uninstall entirely and then re-install the most recent and up-to-date version. When the latest version is re-install, you will not only get the updated version, but you will also get a version that has the best security features.

Just like adobe flash, Java also performs the same effect on your flash game experience. Java may not be disabled and then re-enabled as you want because the software is known to leave many components behind even after you uninstall it and such may force your system to crawl, even when you don’t need it.

#6: Eliminate Browser history cache and all other personal data from the browser

Deleting browser history is an old tip but it remains relevant to this day. Cleaning up the browser cache alone can speed up the performance of the flash gaming browser. You need to do this step if you have never performed a browser cleanup on your PC before. If you are using the Firefox browser, you can easily clean up the browser cache from the menu. From Menu, simply click on the “Windows” option or “Preferences” in Mac OS. You can then click on the “Privacy” tab, in order to clear up the cookies, and recent history.

If you are using Google Chrome, you can simply click on the “wrench” located on the toolbar, and then open the menu options. And then click on “Under the hood” where you can find the option to clear your browser data. Once this cleaning has been completed, you may want to reduce the duration between your automatic cleaning options, you may also want to choose the option of disallowing your browser from accepting third-party cookies.

#7: Change the servers of your DNS

The DNS performs the basic function of translating web addresses, as well as the URLs that you type inside the menu bar. For most people, the DNS server connects with your ISP each time you type a URL, but the problem is that DNS servers are not always the fastest especially when you compare them with free servers from Google and the OpenDNS. You can also consider third-party apps like Namebench that help you compare different DNS servers and their services, this will help you make a better choice in choosing the most suitable DNS server. With the use of a third-party app like Namebench, you will see all DNS servers that your PC has been connected to in recent times, as well as the ones that are most responsive to your location. Your ISP may be the best option you can take in enhancing your flash gaming experience, hence make a switch today.

#8: Make use of multiple browsers

If all other things have failed, you may want to consider using another web browser for your flash gaming. If you can’t delete your Firefox extensions for instance because you want to keep those add-ons, you may want to consider Google chrome for flash gaming and the reason being that add-ons on Firefox, such as flash video stutters may disturb your flash gaming. In this case, you can use your Firefox for web-based apps and then use your Google chrome for gaming, by doing this, surfing the web will not slow down your flash gaming.

In conclusion, there is no way you can try all these options and you wouldn’t see a great improvement in your flash gaming experience. There are many flash games that provide much more fun than other forms of PC gaming, you can search thousands of them online and if you are a hardcore gamer, you may want to do everything possible to enhance the performance of your hardware and browser settings to get the most from such gaming.

For more resources on how to enhance your flash gaming experience from your web browser, you can read through these links; http://lifehacker.com/5833074/how-do-i-stop-my-browser-from-slowing-to-a-crawl, http://lifehacker.com/5513669/javara-updates-and-removes-old-and-redundant-java-versions.

Speed up Slow Online Gaming – Find out Why and What to Do

PC Games / By Theresa S. Kellerman

If care is not taken, your online gaming will eventually slow down for many reasons. Online latency is referred to as the time a data package needs to be sent or received when you are gaming, it can also be said to be the time required for an online gaming session to perform on your device, for instance, it can be the total time required by your computer’s graphic card to update your screen, in order for it to play the required sound file. Your typical online game network should comprise the following;

The main gamer PC (1),
The router or modem (2),
The ISP (3),
Internet Gateway/Nodes(4),
The server ISP(5),
The main server(6),
The second gamer’s ISP (7),
The second gamer’s router or modem (8), and
The second gamer’s PC (9).

The image below summarizes how the online gaming structure is arranged

The slowdown in gaming can occur anywhere in the gaming network structure, and mostly s a result of process delay between the sent and received data packages. Lag and latency issues are typically part of the gaming slow-down process and there are so many reasons for such; you can read more about gaming networks on; https://www.badosoft.com/knowledgebase/all-you-should-know-about-lag-latency.php

Causes of game latency and possible solutions to them

#1: Not lowering your game requirements

One of the main reasons why there could be a slowdown in gaming could be the fact that you set all gaming requirements to the maximum. You might have upgraded your gaming system, but if you don’t have such kind of money, you can just consider lowering the gaming requirements. Problems such as high texture resolutions, high screen resolutions, maximum graphics options, and high render quality can cause lagging problems during gaming. Virtually all online gaming will comprise of the menu screen that allows you to go to the Options and settings, this means you can experiment with all options; you may want to reduce the screen resolution, reduce the texture resolution or lower the graphics demand.

Though high graphics quality enhances the gaming experience no doubt, if your computer does not have the capability to process such graphics, you don’t have a choice but to cut it down. Lowering requirements will reduce the workload on the graphics card and there will be a tremendous improvement in the performance of your PC.

Lowering the horsepower output of your online gaming also involve tweaking your graphic card in order to reduce its requirements. The use of anti-aliasing for instance can help eliminate the jagged edges around gaming objects. Tweaking also ensures the smoothness of the gaming experience. Making use of anisotropic filtering will also enhance the texture of the gaming system. All you have to do is to open up the graphic card settings, then go to the “Advance settings’ or “3D settings”, and then turn off these settings if you suspect that your gaming PC video card is incapable of handling such options.

#2: Update the driver of the video card of your gaming PC

Oftentimes, your gaming PC can handle graphics, sounds, and other components of the gaming, however, the video card driver might be outdated and that could be the cause of the slowdown in gaming.

To check whether the driver of your video card is up to date, simply right-click on the “My computer” icon, and then click on “properties”, before clicking on “system”, and “Device manager”, and then click on “Display Adapters”. Simply check on the brand of your graphics card and then go to the website of the manufacturer and download the latest version of the graphics card driver.

Updating driver software can reduce lagging in video gaming by as much as 95%

#3: Reduce your PC gaming processor workload

Aside from reducing the workload on your PC graphics card, you may want to reduce the workload on the main processor too. Reducing the workload on your processor is very important especially if you don’t have one of those super liquid-cooled gaming systems. You may want to shut down all non-essential service applications and services that are currently running on your PC, especially when you are playing your games.

While some people do prefer third-party apps like “Soluto” to handle this step for them, others will like to do it manually and remember that downloading and installing third-party apps will definitely consume bandwidth.

The best possible way to reduce pressure on the PC processor is to scan through the processes that are running on the processor and then shut down those that do not offer critical services to the operating systems or your gaming. You can simply do this by pressing Control Alt+del, then click on “task manager”, then clicking on the “Performance” tab, and then clicking on the “Resource monitor” button.

The resource monitor will display all the culprits that are consuming your bandwidth and network.

#4: Make changes to your network

Aside from the graphics and processor workload, you may also want to make changes to your network, in order to reduce slowdown in PC gaming. The ongoing downloads (such as the torrent clients you accidentally left to run), alongside peer-to-peer sharing apps, will consume your bandwidth and can cause lagging or slow down during gaming. You need to shut all these things down because you need all those bandwidths dedicated to your gaming.

Make sure you check the Apple store running on your PC likewise, you may want to check on the activities being performed by others in the house (for instance Netflix movie streaming, and iTunes downloads performed by others, can slow down your gaming). The best time for gaming maybe that time when everyone else is not on the internet.

If you have the option of changing the internet in your home, you may want to consider Cable, ahead of DSL, and the reason is that cable seems to be faster and more stable, especially for gaming. Cable is definitely the best medium for gaming online. Secondly, you may want to choose the highest bandwidth for your internet package, in order to accommodate other online activities. Do not try to indulge in PC online gaming with your Wi-Fi connection, it is definitely the least option you may want to consider. You need to plug in the hard wire internet connection to your PC if you want to enjoy gaming. Even with an excellent connection on your Wi-Fi, the walls and obstructions along the paths as well as several other interferences from the household must be considered. Make sure you run a wire from your router and plug it directly into your PC.

You need to get the best quality router, especially the one that is designed for high-speed gaming purposes. There are several gaming features now available on PC, and these features are optimized to be automatically adjusted according to the performances of PCs. If you have not upgraded your router in a long while, it is better to do it now!

#5: Other Upgrades you may want to consider

If you can afford to upgrade your PC RAM, do not hesitate to do so, and the same goes for your graphics card. The reason is that these two upgrades can make a huge difference in speeding up the performance of your gaming PC and they are not expensive.
Make sure all drivers are up to date, even those that are not directly involved in the performance of your PC.
Make sure you perform a de-fragmentation of your hard drive, doing this will speed up the processing time of your PC hard drive, thus reducing the lagging or slowing down during gaming.
Sometimes, making some little sacrifices such as playing your games without any sound, can reduce lagging. You don’t have to listen to people creeping up right behind you, therefore you should try and save more bandwidth by turning off the sound.
Overlocking your PC system can also be a good option if you don’t have a weak system and you are not faint-hearted. If you know what you are doing exactly, over-locking your PC system can provide a huge boost to the speed of your PC game.

