How To Run Android Apps On Windows PC

If you love Android apps so much to the point you feel like running them on your personal computer, then Bluestacks app player is what you're probably looking for. The possibility of running Android applications has always been an exciting but the first method I found might look a bit hard especially if you're not a techie. With Bluestacks, running your favourite Android applications on Windows OS is easy as running the apps on your Android smartphone though some of the fun of running touch screen apps is lost while using a mouse and keyboard combo. Apps like Pulse still feels definitely useful considering the odds.


With Android itself being a semi-open platform for developers to turn to an interesting playground, running Android applications with an emulator on PC is quite a laudable effort to broaden users experience. Though Bluestack is still in the alpha stage and not yet perfected at the moment, it still does exactly what it's meant to do for you.

The download can be quite heavy if you're on a slow internet connection (current version is about 117MB) but it comes pre-installed with 10 Android applications. You can add 16 more apps and it's likely there's going to be a pro version which might be a paid software.

It runs smoothly on 32-bit (X86) operating system and it's strictly for Windows and I guess support for Mac OS is surely in progress. In order to make it easier for you to install more android applications on your PC, Bluestacks also developed an Android app for your mobile device called Cloud Connect which allows you to sync applications from your mobile device to the Bluestacks installation on your PC wirelessly.

As mentioned earlier, this Windows "Android emulator" is in alpha stage and there has been reports of forced closes and some applications won't sync. Another complaint is that Cloud Connect uses facebook for authorization which doesn't seem necessary and we hope all this will be fixed soonest. Despite all these, I still think the application is great as you can even run the android apps on Windows even in full screen.

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Locked Out By Google: Unusual Traffic From Your Computer Network?

I've been using dozens google's services for years but I got a really crazy error message last night while trying to visit my own blog. At first I thought it was some sort of accidental error that came up due to a minor failure on google's part but I kept trying to no avail. I tried visiting other sites hosted on blogspot but got the same error:

"Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network. Please try your request again later. Why did this happen?

This page appears when Google automatically detects requests coming from your computer network which appear to be in violation of the Terms of Service. The block will expire shortly after those requests stop.

This traffic may have been sent by malicious software, a browser plug-in, or a script that sends automated requests. If you share your network connection, ask your administrator for help — a different computer using the same IP address may be responsible. Learn more

Sometimes you may see this page if you are using advanced terms that robots are known to use, or sending requests very quickly.

IP address: 41.203.64.13
Time: 2011-10-25T12:13:27Z"


I went ahead to clear my browser cookies, cache, history and site preferences but nothing happened. I also tried using google chrome but got the same error. Talking about unusual traffic, I realized I had been pinging lots of my backlinks that same day and that might have been the cause of the problem but I'm not so sure. That wasn't the first time I've done that.

Another thing to note is that my ISP assigns the same IP address to lots of subscribers and someone on my network might be generating that unusual traffic which google thought was coming from my own computer. Anyway, I had to fix it and came up with three solutions.

1. Remove Newly Installed Softwares And Addons

If you recently installed any software, toolbar or browser add-on, you should uninstall this first. It might be the source of this unusual traffic activity. You can also run a scan for malwares and spywares but this wasn't applicable in my own case.

2. Renewing Your IP Address

This is the quickest fix but it might not work for you. If you're using a USB modem like I do, disconnect your modem for about 10 minutes or more and reconnect. You should have been assigned a new IP address by then but if you're using a LAN, disconnect your router unplugg your router also for ten minutes or so.

3. Hiding Your IP Address

In case you're in a hurry or your IP address doesn't get renewed fast enough, go to hidemyass.com, get a working IP and it's corresponding port. Open your browser settings and change your proxy settings from the one you got from hidemyass.com. This is the easiest fix to bypass this annoying error but if you don't have a clue on how to change your browser settings, just check this post. this is what I did that eventually got me going.

In my quest for an answer, I also found out this same error appears for some search queries and this fix works for that as well, so far that same error is what is displayed on your screen.

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Recover Overwritten Files In Windows 7 And Windows Vista

I was working on my notebook the other day when i made a really silly mistake: I overwrote a file with another having the same name. I was worried, angry and felt really stupid because once you overwrite a file, you can never find it in the recycle bin. I didn't know what to do and I ran a google search. Some said my case was hopeless, some said I needed to purchase some expensive data recovery software but I finally got a solution that looked rather too easy at first. I ignored it thinking it wouldn't work but it did! I recovered the file I accidentally replaced.


