Unleash7 - Everything PC... Made Simple!

*This technique is for routers only!

The basis of port forwarding consists of opening TCP and UDP ports to reach the host within a private network. Basically, it allows remote computers to connect to another over LAN (Local Area Connection). Port Forwarding is commonly used to bypass certain network complications and interferences when playing online games. This significantly improves your online experience and is essential to block Windows Firewall from accessing the port. It can also be used for many programs needing an internet connection to connect to it. Here's how to open a port for almost any program you may desire:

1. Go to PortForward.com
2. Scroll down and select your Router Manufacturer and type (see back of your router for details)
3. You will now see a page full of programs, apps and even games
4. Select any one you want and follow the step by step instructions that they provide to you
*NOTE: If you do not know your Private IP Address, simply go to Start, Run, type CMD and in the black menu, type ipconfig. Your IP is located in the IPv4 Address area

To test out if your ports are open, download this program PFPortChecker
You will need to re-open your ports if your Private IP changes.

Cheers!

Windows Services control the way your system functions and how it is managed. Many of these services take up a lot of memory and can easily reduce your system's performance. Luckily, there are quite a lot of services that can either be set to manual or can be disabled permanently. Here is a full list that we created with the help of many sites and of course, our knowledge:

*In order to access your service list, navigate to:

Start, Run and type Services.msc

When you are not allowed to access a certain file, the task ownership option is the best way to go as it disables the file's protection so you can easily use it. But, by default, this option is disabled. Here's how to enable it:

1. Click Start, Run and type Regedit
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\runas
3. On the right-hand side, you will tonic a string called Default, double-click it, and in Value Data, type in Take Ownership

*To access this option, you need to right-click a folder (not a file) and select Take Ownership

There you go!

TechWiz

If your computer is registered under the wrong name or may have been misspelled , you might want to follow these tips showing you how to change the owner of the PC's name using the registry. It is fairly easy to accomplish:

1. Click Start, Run, and type Regedit
2. Navigate to the following line:
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion"
3. Make sure to click on the CurrentVersion key and look at the right-hand side
4. Locate RegisteredOwner, Right-Click it and Modify to change the value data
5. Put in any name you desire

Hope this helps!

TechWiz

A hidden feature in Windows 7 is GodMode, which let's you access over 250 windows tasks with a click of a button. Now, this is really useful for beginners who don't really know a lot about system tasks and with this tip, you can have everything from partitioning your hard drive to changing your Windows theme all in one simple folder. Here's how to access GodMode:

1. Right-Click your desktop and select New Folder
2. Rename the folder to the following entry :
GodMode.{ed7ba470-8e54-465e-825c-99712043e01c}

*The folder icon will change to this icon and you can now access GodMode

There you go!

TechWiz

A feature in Windows 7 is the implementation of Windows Defender, which can become a hassle if you already have a decent anti-virus to handle all your virus and spyware needs. This significantly slows down your computer by utilizes many of your system's resources to power on Windows Defender.

Windows Firewall, on the other hand, has never been much of use for me due to the the many anti-viruses out there that feature a firewall in their software. We recommend disabling these features to improve your system response time and your online gaming experience (Firewall interferes with the servers you use to connect to when you're playing online). This tweak is significant for gamers and normal PC users.

*If you want more info on anti-viruses and which one to choose, check this post-->CLICK ME

Disable Windows Firewall
1. Click Start, Control Panel
2. In System and Security, click on Windows Firewall
3. On the left-hand side, hit Turn Windows Firewall On or Off
4. For both Private and Public sub-menus, check Turn Off Windows Firewall

Disable the firewall service (not recommended for beginners):
1. Click Start, Run, type Services.msc
2. In the list, scroll down and look for Windows Firewall
3. Double-click it, hit Stop to stop the service and in startup type, hit Disabled

Disable Windows Defender
1. Open up Windows Defender by clicking Start and by typing Windows Defender in the Search Box
2. Once inside the program, hit Tools
3. Under Settings, click Options
4. Click on the Administrator tab and uncheck "Use This Program"

Disable the windows defender service (not recommended for beginners):
1. Click Start, Run and type Services.msc
2. In the list, find Windows Defender
3. Double-click it, hit Stop and in the startup type, hit Disabled

There you go, another tweak, a faster PC!

TechWiz

Another registry tweak here showing you how to disable low disk space monitoring which notifies the user when their disk space is too low and can get pretty tiresome after seeing it pop-up many times. It also utilizes a lot of system's resources and, therefore, is not needed on your PC. Here's what to do:

1. Click Start, Run, then type Regedit
2. Navigate to the following line:

"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer"

3. On the right-hand side, look for the following entries:

• NoLowDiskSpaceChecks = Set the value data to 1
• NoResolveSearch = Set the value data to 1
• NoInternetOpenWith = Set the value data to 1
• NoResolveTrack = Set the value data to 1

Windows delays their menus responsiveness when hovering your mouse over a file or folder. This tweak will show you exactly how to change the value data to get your menus running faster. By default, it takes around 400 milliseconds to show the menu.