For more information on ways to boost the speed of your PC while gaming on the internet, you can follow this link; http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-reduce-lag-in-online-gaming/

Following the simple steps above will make a huge difference in enhancing the speed and performance of your computer when gaming online. This means, you can boot up your PC faster, you can run faster, race speedily, shoot faster, and decapitate your enemies even much better. It is advisable to take one step at a time and see if each step can resolve the lagging problem. If the first step does not resolve the slow-down problem, you can perform the next until you are able to eliminate lag. For more information on handling the speed of your network, you may want to read up through http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000620.htm.

Low PC Performance and Laggy PC Games? Speed Them up and Enjoy More

PC Games, Software Update / By Theresa S. Kellerman

Despite the fact that with every passing day, we tend to come across better, more efficient, and effective technological computers, many of us still face the problem of slow performance when it comes to offline playing games such as The witcher, World of Warcraft, Machinarium, Half-life 2 and many on them. The slow performance can be due to a number of reasons. In the course of this article, we will focus on the reason and will also present their corresponding solutions.

Lack of Optimization

When you launch a game on console software, it always gets out of the way. Computer, on the other hand, is saving and using resources for a number of its performance. Unlike a console that solely dedicates its sources to the game, a PC tends to give a certain amount of sources to the game. You might think that playing a particular game in full-screen mode means that the computer is solely concentrating on it. You are wrong! Your PC’s system is still running in the background. Programs opened web pages, and downloads on your desktop are still consuming a certain amount of the computer’s resources.

In order to increase the efficiency of your system, while you are playing a game, it is imperative that you optimize your software. To do so, start with determining those particular programs that are eating away the PC’s reserves. Open Task Manager and find those applications that are consuming a large chunk of resources. Once you are able to identify them, if you are not using them, you can always forcefully stop them. All you have to do is select that particular program and then, click on the “End Task” button located at the bottom right of the window. Below we have shown you a picture of the task manager, that shows the apps that are running both in front and in the background, along with all the details regarding their resource usage.

To ensure whether your hard drive is grinding away or not you have to look at the hard drive light on your computer. If the light is flashing a lot, it means that there is an app or a couple of apps that are heavily using your hard drive, deteriorating the entire performance of the PC. Like, programs that are using networks heavily are also causing your PC to slow down while you are playing games. An example of such programs includes BitTorrent or similar file downloading programs. To ensure speed, we recommend that you close all these programs, double check in task manager and you will be able to enjoy far better performance on your PC.

Besides manually closing the apps, PC generally has inbuilt optimization programs. If you think these programs aren’t helping, you can always download a good optimization program. Below we have listed the top optimization programs of 2017.

Lolo System Mechanic
iObit Advance System Care
Piriform CCleaner
PC Decrapifier

Incorporating a Good SSD

Many gamers are using Solid State drive in order to improve their PC’s performance, but the important question here is “What exactly do they mean by Performance?” If they are having frame rate issues, then we believe that getting an SSD isn’t going to solve their problem. In this case, their key component is GPU, regardless of how spaciously SSD they buy, it is never going to make a difference. The main purpose of getting and installing a solid state drive is to reduce the loading time, which occurs because the SSD’s data transfer speed is usually over 400 MB/s. This is pretty high if you compared it to the regular HDDs, which has a speed of under 170 MB/s.

Another advantage of SSDs is that it has the ability to reduce hitching in open-world games. According to Intel’s Adam Lake, hitching is basically the brief pauses in a game when the PC is unable to pull the required assets from the HD in order to match the speed of the player. There are a number of things that you can do in general to improve the performance of your PC, starting with installing your operating system on the SSD. This will allow you to access your desktop a lot quicker when you boot your computer. In order to ensure the smooth running of your computer, we recommend that you get a spacious SSD, install your games along with your windows on it, and also get a bigger secondary HHD for general storage. Doing this will make a night and day difference, you will be amazed at how quick your system has started to respond.

This might seem a good solution, but it for sure is an expensive one. For example, a Plextor M6e SSD starts for $530 for 512GB. Also, make sure that your motherboard is upgraded before you make such a big investment in the SSD.

Upgrade your Graphic Drivers

When playing games such as Fallout 3, Warcraft I & 2, or any other high-resolution, high-speed demanding games, you need to ensure that your graphic drivers are up to date. The reason is, that they play an integral part in any game, therefore it is imperative that you have the right graphics to ensure the smooth running of your game. Graphics drivers depend upon the operating system that you are using along with the graphic card that is installed on your computer. Check the make of your graphic cards in order to check whether the company has released an updated version of their respective graphic drivers, if yes, download it. There are two main manufacturers for graphic cards first Nvidia and the second ATI. They continually update their drivers, to boost their graphic cards, just keep a check at regular intervals to ensure that you have updated graphic drivers.

Improving Frames Per Second

Updating your drivers will go this far! Your biggest gain is frames per second. If you are able to increase this rate, we can promise you that you will see a mark difference in your PC’s performance and your game will run smoothly as well. After a lot of experience, we have come to the conclusion that the best way to increase frames per second is to compromise on the graphics settings.

Usually one tends to run the game at the monitor’s native resolution. For most computers, the default resolution is 1920 x 1080, and for laptops, it is 1366 x 768. If you want to figure out the resolution of your monitor, right-click on your desktop and then click on Screen resolution. This method is applicable if you are using Windows 7, 8, and 10. If you are running an older version of windows, you need to click on “Properties”. If you lower the resolution, you are bound to get more frames per second and this means better speed in terms of performance. But we recommend that instead of lowering the resolution of your monitor, you should adjust the resolution of your game. Load your required game and look for its graphics settings.

Once located, you will be able to change the resolution along with other settings. Also, watch out for Anti-aliasing. AA might smooth out the jagged lines, but it also results in a performance penalty. We recommend that you disable AA altogether and see how your game plays if the game is running very smoothly, you can enable Anti-aliasing at the lowest and then increase it as the need arises. Doing this would allow you to find the perfect balance between performance and games.

Upgrading other Hardware

Yes SSD help, but there is other hardware as well that can boost the overall performance of your PC while you are playing your game. The software might be able to increase the system performance to a certain limit, but it is the hardware that can truly make a difference. Above we mentioned the advantages of having an SSD now we will focus on having GPU/Graphics Card along with a high-speed CPU.

Graphics Card

We are sure as a gamer you are aware of the fact that a good graphics card can make a mark difference in the performance of your game. Once the game is loaded and you have started playing it, all the 3D graphics rendering is done via the Graphics Processing Card. Other tasks such as calculating in-game physics are also performed by the graphic card. If you are interested in increasing the graphic rendering speed and you want to give yourself more room in terms of game graphics settings, you need to upgrade your graphic card. Make sure you have bought only the best and your graphics drivers are also up to date.

CPU

We know that GPU does a lot of work, but whatever is left is done by the Central Processing Unit. There are a number of games that are CPU bound, therefore having a high-performance CPU will increase their performance. If your CPU is running 100 percent while you are playing a game, and your game is still slow, you need to upgrade your CPU. Before you upgrade your CPU make sure that you have tried every best possible graphical setting.

5 Hard Drive Clean-Up Programs

Alternatives, PC Games / By Theresa S. Kellerman

Every PC will work smoothly over a period of time and it is when it starts accumulating junk files on your hard drive, your system will run slower than ever. There are many ways to clean them, the first of them would be checking for them manually. This would be a tedious task and not all the junk will be on the top surface. They’ll be hidden deep inside the folders and some are even invisible to our explorer.

The next option would be to consult any software that makes this task easy and turns our computer back to its youth stage. Just formatting or erasing the data from the driver does not ensure that the data is completely removed. To ensure that your personal data is safely protected and your disk is free from the junk, we need to check every time and remove it manually.

Desktop Cleanup Wizard software is something that does this thing for us. Every time we run the software, it ensures that the drive is free from junk and the data is out of reach for identity theft before it is for resale in the market. Proper cleaning of memory at regular intervals is required for the PC to work better in a faster way. There is numerous software which can do this task for us. They keep the system under observation and intimate us of the unwanted junk and remove them frequently to make the PC work faster by monitoring the ram. Now, we will take a look at the best hard drive cleaning software and its specific features.