Unknown to many, Windows 7 and Windows Vista both have a common in-built feature called Volume Shadow Copy which creates something like a snapshot of documents saved on your computer. This makes it possible to recover files replaced by another file with the same file name by mistake.

How To Recover Overwritten Files In Windows Vista & Windows 7

* Open Windows Explorer
* Go to where the overwritten file is located
* Right click on the file you intend to recover
* Select Properties
* Click on the Previous Versions tab
* Select the version you would like to restore.
* Click Restore.

If you select Copy, it will prompt you for a location to restore the file to. This will allow you to retain the original in case you restore an incorrect version.

Will This Work On Windows XP?

I'm not sure this will work on Windows XP as I didn't see any Previous Versions tab when I right clicked on properties. There are suggestions that only certain data recovery softwares can recover overwritten files on Windows XP but the one I tried didn't work at all.

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Tips To Make Computer Games Run Faster

If you're using an old computer, running 3D computer games like Pro Evolution Soccer, God of War, Call of Duty 4 and the rest might be kind of slow due to high graphic requirements modern games come with. With many installations, useless Windows processes and lots of applications running in the background, CPU usage gets high and there's a depletion of random access memory (RAM). To make computer games run faster, there are some basic things to do:

1. Reduce the game quality from the game settings

2. Adjust your video card settings and reduce the quality as well

3. Reduce screen resolution for the game

4. Close all running applications before starting a game

5. Stop unnecessary windows processes

6. Starting the game after a restart sometimes increases the speed

7. Install more memory. Increasing your RAM from just 1GB to 2GB or 4GB will make a major difference

8. Update your video card drivers

9. Change your video card if you have to. I recommend Nvidia over ATI though it isn't bad either. Forget about Intel.

10. Check for malwares and update your antivirus. Running a registry cleaner too helps


If you intend to run you computer game at an optimized speed without necessarily reducing the game quality, then what you need is Game Booster. Game Booster allows you to tweak your system and increase PC performance. It stops all unneeded applications and windows processes, cleans up the RAM and makes your computer game run at optimum speed.

Major Features:

* Game Booster v3 can easily and fast close background processes and unnecessary Windows services, to speed up you game playing and avoid possible conflicts and incompatibility. With the innovative "Enhanced 3rd parties' services detection" technology, Game Booster v3 can automatically detect and close more unnecessary background services.

* Fine-tunes mouse, keyboard, and specialized game controllers with ease

* Game Booster v3 can tweak your PC for the ultimate system and Internet speed with a single click

* With the improved defragment engine, Game Booster v3 can quickly defragment game directories and files, to make your games load and run faster than ever

* PC gamers know how important to install new drivers for modern PC games. Now Game Booster v3 keeps every game's specialized drivers up-to-date, including drivers for video/sound cards.

* Game Booster v3 does not overclock your hardware. Game Booster v3 is a freeware, without any virus, adware, and spyware

Game booster does all that with just one click and optimizes your computer's performance making that game run faster!

Download Game Booster V3 from Capriofiles
Download Game Booster V3 from Hotfile

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Free Browsing Settings On MTN Nigeria With Your Freedom

(Updated on 21st September, 2011)
If you're new to your-freedom software, there's an old post I wrote on it's basic configuration but you actually don't need it if you're quite used to this firewall bypassing software and all previously used tricks. You should first create an account as a free user at your-freedom.net to to use this tunneling application. As at the time of writing this post (25th Aug., 2011) , Your Freedom client software works free on MTN Nigeria. For years, your-freedom has been working on Nigerian networks including MTN, Glo, Etisalat and Airtel since the settings is quite flexible and the software developers are constantly updating the software and maintaining their different servers located in different countries making it easy to hide your IP address and break firewall as well.


After creating your free account and verifying your email address, configure the software as follows to work free on MTN:

1. Install the software, select your desired language (English) and cancel the welcome message

2. Click on Configure and key in the following settings on the page that pops up:

* Address - www.mtnfootball.com
* Port - 80
* Connection Mode - HTTP
or POST (POST works better at times)
* Tweak - None

Under options, check the 3rd, 5th, 6th and 7th box.