1. Click Start, Run and type Regedit
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. On the right-hand side, locate and double-click on MenuShowDelayTime
4. Change the value data from 400 to anything around 1 to 10 (in milliseconds)
*Changing it to 0 is not recommended as it may become difficult to navigate through explorer
5. Close Regedit and Reboot

Hope this helps!

TechWiz

This is a quick tip showing you guys how to speed up your mouse's hover time by simply decreasing it using the registry. Mouse hover time is the amount of time it takes to display the window ,you are currently viewing, in the taskbar. Here's how to speed it up:

1. Click Start, Run and type Regedit
2. Navigate to the following entry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse
3. Look for the value on the right-hand side called MouseHoverTime
4. Double-click it and change the value data from 400 (default) to about 10
5. Close Regedit and restart your computer for changes to take affect

Cheers!

TechWiz

*This tweak works for all operating systems

When Windows shuts down it activates a service called "wait to kill service timeout". This service is set by default to 12-20 seconds before your PC can actually be shut off. It waits mainly to make sure all of your programs are properly closed but it is not needed. Follow these steps to speed up your shutdown.

1. Click Start, Run and type Regedit
2. Once in regedit, navigate to the following line: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
3. Click on Control and look at the right-hand side
4. Double-click on "WaitToKillServiceTimeout" and set the value data to 1000 (1 second)
5. Close regedit and Reboot your computer

*With this tweak I saved about 6 seconds off my shutdown speed*

Cheers!

TechWiz

By default, Windows reserves 20% of your bandwidth for very few purposes to make some tools, like Windows Update, run a bit faster, but not by much. Here's how to set the bandwidth limit to 0%:
 *This tweak might not work depending on your network adapter

1. Click Start, Run and type gpedit.msc
2. In the Computer Configuration tab, expand Administrative Templates and then expand Network
3. Click on QoS Packet Scheduler
4. On the right side, double-click on Limit Reservable Bandwidth
5. In the windows, make sure it is Enabled and then set the Bandwith Limit to 0%

NOTE: Disabling this feature or Not Configuring it, the system will still use 20% of reservable bandwidth

Hope it helps!

TechWiz

Temp files are files that programs backup when a program crashes, or has to keep some info about it which drastically slows down your PC by overloading these entries into the folder. It is recommended to delete these entries manually rather than having a program delete them for you. Here's how to do so:

1. Click Start, Run
2. Type %temp%
3. Delete whatever folders that pop-up

*It is also recommended to do this at least once daily to sustain performance

There you go

TechWiz

Windows 7 uses customizable gadgets or widgets to make your PC experience even more impressive but it takes up quite a lot off the system's resources. If you do not use Windows gadgets and want to disable them to improve your PC's performance, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, Control Panel, Programs
2. Under Programs and Features, click on Turn Windows Features On or Off
3. In the list, uncheck Windows Gadget Platform

This will permanently disable the gadgets, but you have to restart your PC in order for the changes to affect.

Hope this helps!

TechWiz

Hibernation can be a pretty useful tool at times but can take up a lot of space. When Windows hibernates and is restarted, it reloads the content of memory and is restored to the state it was in when hibernation was used. Basically, it is a tool used mostly for people who don't like waiting a long time for their computer to boot, but it becomes unnecessary once you've read "How to Speed Up Windows Boot Time" from our site. Here's how to disable Windows Hibernation:

1. Click Start, Run and type CMD
2. In cmd, type this without the cotations: "powercfg -h off"
3. Exit CMD and restart your computer.

This saves a lot of energy and boosts your computer's performance.

Cheers!

TechWiz

For many years i have been following the same way to keep my computer clean and virus-free. I go through a simple schedule that I follow which is nothing that complicated. Here is the list that I go through every now and then to keep my computer running at full speed:

Scanning The Registry and Cleaning Out Unnecessary Files
*Recommend doing this 2-3 times daily
1. Download and Install Ccleaner by Piriform
2. Open the program and select Run Cleaner
3. Then go to the Registry Tab and hit Scan For Issues

Defragmenting
*Recommend doing this once every 2 weeks
Defragmentation reduces the amount of fragments in files and can increase your computer's performance significantly. Basically it physically places all of your files together so that they're easier to access. You can either use the defragment tool implemented in Windows or download a different one.

Windows Defragment
1. Click Start and then Computer
2. Right-Click your hard drive and select Properties
3. In Tools, select Defragment Now

Other Program...
I recommend Auslogics Disk Defrag as it is better and more efficient than the basic defragging tool. Easy and simple interface with lots of content makes this program a must download.

Scan for Viruses Regularly
*Recommend once every month or whenever you feel like it
Scanning for viruses is a very simple task but it isn't the case if you don't have the right anti-virus. From my experience with anti-viruses, whether it's AVG, Norton, BitDefender or Avast, the best and most lightweight one has to be ESET NOD 32 as it provides full protection while using only 1000K of memory. Although it's not free, it is highly recommended for everyone.