1. Advanced SystemCare Pro

The Advanced SystemCare released by IObit is another software that relieves the working of the computer by adding some additional features of its own to help the user to work safely and is modest the recent time. In addition to the basic clean-up of junk files, it also optimizes the system performance by cleaning the windows registry and auto-cleaning the ram with real-time Optimization. It boosts the system by cleaning the temporary files from time to time. It protects the system from basic security threats and has the feature of auto online privacy.

It keeps check of tracking information from its server and protects against the loss of data. It has the option to capture the intruders by scanning the faces and protecting the user by hiding the information from them. It also reduces the reboot time by monitoring the RAM, and CPU, and analyzing the monitor. It has versions suitable for Vista, iOS, and Windows with both 32-bit and 64-bit operating system compatibility. It will get rid of unwanted shortcuts. If the user runs this feature and also has the ability to remove the unnecessary applications from the action center of this program. The newly launched app also makes the features available for mobile phones.

2. CCleaner by Piriform

Created by Piriform, CCleaner has become the most reliable cleaning software in real time to clean up hard drives. It is the user-friendly interface that makes it very easy to operate even for a layperson. It disposes of the junk, removes the browsing history, and deletes the cookies and saved passwords to ensure user privacy. It increases the running speed of the computer by cleaning the disk and also monitors the system for junk while the system runs and keeps us updated on the results. Thus, it makes our system work at a faster rate.

This software is available in three versions namely Open, Professional and Professional Pro with relative features corresponding to each. The feature of defragmentation which comes with the Professional version and Pro version helps the user in arranging the data in a disc. It also helps the user to get rid of duplicate and shortcut files. The data recovery feature that only comes with professional Pro is added with more additional features for the Professional users. It runs on Windows of all the latest versions and is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.

3. Darik’s Boot and Nuke:

It is open-source software available for users to clean the disk securely. It is most suitable for professional use rather than personal use. It uses a floppy disk or a compact disc that cleans the hard disc when a computer is rebooted from the disk. It removes all the data at a time from the whole disc and it will be of great use when we want to get rid of a whole lot of corrupted data at a time without the idea of recovering it back again.

It can only be operated on files that are not connected with the system operation as the whole process involves the permanent removal of data from the disc or the drive. It has the unique ability to overwrite every single file on the drive that can be added with the additional features of the software. It is the most appropriate disk cleaning software when we want to dump the hard disk or Solid State Drive card without leaving any traces of old information.

It is mainly designed for professional users as it requires burning of a disc and requires booting from the disc and it would be difficult to be operated by beginners as it requires the knowledge of rebooting and formatting a disc in the boot menu. The data that is removed cannot be accessed or recovered again. So, we need to be very careful before deleting the files. Unlike other software, this DBAN does not improve the system operation as it does not clean the temporary files or the browsing history rather it cleans the hard disk at the will of the user. It is also available in both Vista/Windows operating systems. This Booting software has to be operated with utmost care and will be of effective use only when used by a person of good knowledge.

4. Wise disk cleaner

It is yet another open-source software that uses very low system resources. Thus, the working of the system will be improved by a considerable amount without using its resources. It has the feature of setting up automatic disc cleanup. Thus it acts as a virtual assistant for us in this process of clean-up. The feature of defragging and rearranging the files is added to its pro version which keeps away duplicate files and it makes the system work faster. The ability to do this defragmentation on external hard drives is the reason that makes it a better cleaning software for professional users who has to store a lot of data on external hard drives. It protects the privacy of users from prying eyes by clearing the internet history and other cache files and cookies. It can automate the cleaning process daily, weekly, or monthly based on our settings.

It can clean the junk files with just one click and there is no need to open the software every time if we want to clean the system. It too has the ability to improve the system operation by removing the unused programs from the system it can remove all the duplicate files from the system and it also deletes the unwanted shortcuts to the removed application. It is also compatible with Vista and Windows and is designed for both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.

5. Jet Clean

Jet clean is a free registry cleaner that can assist us when we are in a need to clean our hard drives. It is a memory cleaner that dumps junk memory and it also flushes the DNS Cache. It cleans the cache files and keeps an eye on the recycle bin, so as to clean them by making the computer work faster. It removes the junk with just one click. It backs up the system registry while cleaning the junk so that it can be recovered when required is added to its pros. It cleans the internet history and cookies from time to time to ensure user privacy. And it also cleans the shortcut files whose program files are no longer existing on your hard drive. It can also get rid of data files if the user deletes an application instead of uninstalling it.

This feature is handy in times of mishandling. It comes with a portable version that makes it useful to be operated from an external drive and the cleaning process can be executed on any file and on any system. It has the Pro version which adds more features like defragging the data and an internet optimizer that protects the user’s privacy from prey. These two features make it stand ahead of other software. It is an easy-to-use software that even beginners feel free to work upon which works on Vista/Windows and is also compactable with 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.

Importance of Video Cards for Gaming

PC Games, Software Update / By Theresa S. Kellerman

Why you cannot play GTA V or DOTA 2 on all the computers? It is the performance of the Video Card that enables the computer to run these high-performance games on the computer. Graphics cards are a set of chips mounted on a board that is connected to the motherboard. Graphics cards became a huge business in the world of gamers.

They provide high visual effects to the games which make them the brain of modern games. Different games require different features which are provided by different graphic cards. It does the operation of converting video data into a visual signal for the monitor. The graphic card contains a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) which computes thousands of numerals and sends them to the monitor. Now, let us see the various such cards available in the market.

GEFORCE GTX 1050 2GB

It is the best choice for basic entry-level gaming as it consumes very low power even on high usage. In most of the games, it renders at 60 frames per second at medium graphic settings and it can provide ultra-level graphics at 30 frames per minute. It can hover up to 100 frames per second in high-performance games like OverStrike and DOTA2 providing the gamers a very rich graphical experience and involving them completely in the game. It is the best for an amateur as it is the most economic one and is available in the market for less than many other efficient graphic cards.

The power consumption of this graphic card is below 75 watts and it has an option for a 6-pin power connection. It is very compact that it can be connected to any of the computers. It has a small heatsink that cools it at a faster rate and thus improves the life of the graphic card.

You can check this Video Card at
www.nvidia.in/graphics-cards/geforce/pascal/gtx-1050/

ASUS AMD Radeon R7 250 2 GB

It is one of the latest graphic cards released by ASUS and runs at a 25-30% faster rate than the older versions. It supports both DVI and HDMI output ports. It is the best option for gaming as it comes at 768p and 1080p with medium settings. This can also provide high-quality graphics but at a smaller 30 frames per second. However, this rate will be good for normal playing. It is provided with dust-proof equipment and has a VRAM of 2GB which makes it more suitable for the latest games like Battle Field 4 and Bioshock. It is compactable for GTAV also. This ideal for small computers will low power supply to the graphic ports as it can even run on optimized power. This is the reason why they didn’t use PCI connectors in their drive.

You can check this Video Card at https://www.asus.com/in/Graphics-Cards/R7250-2GD5/

GEFORCE GTX 1080

This graphic card is the best ever for Nvidia as it comes up with a capacity of 8GB. Thus, it can be of greater future use when there will be time for the usage of such high graphics. It supports all the games presently and is also capable of supporting Virtual Reality games owing to its high space. It is 3 times faster than the 980 series. It is available at a higher cost but the experience will justify the cost. It has a GPU boost of 3.0. It uses the latest technology of Pascal to meet the demands of the latest display including VR ultra-high resolution. It has display connections of HDMI 2.0 and DVI 1.0. It has a maximum digital resolution of 7680 X 4320. It has a Visual memory speed of 10GB per second. Upon continuous usage, the temperature reaches a maximum of 75 degrees. Also, the peak power draw is just 165W.

You can check this Video Card at https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/10series/geforce-gtx-1080/

AMD R7 360 2GB

This is one of the reliable graphic cards that are available for under $100. It has four memory of 2GB. It supports the directX12 fully. You can see the games in the List of games with DirectX 12 support. It is designed for gaming at 768p and 1080p with graphics ranging from medium to full. The resolution of the games also will not be as good as the other options. It can able to support all the latest games with 40 frames per second. It supports games like FAR CRY 3 better than the other graphic cards and can also beat them by 5-10% faster. It can also support the Grand Theft Auto V game in a better way but when played under the complete graphics, it fails to deliver the output. So, If you can afford a little more bucks, then go for another option rather than leaving a bad experience with this.