* Minimum Buffer Size - 1500
* Reconnection Delay - 5000
* Initial Post SIze - 10000000
* Minimum POST Size - 20000

3. Click on Account Information tab and enter your username and password.

4. Click on Proxy Settings tab and key in the following settings:

* Proxy Address - ems01.your-freedom.de
* Port - 80

5. Click Save and Exit.This should take you back to the main window

6. Now click on Ports tab and check Socks 4/5 and Web Proxy

7. Now select the Status tab and click on Start Connection

If every thing is set right and the network is ok, you should get connected as the door icon pushes open.

Now launch Mozilla Firefox or any browser of your choice and change the proxy settings to 127.0.0.1:8080 or localhost:8080 . For Firefox:

* Click on Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Settings.
* Select Manual Proxy Configuration
* Enter 127.0.0.1 for HTTP Proxy
* Key in 8080 for Port
* Check Use this proxy server for all protocols
* Click OK and save your settings

If you're looking for how to change proxy settings for other browsers, you can check this post. Though Your Freedom software might be connected, you still won't be able to surf the internet if your browser proxy settings is wrong.

Like I said earlier, this settings works at the time this blog post was published. In case it got blocked or you still need help configuring the software, there are members at our web forum always ready to help you for free.

LIMITATIONS

Though Your Freedom is released as a freeware, there are certain limitations as a free user. Your maximum connection time is limited to sixty minutes. This means you will be disconnected from your-freedom server after every 60 minutes and there's no known way to bypass this annoying limit. Your maximum daily connection time is also limited to 6 hours. You're allowed a total connection time of 15 hours per week as a free user and this is definitely not enough especially if you use the internet a lot. You can view this page to view all the limitations and upgrade your account if you really want to.

Anyway, enjoy this free brosing trick with Your-Freedom on MTN Nigeria while it lasts!

LATEST UPDATE - 9th Aug., 2011
As at 09-09-2011, MTN blocked www.mtnfootball used to power this free browsing trick. The new settings remain the same with just a little variation. Change www.mtnfootball.com in the settings above to 41.220.77.210 and your freedom is up and running again.

LATEST UPDATE - 21st September 2011

Your freedom stopped working on MTN Network a few days back but it's now back. Reverse IP trick is no longer working but you can still connect using SSL (secure connection), also known as HTTPS. The settings below should work for you:

Download this version 20110920-02 and configure as follows:

* Address - 81.169.178.188
* Port - 443
* Connection Mode - HTTPS
* Tweak - Nigeria MTN

Proxy settings should be left blank as you won't be needing any IP address or port.
Save your settings and click on Start Connection.

Share this post if it helps.

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Unlock ZTE and Huawei USB Modems / Data Card

Unlocking your USB modem removes all restrictions and gives you the chance to use other network operator SIM cards. My post on unlocking Huawei USB modems still works but this post explains how to unlock ZTE USB Modems easily. I tried looking for a free online tool to unlock ZTE Modems like the one for Huawei found here but couldn't find one that's reliable.
I finally came across an unlocker that unlocks ZTE modems along with huawei as well for free.

-First download DC - UNLOCKER 2 CLIENT

-Extract the content of the zip file to a zip folder

-Locate dccrap.exe and run.

-Disconnect your internet connection and plug your ZTE or Huawei USB modem with an alien SIM card (an unsupported SIM card from a different network operator) inserted.

-If you're to unlocking a Huawei modem, there's no need to change your SIM. simply plug your modem into your computer's USB port.

-If the connection manager pops up, close the window.

-Depending on your type of data card, select either ZTE or Huawei from DC - UNLOCKER 2 CLIENT user interface.

-Click on the magnifying glass to automatically search for the modem



-Once the modem is detected, click on Server and type doncaprio.com in the username field and doncaprio for password.

-Click Unlocking menu, then select unlock.



-Wait for a moment till the programs displays this message: unlock is successfully done

-Now you can use any SIM card on your unlocked USB modem

Download ZTE / Huawei modem unlocker from Capriofiles

Download ZTE / Huawei modem unlocker from Hotfile

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