Best Free Anti-Virus?
There are many free anti-virus programs and can be sometimes confusing which one to pick. Avast Anti-Virus is probably the one I would check out as it uses low memory, provides a very simple interface and contains highly detailed virus scanning. It is almost invisible at times and has the ability to detect and remove thousands of viruses, malware and spyware on your computer.

Update Regularly
Like many people don't know, updating can significantly improve performance. To check for updates in Windows 7 and Vista, just follow these steps:

1. Click Start, Control Panel, System and Security
2. Under Windows Update, hit Check For Updates

Cheers!

TechWiz

I recently discovered this while playing a PC game that demanded high quality sound. Turns out that my sound format (in Hz) was higher than it was supposed to. After changing it to a lower format, it helped and didn't notice a difference in the sound quality, other than the fact that they're was no more buzzing. Here's how to fix it:

Win7 and Vista Only

1. Click Start, Control Panel, Hardware and Sound
2. Click Sound and in the Playback tab, Right-Click your audio device and hit Properties
3. In the Advanced tab, select a lower sound quality in the Default Format section (Recommend 24-bit 48000 Hz or 44100 Hz)

There you go!

TechWiz

*You might wonder why were incorporating iPod Touch to our site. Well its because we all consider it as a gaming system capable of doing many things such as a PC ( Internet, Games, etc.) So if you think about it, iPods are kinda like a downgraded version of a PC.

iPod Touch and iPhone have become one of today's greatest portable gaming systems that deliver fun and intense games whether they were made by well-known companies or by regular people. There are so many games to choose from... Here are our top 10 iPod games so far:

10. SuperFall - $1.99

Superfall is a ragdoll simulator, where you complete obstacles to get money and buy other ragdolls. Nice physics game with a lot of content and is very addicting and fun to play when you're bored. Definitely worth checking out.

9. Chronicles Of Inotia 2: A Wanderer Of Luone - $2.99

This is the game to buy for any diablo lover or just RPG fans. It contains basic rpg elements such as completing quests, discovering new places and leveling up. Very addictive but kind of hard.

8. Gamebox - $0.99

Are you looking for a lot of fun games on one single app? This is the app you should buy!
Gamebox contains 28 games that are all unique in their own style. Games such as Jailbreaker and iSniper 3D will have you playing for hours on end.
All games are fun!

7. Zenonia - $2.99

One of the most popular games on the AppStore , Zenonia delivers a whole new RPG experience. Completing quests, fighting creatures, buying stuff and collecting loot has never been this fun. Although it's a very short game , 4-7 hours to defeat, it's still a very fun experience.

6. Space Miner: Space ore Bust - $4.99

Space Miner is a crossover between a side-scroller and an RPG as the game lets you shoot down asteroids, collect loot and customize your ship by adding armor or even weapons to it . It borrows a lot from the classic Asteroids game, released back in 1979, as many games do, and features different planets and sectors to discover in order to mine them. Overall a great and rewarding game!

5. Zenonia 2 - $4.99

The hit sequel to Gamevil's RPG classic, Zenonia 2 is no exception in being one of our favorite RPG titles on the Ipod. It brings back many elements from the previous game but with many tweaks such as new skills and abilities, a whole new system menu, 4 distinctive player classes, including Warrior, Paladin, Shooter and Magician, and a better story. A lot of replay value and content make this game a must buy.

4. Modern Combat: Sandstorm - $4.99

The most successful FPS game to date, Modern Sandstorm takes players in a epic battle at war using many weapons and tactics to take out your enemies. The developers have added multiplayer for a better experience and a longer playability. Although it's quite expensive, it is a must have for any FPS lover.

3. JellyCar - FREE

JellyCar is a basic "avoid the obstacles and beat the course" kind of game but with many twists. The controls of the game are pretty simple: keep your finger on the right side of the screen to go forward and the left part to go backward. You can also transform the car into a monster truck which helps a lot in the game. It contains many levels with different difficulty settings to fit everyone's needs and is the best game to play to pass the time.

2. Plants vs Zombies -$2.99

This game first appeared on the PC and has now been ported to the iPod. The object of the game is to defend your territory by planting plants and flowers in order to kill zombies. ( I know...weird, right?) It is extremely addictive as you progress though the game. By killing zombies you collect suns which help you spawn even more flowers. You can unlock many other plants and flowers each round and can help you take out the endless waves of zombies. It is a great and unique concept and is worth the download.

1. Zombieville USA - $1.99

The most popular iPod game to date and is no exception in being the best game we've played. The object of the game is to defeat a level while avoiding and killing an endless amount of zombies. They're are 7 different characters to choose from including some from other iPod games such as Ninja from OMG Ninjas and John Gore from Minigore. Cash is awarded everytime you kill a zombie and can be used to buy some of the most destructive weapons we've seen on the iPod, such as rocket launchers, lasers, rifles, shotguns and many more.

Written by the Unleash7 Team