You can check this Video Card at http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/graphics/desktop/r7

XFX Radeon RX 460 2GB

It is the latest graphics card from AMD and it supports directX12. It is also Vulkan compatible. It replaces all the graphic cards from AMD and also costs less than $100. It has a decent cooling system and a single fan to make you connected to the game without any interruption. It gives a performance boost in games like HITMAN and DOOM. It has a 128-bit memory interface and comes with 2GB of memory. It supports almost all the games at a rate of 40 frames per second. The games like CSGO and OVERWATCH can be performed at 60 frames per second with no problem. To put it in words, it can be described as a power-hungry one as the battery of the laptop just dips within no time and needs a continuous power supply.

You can check this Video Card at http://xfxforce.com/en-us/products/amd-radeon-rx-400-series/rx-460-2gb-sf-rx-460p2sfg5

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

It is similar to the earlier version of 1050 from GeForce and probably the last in the 10-series. It too performs well at 40 frames per second and it performs at 67 frames per second which makes it better while playing games of higher resolution like Call of Duty and Hitman. It has a higher core clock and booster clock than the previous version of GTX 1050. It performs well even at 1080p and provides high graphic visuals. It performs well on a lot of games compared to the others. Though it costs a high price, it works as normal as the low-priced ones.

You can check this Video Card at https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/10series/geforce-gtx-1050/

Sapphire Radeon R7 240 1GB GDDR5

It is the most economical graphic card of AMD and also it performs well at both 720p and 768p. It is available in two versions namely the 2GB ddr3 version and the other 1GB ddr5 version. The 1GB ddr5 seems to be the best of both as it beats the former while performing at medium graphic levels. But, if you want to go for 1080p, then the 2GB version seems to be the better one. But, one must be satisfied with a later one when he is an amateur. Both of these provide output to 1X HDMI 1XDVI and 1XVGA. They operate at the 128-bit processor. It has a superior transfer speed compared to many similar types of graphic cards. For resolutions more than 1680×1050, this graphic card has to work harder and thus delivers low performance.

You can check this Video Card at http://www.sapphiretech.com/productdetial.asp?pid=6B79F8E2-5DCD-4223-90A7-82AD60F6C441&lang=eng

It is one of the promising graphic cards from Nvidia for under $100. It has 2GB of VRAM which makes it better while performing at 1080p and it comes with ddr5 memory. It works with DirectX 11 and performs superbly at 768p without any lags. It delivers the output to 1x HDMI and2x DVI. It performs a little bit low for 1080p while playing high-performance games like Battle Field or Grand Theft Auto V. For the price of this graphic card and its performance, it can be a better choice than choosing high-range ones. It also draws only a minimal power of 64W and hence, is a most reliable one.

You can check this Video Card at www.evga.com/articles/00845/

GeForce GTX 1070

It uses the latest PASCAL technology and provides 3 times faster performance. With its latest technology, it supports VR experiences. It supports all the games till now while performing at 768p and also at 1080p. It performs 40% better than the previous 9 series. It has a 2 times better frame buffer than the earlier version. It performs at 1.4 times boost clock relative. It comes with an NVIDIA GPU Boost of 3.0. It operates at 256-bit of the memory interface. On the whole, it operates at a 20% lesser rate than the competitive version of GTX 1080, but it is also 45% cheaper than it. It is the cost that makes it ahead. It also includes Ansel Screenshot Technology.

You can check this Video Card at https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/products/10series/geforce-gtx-1070/

GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti

It is considered to be the latest Nvidia ultimate GFORCE. It too uses the latest PASCAL technology of the tenth series of GFORCE. It gives the ultimate gaming experience at both 768p and 1020p with the best graphics utility even at a higher level. Thus, it can be of greater future use when there will be time for the usage of such high graphics. It has an 11GB of frame buffer which is considered to be the highest. It has the highest features of all the graphic cards released till now. It has a 352 memory interface width which delivers the graphics at a most astonishing level for all kinds of games and even at 1080p. It has both 6pin and 8-pin supplementary connections. Upon continuous usage, the temperature reaches a maximum of 75 degrees. Also, the peak power draw is just 180W which is just 15W more than GTX1080.

Why is VPN Preferred over Proxy While Gaming?

Alternatives, PC Games, VPN / By Theresa S. Kellerman

Uses of VPN and Proxy while playing online games

It isn’t a real game unless you compete with someone. Gamers are all around the world and to connect with them through an online network, it needs an uninterrupted connection. Owing to the limitations in bandwidth, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can disconnect your connection for a while. Thus, to have lag-less gameplay, VPN or Proxy is to be installed on your computer.

A VPN or a Proxy enables us to connect to a server anywhere in the world and thus compete with the players in that region. It also helps us to have access to some kinds of games that have regional restrictions. As now your server is in the same region as the other gamer, the data transfer will be unnoticeably high and thus reduces the time lag during play. Now you can goodbye to those days when you have to wait for a few seconds to view the moves of the opponent. Not all games are released on the same date around the world. When a particular game is released in a country earlier than your region, you need not sit and wait for its release in your country. By just changing the server to that particular country, you can have complete access to the game same as the regional users.

Differences between a VPN and a Proxy

When we first hear of the incidents on Wikileaks and Snowden, our first thought would be Is anyone watching over us? If any such situation arises, then our privacy will be under threat and the only way to secure is to take the help of a virtual private network (commonly known as VPN) service or sometimes a Proxy server. For the user-friendly interface that doesn’t require any manual changes to be made by the gamer, many web proxies use a slightly different setup which is ultimately focused on the server to pass through them directly.

A Proxy server enables us to request useful resources from a different server by connecting to other network services. In simple words, it acts as an intermediate between our computers and the internet. It can only secure our web browser. While VPN can encrypt the entire connection and secures it, thus enhancing the security and privacy of the user. Generally, most web proxy services are free but can cause some serious trouble when it encounters JavaScript or Flash Content. The majority of Proxy IP addresses are well-known to many websites and hence they block them. On the contrary, a VPN can bypass restrictions and censorship. To enhance the internet experience and for unmatched security and privacy, it is clear to go with a VPN over a Proxy.

Why is VPN a better choice?

Technically speaking, a proxy server is itself a recipient. It is not possible to get a new IP every time you use the proxy. You may have to rely on the same old address and thus it is like compromising on the security as anyone who intended to attack our system can remember that old address. When we request data from a proxy server, the cache generated will be stored in our directory.

The proxy server return to the data that is stored in form of a cache from our hard disk. To put it in words, a proxy is more secure than our firewall as it prevents the hacking of our data from external clients. But, if the service providers have a good IT guy, they’ll collect a list of proxy servers and can block their access to all their internal clients. Thus it becomes hard in such situations to use a poor secure proxy. This is when the use of a VPN comes into play. It is so secure that no one can get access to it even with the permission of the user.

4 VPN Programs

1. Express VPN
2. VyprVPN
3. IPVanish
4. Free Hide IP VPN

1. Express VPN

The major problem we face while using a VPN is reduced internet speed as the computer is re-routed through a server located at a far distance. The case is completely different with Express VPN. It never compromises on the data speed and thus provides uninterrupted service to keep the person intact with the game. This can also be done through various Proxy services. It is the security of the Express VPN that makes it stand ahead of all other VPNs. It features SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) security that comes up with 256-bit encryption.

So, there is no need to worry about your personal data while you’re connected through this VPN. This will very useful when you’re playing the game through a hostel or college WiFi. While it possesses all these features, even it sometimes creates trouble for the user. It is when their dedicated customer service comes into play. Whenever you’ve questions, they’ll be very quick in getting back to you either through mail or through call. You can contact them at any hour of the day regardless of the time zone. Best things come at a good price and like this. You’ve to pay $8.32 per month for their services. However, you’re free to withdraw from the pack within 30 days if it is not as expected.

2. VyprVPN

“World’s fastest Gaming VPN” – it is what they claim of themselves. It can be justified by the fact that they use their own hardware and network. It is the price of VyprVPN that makes it competitive with Express VPN. They offer all their services at a meager $3.75 per month. They also included a trial period of 3 days, before which if you’re not satisfied with their speed and security, you can get all your money back.

Their servers are all located near places very close to the main gaming servers. They re-route the traffic by “optimized for speed” network and thus it delivers a better gaming experience with lower Ping. While we know about their security feature, they have DDoS Protection. When you’re connected to this VPN, this makes your IP is hidden so that no one can target it. Their wide range of services offers you a choice of more than 20,000 IP addresses and over 700 servers from 38 countries. They provide an additional NAT Firewall that blocks unrequested traffic. The best thing about VyprVPN is that it offers zero packet loss with a minimal 17ms Ping. Keeping in view of its price and functionality, it can rather be considered as best VPN available.

