Welcome to part 2 of our beginner's guide to Hamachi (you can catch part 1 here). Today we're going to take a look at file sharing, one of the reasons you might want to use the program. If you've already taken a look around the options, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it is not a feature, but it is - Hamachi facilitates file sharing, but it doesn't actually provide it. Let me explain...

File sharing is a feature that you'll have to enable on your computer. Hamachi then provides the network via which your friend will access your files. Since Hamachi is already set up, you have to turn your attention to Windows' file sharing. A word of warning -  file sharing is a fairly routine procedure, but there is a degree of risk involved. If you are not totally comfortable with the process, you should probably become better acquainted with it before jumping in to the deep end.

First of all, go to Control Panel > Network Connections (this tutorial is based on XP). Right-click on the Hamachi connection and choose Properties. In the options that appear, make sure 'Client for Microsoft Networks' and 'File and Printer Sharing' are ticked.

Lots of you out there, especially fans of games such as Borderlands and Modern Warfare, will have heard of Hamachi (now LogMeIn Hamachi). Like dedicated techies, you'll have checked it out, downloaded it and click, click, clicked your way to installation. Great! But what happens now?

The program's interface gives away no clue. There's no wizard, tutorial or even any advice about how to use it, so it's up to you to figure it out. Well, you're not completely alone: today we're going to take a look at the basics of Hamachi - setting up a network and chatting. You'll either need to 'Create a new network' or 'Join an existing network'. In the case of the latter, it's your friend who'll have to create the network, but we'll assume that you're doing the creating in this tutorial.

When you choose 'Create a new network', you'll be asked for a Network ID (just a name for the network - this can be whatever you want) and a password. Then hit create - it's as simple as that. Remember! Your friend has to download Hamachi too and they'll need your details to search for and connect to your network. Once they have found you, you'll have to approve their request. When they appear in your list, you're ready to chat!

This couldn't be easier - you simply right-click on your friend's name and select 'Chat'. A (very basic) chat window will appear, and you use it like you would any other. Now that you've mastered the basics, it's time to move on to more complicated tasks, like file-sharing and gaming, something we'll tackle in the next Hamachi post. Stay tuned!

Playing Minecraft with friends is great, but playing with people you don't know can ruin the fun. A solution is to create your own VPN server that only you and your friends can access. Theoretically, when creating a VPN network everyone will be able to play Minecraft in a server, hidden from the lurking eyes of other players.

The most common VPN software used is Hamachi. Hamachi is an easy to use VPN client that doesn't require a lot of work to install and setup, but everyone who is planning on joining your secret match will have to install Hamachi. Just think of it as a rotating server between your friends.

Lots of you will probably have already heard of Tunngle, the new VPN client that is slated to give Hamachi a run for its money, especially where gaming is concerned. Personally, I came across Tunngle a few weeks ago while doing research for some posts on Hamachi, but much to my dismay, I found that it was only available in German!

Obviously that wasn't much use to those of us who don't speak the language, but the developers promised us that things would change. We waited patiently and, sure enough, the international version came out last Friday, 11th December. How's that for an early Christmas present?!

People are getting excited about Tunngle because it is rumored to be far more efficient for hosted games than its most popular rival, Hamachi. Whereas nobody is doubting the utility of Hamachi for lots of things, some users have found it to be sluggish when playing games, dropping connections and having problems getting them started. If you're one of those users, you'll be really glad for the alternative. Well, you can download Tunngle now at Softonic, and take a peek at my first impressions. You'll probably want to give it your own test run though, and if you do, be sure to let us know how you get on!

As the launch of version 7 of  avast! antivirus comes closer, the developer has released a fully-functional beta version for you to try, test, consider and assess!

Within hours of Apple accepting P2P management application IS Drive into the App store, they withdrew it yesterday over potential piracy concerns. But the logic behind the withdrawal is hard to follow. If Apple refuse to publish an application that allows iPhone users to manage BitTorrent downloads on their Mac, surely it has to withdraw every application - such as LogMeIn Hamachi, Chicken of the VNC which allow users to remotely connect to their Mac and download files. Even a simple browser like Safari could "potentially" be used to download illegal material.