3. IPVanish

It comes at a considerably high speed for the relentless gaming experience. They have more than 500 servers in almost 60 countries. With its huge network of servers all over the world, you can always find a perfect server for your gaming requirements. The thing to discuss is that they improve their serves more frequently. Thus, their connection will be most stable besides offering great speed.

This stability reflects in the uninterrupted gaming experience that will boost up your play. Accepting Bitcoin, it has both 128-bit and 256-bit encryption levels for secure connection anywhere in the world. Thus, no one can have a look at your personal data or can try to steal it while on public networks. While you own an iOS device like an iPad or iPhone, IPVanish doesn’t feature their services, though they have software for Mac. Comparatively, this IPVanish is a bit slower than the above-mentioned two VPNs. They also have a well-trained team for customer services which operates 24×7 with email and live chat. If their services are up to your requirements or not so pleasing, then you opt for their 7-day cash-back guarantee. So you have a vast week to completely analyze their features and decide on them.

4. Free Hide IP VPN

Even though there are many free VPNs available on the web, many people prefer to go with paid services. It is for their reliable speed and secure connection. Most of the free VPNs are nothing but just another slow connection with poor encryption. ‘Free Hide IP VPN’ – This is a way forward from all other free VPNs.

It is known for its very high-speed connection along with safety from identity thieves and nosy peepers. It secures your connection to that level where even your ISP has no clue about what you’re surfing. You can experience a stable connection that will enhance your gameplay as both the players will be connected through this high high-speed server.

They also have a strategy of not recording any of our logs and thus we can be sure that they cannot sell them to anyone. The majority of Tier 1 free VPN providers come with a limitation for data while using. But Free Hide IP VPN doesn’t keep any such restrictions on your data. So you can play as much time as you want and meanwhile, you can also use this to download any new games that are released in other countries. Download this app now and start using it to the core for saving lots of money and time.

After having a complete look at these fabulous VPNs, you have to decide whether to go for complete secure payware or freeware that may compromise its security.

Five Best Alternatives for Windows Task Manager

Alternatives, PC Games, Software Update, Windows Task Manager / By Theresa S. Kellerman

When it comes to task management, Windows OS has got you covered with Windows Task Manager. You can get rid of stubborn and stuck programs with the help of this genie instead of waiting for them to get responsive again which may take forever. Killing a stuck program with help of Windows Task Manager also beats the old “force restart” method which rather feels like holding a pillow over your PC’s face.

It can also be useful in other ways for example many people use it to monitor and diagnose performance issues and also to keep an eye on programs to see if there is any suspicious activity or whether a certain program is eating away too many of the PCs resources which are resulting in slowing it down.

So no doubt The Windows Task Manager is a very functional tool but unfortunately also a very basic one as it gets the job done on a necessary basis. It can monitor the tasks going on on your pc but can’t provide the kind of information needed to dig up small and underlying problems. Also when modern malware gets installed on your computer it attacks to damage, disable and corrupt your windows task manager so that it can have free reign on your pc. But to compensate for this gap in the market there are many other task managers which do the job much more thoroughly and despite that, they are still available for free. They have the ability and firepower to tackle modern and ever-changing malware.

All intent and purpose are to provide you with a bit more commanding position over the tasks and processes taking place in the background of your computer. They are also a tad bit more aggressive than the Windows Task Manager. Here are some of the most popular and useful ones discussed below.

Process Explorer

Sysinternals Process Explorer is probably the most common substitute for Windows Task Manager. The main reason for its popularity is the bucket loads of information that it gives you. The detailed information is color coded and presented neatly into columns which is a blessing because there are so many details that this task manager digs out for you that only a neat and tidy format of display can make things easier to read.
You can monitor pretty much everything like CPU, GPU, memory, network, and any activity you can name with the Process Explorer.

It is easy to use, if you want to terminate a program simply right-click it and then click on kill process or press the Del key. You can also suspend/resume and restart a process.

Double click any entry in the list to get a Properties to window open which is full of information about most aspects of what the process is doing with its open threads, security details, network connections, performance activity, etc.

Yet Another (remote) Process Monitor (YAPM)

YAPM has a Microsoft Office-like interface that just looks welcoming to people who use Microsoft Office a lot. It certainly is a very capable alternative to Windows Task Manager because it not only manages your computer’s tasks but also monitors and analyzes them. It also provides you with the ability of remote monitoring and shutdown features which gives you extended control over your computer and is really cool.

For task killing YAPM offers a few advanced sets of methods that can be optionally ticked using the kill task method option in the menu. These methods prove to be useful in getting rid of stubborn or locked processes. YAPM also offers the web search option through which you can search the relevance, functionality, and dependence of a process. YAPM along with all the other functions also offers a separate hidden process viewer; which can be accessed by clicking the green shield in the quick access toolbar.

Aside from all the main functions of a task manager YAPM provides you with a few other functions such as TCP/UDP network monitoring and a control tab. You can also create services with the help of the Windows Service Creator option which allows you to make a service from a local or remote executable file.

Free Extended Task Manager

Free Extended Task Manager is, as the name suggests, pretty much the same as Windows Task Manager but it comes with a few additional features such as the ports tab which shows you the open network connections on the system through which you can see what programs are accessing the network.
You are also given a performance tab which includes a disk activity meter so that you can see what processes are reading/writing on the run time. The summary tab will give you a merged result of the performance and applications tab to help you in gauging the system activity.

Furthermore, the process tab provides you with the ability to filter out system or current user processes and each task can be frozen, resumed, or ended individually. Another feature offered by the Free Extended Task Manager is the “show locked files” option which can display a list of files that have a lock on the process.

Free Extended Task Manager with all its qualities, unfortunately, does come with a flaw and that is the lack of updates, or rather the complete absence of one since 2008 which means that it can’t run on windows 7 or above. But like always there is a simple solution to this problem and that is to run the program in compatibility mode. Simply go to the properties of the program to choose the compatibility tab and in the “Run this program in compatibility mode” tab, select the appropriate version of OS.

Process Hacker

Process Hacker is somewhat similar to Process Explorer so if you are a Process Explorer lover but due for some reason can’t run it then this is the alternative for you. Process Hacker though has similar features to Process Explorer it brings a little bit more to the table.

The process list is color coordinated and in the service tab, there is advanced information available with the ability to stop, start and restart services. The network tab also uses colors to show opened and closed connections while the disk tab can tell you exactly what tasks are writing to or reading from the hard disk drive in real-time.

There is also a window dedicated to finding out which handles or DLLs are related to any process with the intent of closing any handles locking the file. Along with the ability to stop, start or suspend any process there are also advanced options present to find more about GDI handles and even the ability to introduce a DLL into the process or reduce its memory consumption to almost nothing. The miscellaneous context sub-menu has the terminator option too which is pretty good at killing tasks that are stubborn or stuck.

DTaskManager

If you are not a fan of all those colorful and fancy layouts that Process hacker or Process explorer provide then DTaskManager is your way to go.

It has almost the same layout as the Windows Task Manager but in terms of functionality, it can offer so much more. The ability to select and kill multiple processes with the aid of shift or Ctrl-clicking makes it robust. When it comes to task and process termination in DTaskManager it isn’t just the question of killing it but in fact how you want to kill it. You have the ability to terminate a program in four different ways.

Firstly you can just End or Quit a process but if that doesn’t work and a process proves to be stubborn then you can force quit or even force quit while bypassing the process permissions and protections.

You can also suspend the tasks to temporarily free up the CPU, in addition to that you can also use the “Trim Ram usage” command which can come in handy while multitasking, as you don’t have to compromise between running out of time or running out of memory. You can also resume the suspended tasks once your PC is out of an emergency state.

Along with all the Applications, Processes, Network and Performance tabs, DTaskManager also offers the opened TCP/IP network ports tab, and the user/Kernel module tabs give you the opportunity to view the files being run inside the kernel space.

You also have the option to auto lower all the non-system processes to idle and an undocumented auto priority function in the Tools menu is also available.
The DTaskManager although being great, as one can tell by reading the details given above, comes with a problem of its own and that is the “error 5” popup on ‘some’ systems. Despite the update patch released in 2012 the annoying popup messages problem still persists on some PCs.

Download DTaskManager

10 Signs of Computer Malware Infection and the Solutions

PC Games, Software Update / By Theresa S. Kellerman

Over the last five years, the number of internet users across the globe has tripled thanks to increased internet accessibility. The increase in users and advancement in technology provides cyber criminals with unlimited opportunities to take advantage of systems to steal private data for their heinous activities. Increased dependence on the internet has also resulted in a massive growth in malware and cyber-criminal activities.

Here are ten signs of computer malware infection that you should know and five top-rated anti-malware software that you can count on to protect your computer.

Slow Operating System

Most of the malware is designed to slow down the computer operating system, the functionalism of your applications, and internet speed. If you notice a significant drop in the rate at which your computer operates when you are not using a resource-heavy program, there is a high chance that your computer is infected with malware. Other known causes of this problem that you should also check on are increased lack of enough RAM memory, lack of space in the hard drive, and a fragmented system.

Pop-Ups

Companies are keen on leveraging the lucrative online market by advertising their products using pop-ups. Unfortunately, most of them use malicious software to achieve this objective. Your computer is infected with malware if you are continuously interrupted with pop-ups especially when online. It is also important to note that most pop-ups come with other concealed malware threats such as spyware.

System Crashes

The infamous BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) is one of the first signs that you will notice when your system crashes. Take this as a warning that your system is compromised and can therefore not function as expected. However, not all computer crashes are caused by malware; there could be other underlying technical issues, such as existing hardware and new software incompatibility.

Suspicious Hard Drive Activity

Malware is engineered to launch an attack on the system by initiating automated activities without arousing your attention. If you notice that your disk continues to show excessive activity even when no program is running in the background, scan your computer using robust anti-virus software to identify and get rid of the malicious software.

Unusual High Network Connectivity

High network connectivity is one of the most common signs of new-era malware infections. If you notice a high network activity when you are not connected to the internet or if there are no programs connected to online servers to upload or download data, act fast to safeguard your personal data.

Other plausible causes of high network activity include:

Automatic window update running in the background
Program or application uploading or downloading data in the background

Running Out of Hard Drive Space

It is okay to run out of hard drive space if you have been downloading and storing a large number of files lately. However, if that is not the case, your computer might be infected with malware. Cybercriminals can come up with malicious software that is engineered to fill up all the available hard drive space causing it to crash using the latest technology.

Programs that Start Automatically and Unusual System Prompts/Messages

Well, some programs are set to notify you when they run into a problem using prompts. However, if you notice an increase in these messages, you should consider scanning the entire computer for viruses. Also, if you see some programs closing and opening automatically, Windows operating system shutting down without reason, and strange windows during the booting process, there is a high chance that the computer is infected with malware.

As the sole administrator of the system, you should be able to access all the drives. If Windows informs you that you have lost your admin access to some of the drives, there could a malware trying to tamper with your files. Reinstalling the operating system can also help to resolve this problem amicably. Be sure to purchase and install an anti-virus after reinstalling the OS to prevent the problem from recurring shortly.

The first thing to note is that not all site redirects are harmful. However, you need to be vigilant if you are redirected to an unknown site. For example, a banking Trojan may redirect your browser to a scamming or fraudulent site that looks like your legit bank’s site.

Scary Warning Pop-Ups

Not every system pop-up should spring you into action. There are thousands of sites nowadays distributing illegitimate antivirus programs to unsuspecting internet users. They use sneaky techniques such as drive-by downloads to install fake programs into your computer. Once installed, you will get scary warning pop-ups that will require you to register and pay before the fake software can rectify the problem. Also, scanning your computer using a fake AV happens in seconds, since it is not checking the files for anything.

Security Solution is disabled

Your preferred anti-virus firewall should always be active whether you are offline or online. In a bid to infiltrate your system and access your personal data, some malicious software is programmed to disable the firewall thereby making it possible for hackers to access your information. Rebooting the system will not resolve this problem; you need to use anti-malware software to get rid of the malware.

The traditional antivirus programs have limited capability of removing and blocking advanced malware such as financial malware and ransomware. Consider purchasing a premium program with robust features and capabilities to secure your computer.

Let us shift gears and look at five top-rated anti-malware software that you can count on to protect your computer.

Number 1# IObit Malware Fighter Pro

IObit Malware Fighter Pro is advanced software that you can count on to get rid of malware from your computer in real-time. The interface is user-friendly and so no prior experience is required to get maximum utility from it. One of the main aspects that give it a higher cutting edge in the market is the Startup Guard which is tailored to ensure that no malicious processes start with your Windows. There is also a Browser Guard feature to protect your browser from being compromised by malicious software thereby protecting you from phishing attempts and ransomware.

Number 2# Spybot Search & Destroy

Spybot Search & Destroy has cut a niche for itself by providing comprehensive protection against existing and new malware. The program is engineered to deeply scan drives and files for malware and other malicious software such as spyware. There are also advanced features that you can take advantage of such as the botnet scanner and host file modification that prevents malware from remotely sending signals and data to the source. It is also compatible with all versions of Windows including Windows 95.

Number 3# SUPERAntiSpyware

SuperAntiSpyware is a robust software that you can download and use for free to check if your computer is infected with malware and spyware. The free version has relatively basic features but the premium version has numerous features that will add multiple layers of protection to your computer. For instance, it offers registry protection, and real-time scanning and has more than 50 startup diagnostics that work together to prevent malware infections from penetrating the firewall and spreading to the target files and drives. It is also important to note that it is compatible with a number of antiviruses such as Avira, Symantec, Kaspersky, and MacAfee.

Number 4# ComboFix

ComboFix is a free tool that is also efficient in getting rid of the malware. All you need to do is download it from the official website and run it to identify and get rid of the malware. It will check if Windows Recovery Console is installed, back up the registry, and then deeply scans the entire system in more than 40 different stages. After the scan, it will generate a report which is basically a list of all the detected malware.

Number 5# HijackThis

HijackThis is a reliable but complicated anti-malware that has to be used correctly; otherwise, it could wreak havoc on your computer. Every file and drive is scanned and a report is generated to show you the impact that each program has on the computer’s operating system. Unfortunately, it does not have the ability to differentiate between a legitimate or illegitimate program. The report only shows a list of processes or activities that may have being as a result of malware or spyware. Special IT skills are required to interpret the report and take the necessary action. Luckily, there are a number of resources such as online forums that you can join and request for help from experts in this niche. You can also read articles to learn how to remove any of the malware listed in the report.

How PC Gaming Performance Can Benefit From SSD

PC Games / By Theresa S. Kellerman

The gaming world has undergone major changes over the last ten years. New technologies have made it possible for gaming enthusiasts to play a broad range of games on their computers without compromising the stability of their system.

SSDs (Solid State Drive) are among the essential components of the new generation gaming environment. With the operating system and gaming applications securely stored on a solid-state drive, the computer windows can boot faster, and the game levels load seamlessly. With an SSD in place, you will not need to have a spinning plate. SSD has also become more affordable, and the amount of storage space that they offer is increasing thereby replacing the traditional hard disks.

However, the impact of SSD on performance is still debatable. Users who experience framerate issues may not benefit much from a solid state drive as GPU is one of the key components that directly influence performance. The significant reduction in load times due to fast data speed transfer through SSD should be one of the primary reasons for shifting to this technology. Some SDDs record up to a speed of 400MB/S while some of the conventional HDDs do not exceed 170 MB/S.

By embracing SSDs, you will no longer experience hitching. Hitching refers to brief pauses that occur as a result of the application being unable to pull assets from the hard drive fast enough to keep up with the players.

In a bid to meet the diverse users’ needs, SSD is available in different sizes such as the venerable 2.5-inch SATA drives and the new M.2 gum stick drives. The M.2 relies on a PCIe interface while the best models in the market use NVMe to further enhance performance.

Let us proceed and look at five recent best SSDs in the market that you can use to revamp your gaming experience.

1# Samsung 850 EVO 500GB

Samsung 850 EVO 500 GB is one of the most reliable solid-state drives in the market that you can count on to enhance the performance of your OS when you’re playing your favorite game. It uses the vertically arranged 3D NAND flash memory just like the 850 Pro. This arrangement has been proven to be effective in achieving high chip densities without reducing cell sizes. Shrinking of cell sizes is one of the leading causes of performance and stability issues. By leveraging 3D flash memory technology, the company can stack 32 layers of flash cells. The layers are interconnected using very tiny wires which allow multiple connections between the cells. The memory space available varies from 120GB to 4TB, and the prices are between $90 and $1,400 on Amazon and other leading e-commerce stores.

2# Crucial MX300 525GB

Crucial MX300 is a professionally designed SSD that is set to replace the traditionally large and unreliable mechanical hard disks. Its performance is excellent, but still, it does not match the Samsung 850 EVO. Over the last few months, the company has increased the capacity of the SSD to 2TB, and this makes it an ideal choice for even the bulkiest and most sophisticated gaming applications. It is also important to note that it relies on 3D NAND technology just like Samsung.