It seems what has happened here is that Apple approved it but then ran a mile after seeing the word "BitTorrent" used in the application's description submitted by the developer Derek Kepner. Which raises the question, don't they check the descriptions submitted by developers before they are released into the App store? This rejection on what are effectively use of language grounds is especially ironic when you consider Kepner was well aware that using the word "torrent" could have Apple running for the hills. He told Torrentfreak:

I didn’t see any reason for the app to be rejected in Apple’s recently released guidelines. So, I was very careful with this release to not use the dirty word ‘torrent,’ and I’ll continue to carefully add new features, so stay tuned.

There are a huge number of applications that can be used for illegal purposes. Is it really Apple's role to say users can't be trusted to use applications legally? And if so, where should they draw the line? It seems that the line at the moment is word "torrent" because As Macworld report, this isn't the first time that Apple have rejected a torrent application. Back in 2009 they rejected Drivetrain which would have allowed users to manage Transmission from their iPhone.

But since you can effectively do exactly the same thing by logging into your Mac with other applications, the withdrawal of IS Drive makes little sense.

Installing and running a P2P or torrent client is common knowledge nowadays. Pretty much any one can start using one of them to download and exchange files. You need to be careful when using a P2P application though, and make sure you configure your client well. For starters make sure you've opened up ports in your router and allowed forwarding. If you're not sure what ports to use, take a look at PortForward.com. It lists all the router models and P2P applications and guides you through the process. To enhance your P2P experience you can also install one of the following utilities.

Hamachi, a well known piece of software, will allow you to connect multiple computers safely together. With no configuration needed, Hamachi can be set up in no time and makes sure that your connection stays private. Apart from security, speed is another key concern for anybody sharing files via P2P. Depending on the client you use, you can install an accelerator, essentially an application that will make full use of your PC and bandwidth capacities to obtain the fastest download speeds. We suggest giving a try at Limewire Acceleration Patch, Ares Galaxy Turbo Booster, eDonkey Acceleration Patch, or Kazaa Download Accelerator. If you're not convinced by any of these, P2PTurbo can optimize your connection according to your P2P client and network type.

For torrent users, TorrentSpy is a great tool to get extensive detail on a torrent. More expert users looking to get the freshest torrents on the net should turn to Tracker Checker, which automatically checks private torrent trackers and notifies you of open sign ups.

Gaming on a PC still pretty much equals the experience you get on a console, even on one of the next generation like the PS3 or XBox 360, thanks to all the software that you can use.

We won't be talking about emulators here, even though PCs offer all sorts, from DOS classics to N64 or Playstation. Instead let's see what kind of software can widen your gaming experience.

• Game Optimizer - What's the biggest worry of any serious gamer? If your PC can handle the requirements of your game. This application optimizes memory, game speed, frame rate and many others. You can also set hotkeys to bring up the optimizer any time.
• Hamachi - Anybody who's been to a LAN party knows how important it is to have a good, safe connection. Hamachi lets you configure a P2P connection between computers easily and securely.
• mIRC - This chat client is prized by gamers because of its advanced scripting language. If you feel comfortable with it you can customize mIRC according to your needs. The downside to it is that, if you don't know how to use it properly, it can open up your PC to malicious attacks.
• Kquery - Browse through game servers to dig up gamers stats, rules, maps, settings and more. Can become quite addictive so you should really limit yourself to searching for information that you really need.
• Fraps - Capture videos or screenshots of any game and perform benchmarks to measure the frame rate of your games. The tool of choice of any serious game tester.
• The All-Seeing Eye - Search for all the best game servers online. Features an advanced filtering tool to only list the best servers and most popular online games.
• GameSpy Arcade - A world of gaming of its own, this server based platform lets you connect with thousands of gamers to play hundreds of games online. If you can make with all the advertising and have enough CPU to handle it, GameSpy Arcade is a great way to make new friends and test out new games.
• M.U.G.E.N - If you're feeling adventurous, create your own video game with M.U.G.E.N. You'll have to know DOS programming, but if you're resilient, you could be the creator of the next biggest fighting game on PC!