Apart from the low price, reliability is another major factor that gives Crucial an upper hand in the market. By purchasing this product, you will start to enjoy top-tier SATA performance that you would never achieve with the laptop hard disk.

3# Intel 600p 512 GB

Intel 600p 512 GB is one of the most affordable M.2 NVMe SSD in the market as evident from the many positive reviews that it has amassed from satisfied customers since its inception. It is cheaper than most of the SATA drives on the market, and its reliability and stability are almost the same as that of Samsung EVO. One of the downsides that you need to note about this SSD is that it is significantly slow for an M.2 drive, especially for 128 GB and 256 GB. The random writers are also slower than a new generation SATA SSD.

4# Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB

Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB is one of the high-end SSD that is well known for its excellent performance, stability, and reliability. Due to its additional features and performance, it is a little bit more expensive than Samsung 850 EVO. It was released into the market before 850 EVO and was the first consumer SSD that used V-NAND technology. Just like 850 EVO, the flash memory is only 40nm and has 32 vertical layers.

It does not rely on TLC NAND. Instead, it uses 2-bit MLC and so you do not need an SLC cache. Its highly formatted capacity makes it an ideal choice for heavy write scenarios. Its MEX controller runs at a mega speed of 400MHz.

5# SanDisk Extreme Pro

SanDisk Extreme Pro is another top-rated SSD in the market that you can purchase to take your gaming experience to the next level. It offers up to 960GB of onboard storage space and can hit sequential write and read speeds of up to 520 MB per second. This means that you will never again experience hitches as data will be transferred from the drive to the application seamlessly. You also need to note that this SSD is both shock and vibration-resistant. It also comes with a 10-year comprehensive warranty.

Thanks to advancements in technology, we now have tools that you can use to optimize your SSD to get absolute value for your money. Let us look at five of the best optimization tools that you can download and start using today to enhance the performance of your preferred SSD.

Crucial Storage Executive Tool

Crucial Storage Executive is a free tool that is tailored to help gamers who use Crucial SSD update the drive’s firmware quickly. You can also use the tool to reset the encryption password and also evaluate the health and performance of the drive. It is entirely compatible with Crucial M550, M500, MX200, MX100, and BX 1OO SSDs installed on Windows 10.

Samsung SSD Magician

Samsung SSD Magician is another great optimization tool that is compatible with several Samsung SSDs such as SSD 840, 840 Pro, 830, and 470 series. The interface is well organized, and all features are labeled to make it easy for users to know where to click. You can use it to enhance the SSD performance and to achieve maximum reliability and capacity. The customer care team is always available to respond to queries about the tool or the SSD.

SanDisk SSD Dashboard

SanDisk SSD Dashboard is a free tool that is designed to help users know the serial number as well as the model of their single-state drive in one window. More importantly, you can use it to update the firmware version, know the fastest speed that the drive can accommodate, and its overall health. If you notice health issues, it is recommended to contact the support team.

Details of the SSD performance are clearly displayed in a graph that is easy to interpret. You can also use it to free up some space on your drive by using the TRIM command. You do not have to boot into windows to update the firmware. Instead, you can quickly do so by creating a bootable USB of the software.

Transcend SSD Scope

Transcend SDD Scope is an advanced SSD optimization tool that you can use to get accurate and detailed information about your Transcend SSD. You can also use to erase SSD securely, update the firmware, run diagnostic scans, enable TRIM, and evaluate the overall health of the drive on your own. It also has a clone feature which as the name suggests allows one to transfer data from the old drive to the new one. The interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate.

ADATA SSD Toolbox

ADATA SSD Toolbox is a free tool used to optimize ADATA SSDs as well as access drive information such as storage capacity. Using this tool, you can conveniently firmware, securely erase the drive, and carry out diagnostic scans. On the download page, there is a list of all the supported SSDs.

Advancements in technology in this facet will continue to promote the development of advanced and more reliable SSDs that will take the gaming world to the next tier. Experts also project the prices will improve as competition and demand for steady SSDs increase.

Just like any other PC software or hardware, it is imperative to check the specifications and features of each SSD on your list to choose one that best suits your gaming needs and preferences. You can also consult someone who has in the past purchased and used the product to get a clear perspective of its performance and reliability before placing your order. Finally, purchase your preferred SSD from an accredited supplier to enjoy certain benefits such as comprehensive warranties and discounts.

Enhance PC Gaming Experience – Top 3 PC Game Boosters Review

PC Games / By Theresa S. Kellerman

Worldwide reports show that the PC gaming industry has evolved from a small, limited audience-based one to an enormous one with billions of dollars worth of investment plunged into it every now and then. The industry has taken the world by such storm that not just youngsters, but people of all ages and professions can be seen enjoying the occasional PC game, with some blockbuster titles pulling in more revenue than major movies.

While all that is true, it is worth noting that not every PC is suitable for gaming. What makes a game exciting are its graphics, resolutions, and high-paced action. But if your PC isn’t optimized to match up to the requirements of the game you’re playing, the speed of your games and your overall experience will suffer. Your game will freeze and won’t appeal as much as it could. So if you have a PC that’s not “game-ready”, do you have to miss out on all the fun?

Of course not! There’s a lot you can do to enhance your PC gaming experience. From upgrading hardware to tweaking performance-increasing tips, with a little time and effort, you can get much better gaming easily. That’s exactly what this write-up is dedicated to. Herein, we’ll let you know of some easy tips that can pull up your PC’s gaming performance and we’ll also introduce you to 3 awesome tools that can help you further. So if you enjoy playing games on your PC, you’ll find this piece especially interesting.

Tips to boost PC Gaming Experience

Common symptoms of poor game performance on a PC include intermittent playback of video clips, slow frame rates, choppy gameplay, poor video display, and distorted audio playback. Here are a few things you can do to get over these problems:

Analyze the performance and overall capability of your computer hardware and make changes where required (Free)
Overclock your PC’s video/graphics card (Free)
Clean restart your PC by removing all unneeded software from startup (Free)
Back up and sync your saved games (Free)
Remove hard drive errors if any (May be Paid)
Update video adapter driver and sound card driver (May be Paid)
Upgrade graphics drivers (Paid)
Upgrade to a Solid State Drive or SSD (Paid)

Explored all the above-mentioned tips but still yearn for more power? Read on to discover 3 amazing tools that can help you gain the gaming experience you’re hoping for.

Tools that promote better PC Gaming

1. Driver Booster 4 PRO

One of the main reasons behind degraded system performance and frequent crashes is outdated drivers. Driver Booster is a PC application that lets you scan and identify outdated drivers automatically. It downloads and installs the right update for you on Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP with just one click, thus saving loads of your time. The software is specially designed to tweak system drivers for better gaming performance. It ensures better PC performance by enhancing and updating security with Restore, Uninstall & Rollback features. With this driver update tool, you can protect your PC from hidden security vulnerabilities, hardware failures, conflicts, and system crashes.

Some of the best features of the tool include:

Small driver package with a new driver compression algorithm
Safe updating with qualified WHQL drivers only
Unlocks driver update speed limit
Large database to update more outdated and rare drivers
Accelerate downloads
Automatically backs up all drivers for safe restore
Utilizes system idle time to auto-download and install drivers
Updates game components for better gaming on priority

Supported Drivers

Driver Booster 4 Pro can support more than 400,000 drivers which cover thousands of driver factory brands including even rare drivers. Also, it provides useful and powerful tools in its “Toolkit” to help users fix common PC problems such as system crashes, BSOD, device connection errors, audio crackling, no sound issues, no network issues, etc.

Ease on System Resources

The product executable downloads quickly and is easy to install. It doesn’t require much from the system resources, 1 GB of free disk space will do. The working of the tool doesn’t negatively impact other system processes but it tends to slow down the system sometimes. Also, you should have a fast Internet connection even to properly scan for driver updates.

Ease of Use

The user interface of the product is fairly attractive with a black and gray tone. When the product finishes scanning, a list of outdated drivers is displayed within its interface with the version number, size, and release date clearly mentioned next to each one that needs to be updated. This helps to easily identify a new driver’s size & age before it is updated. The outdated driver list can be saved to a text file so you can transfer it to any other system if you want. Moreover, the usage instructions of the tool are clearly explained on its interface which gives it some major points as far as user-friendliness is concerned.

Pricing & License

Driver Booster 4 Pro is priced at $22.95. At this price, it can be used on 3 PCs for 1 year. Users are also entitled to free technical support 24×7.

Help & Support

There are a lot of ways to get in touch with the product manufacturer’s support team. The software interface itself lets you lodge complaints and requests by filling out a simple form and sending it to them directly. You can also drop them an email, visit their online forums or submit an online feedback.

Pros VS Cons

Pros	Cons
1-click Driver Update	Internet connection is a must
Supports Batch Driver Downloads	Includes a tab dedicated to advertising
Automatically creates Restore Point	Occasionally installs wrong drivers
Unlimited Driver Updates	Not advisable to run without manual intervention
Can uninstall and rollback drivers	Occasional performance degrade
Performs download within program

2. Wise Game Booster

Did you know upgrading your system’s performance could lead to a better gaming experience? Wise Game Booster lets you do just that. The software is designed to enhance PC gaming by optimizing system settings, ending unnecessary programs, and stopping irrelevant services with one single click. It helps boost your PC’s performance by making system resources focus only on the game you are playing. The tool includes features dedicated to PC gaming, for example, it lets you sync your games into its interface so you don’t have to find them crowded desktop icons. You can manage everything and check game information from a single interface. Wise Game Booster’s interface is available in more than 20 different languages so users all across the world can make use of it easily.

Some of the best features of the tool include:

Optimizes relevant system settings to improve system stability and running speed
Works on the strategy that ending everything else will help focus system resources only on the game you’re playing – simple yet effective
Allows advanced users to end processes or stop services manually
Gives users the option to restore service to its earlier state
Automatically detects services slowing your PC and reminds you to stop or keep them
Detects high memory usage processes and suggests you end or keep them

Supported Operating Systems

Wise Game Booster can work smoothly with a number of operating systems including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10, both 32bit and 64-bit.

Ease on System Resources

To say that Wise Game Booster mercilessly kills background processes won’t be fair. It lets users decide which processes to end and which not. It shows a list of all applications and how much of the memory they are consuming and leaves the decision to keep them running or quit them up to the users. In this regard, the software is pretty handy and doesn’t negatively impact system resources. It actually makes them more productive. It lets you optimize your system based on the game you’re playing. It will help highlight only the processes you need to kill to boost the performance of the particular game you’re playing.

It does, however, have a few basic system requirements but they are what most PCs have – CPU with Pentium 233 MHz or above, 128 MB or more of RAM, and 10 MB or more of free disk space.

Ease of Use

The tool’s UI is quite detailed and easy to work with. It is divided into multiple panels, allowing you to quickly access the main features and it gives users a lot of process customization freedom. You can ask it to automatically search for local games installed on the computer and add them to the list to submit for analysis. As a single interface for all your PC games, Wise Game Booster is a good tool.

Pricing & License

This is where Wise Game Booster stands out as a user favorite – it is free of cost! The full version of the tool with all features can be directly downloaded from the vendor site without even signing up.

Help & Support

There are a lot of ways to get in touch with the product manufacturer’s support team. You can find links to video tutorials, online help documents, and forums on the tool website. Additionally, there’s a dedicated support section on the website which includes a ton of options like FAQs, contact, etc. to get all the help you need.

Pros VS Cons

Pros	Cons
1-click System Optimization	Updates slow
User-friendly	If you have unsaved work you could end up losing data
Free of cost

3. Razer Cortex: Boost

Razer Cortex: Boost is a PC optimization tool that helps your system’s performance perk up by managing and killing processes that you don’t need while gaming, like business apps and background helpers. This frees up system resources and valuable RAM, resulting in higher frames per second and a smoother gaming experience. In this regard, its functionality is very similar to Wise Game Booster. However here lies the difference – Razer Cortex’s manufacturers claim that the software doesn’t just increase your computer’s performance; it improves the way you play by adding cool features to any game. The program scans your computer automatically to find all games you play and then lets you adjust the settings of each individually. It even lets you defragment the section of your hard drive that holds the game for boosted performance.

Some of the best features of the software include:

Optimizes PC for gaming
Automatically kicks in on game launch and restores PC to original settings when the game stops
Equipped with an in-game counter that gives you instant feedback of the frames per second while gaming
Creates FPS chart through which you can review your stats when the gaming session is over
Displays out-of-the-box recommendations to speed up most users’ systems
Expert tweak controls let advanced users delve deeper to fine-tune their boost settings to a much granular level

Supported Operating Systems

One drawback of Razer Cortex Boost is that it can work smoothly only with a handful of operating systems. These include Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Ease on System Resources

Contrary to its name and manufacturer claims, Razer Cortex Boost takes a heavy toll on system resources. While it claims to kill only certain processes, in effect, everything apart from the game console is blindly ended. Moreover, the frames per second that the software displays while you’re gaming are very unreliable. They drop and peak randomly without you making any changes or tweaks.

Ease of Use

The software’s usage is very straightforward. Its interface is easy to understand and use and displays quite a few options. Its interface is actually one of the only good points we could find.

Pricing & License

This tool, like Wise Game Booster, is free of cost! The full version of the tool with all features can be directly downloaded from the vendor site without even signing up.

Help & Support

Unlike other support pages, finding the exact page for help and pointers related to Razer Cortex Boost is slightly tricky. You have to first click on the “Support” tab, then select a product category, and then a software category after which you’re directed to a support page that includes information about all software products. So you do all this to get to a page that’s too generic to be of any actual help. There are a lot of FAQs on the page though so you’ll likely find your answer after some searching. If you aren’t satisfied with the answers, you can choose to “Contact” them by filling out a form, chatting with them, or posting your queries on social media.

Pros VS Cons

Pros	Cons
User-friendly interface	Can install malware
Free of cost	FPS shown are unreliable
	Requires repeated log-ins
	You need to be online to use it
	Requires .NET framework

A Few Final Words

From the descriptions above, you would have gathered the same impression as us – what game booster software does is more like optimizing your PC and system drivers to give its performance a boost. You can actually do that by playing around with the Task Manager and regularly updating your system drivers. If you know how to keep your PC running smoothly by optimizing it, you might be better off.

PC Games

#1: Lower the quality of the flash

#2: Choose another browser to play on

#3: Hardware acceleration must be disabled or enabled appropriately

#4: Zoom out or resize

#5: Un-install and re-install your Flash and Java

#6: Eliminate Browser history cache and all other personal data from the browser

#7: Change the servers of your DNS

#8: Make use of multiple browsers

Causes of game latency and possible solutions to them

#1: Not lowering your game requirements

#2: Update the driver of the video card of your gaming PC

#3: Reduce your PC gaming processor workload

#4: Make changes to your network

#5: Other Upgrades you may want to consider

Lack of Optimization

Incorporating a Good SSD

Upgrade your Graphic Drivers

Improving Frames Per Second

Upgrading other Hardware

Graphics Card

CPU

1. Advanced SystemCare Pro

2. CCleaner by Piriform

3. Darik’s Boot and Nuke:

4. Wise disk cleaner

5. Jet Clean

GEFORCE GTX 1050 2GB

ASUS AMD Radeon R7 250 2 GB

GEFORCE GTX 1080

AMD R7 360 2GB

XFX Radeon RX 460 2GB

GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

Sapphire Radeon R7 240 1GB GDDR5

GeForce GTX 1070

GEFORCE GTX 1080 Ti

Uses of VPN and Proxy while playing online games

Differences between a VPN and a Proxy

Why is VPN a better choice?

4 VPN Programs

1. Express VPN

2. VyprVPN

3. IPVanish

4. Free Hide IP VPN

Process Explorer

Yet Another (remote) Process Monitor (YAPM)

Free Extended Task Manager

Process Hacker

DTaskManager

Slow Operating System

Pop-Ups

System Crashes

Suspicious Hard Drive Activity

Unusual High Network Connectivity

Running Out of Hard Drive Space

Programs that Start Automatically and Unusual System Prompts/Messages

Browser Navigation Redirect

Scary Warning Pop-Ups

Security Solution is disabled

Number 1# IObit Malware Fighter Pro

Number 2# Spybot Search & Destroy

Number 3# SUPERAntiSpyware

Number 4# ComboFix

Number 5# HijackThis

1# Samsung 850 EVO 500GB

2# Crucial MX300 525GB

3# Intel 600p 512 GB

4# Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB

5# SanDisk Extreme Pro

Crucial Storage Executive Tool

Samsung SSD Magician

SanDisk SSD Dashboard

Transcend SSD Scope

ADATA SSD Toolbox

Tips to boost PC Gaming Experience

Tools that promote better PC Gaming

1. Driver Booster 4 PRO

2. Wise Game Booster

3. Razer Cortex: Boost

A Few Final Words