Updated 03-20-2011

Key Quest performance

Mainly for Windows (If you're using an Apple product hopefully some of this will help)

Administrator rights

If you don't have administrator rights, then ask the person who does.
If you do, fix as an administrator, then go back to limited user. Limited user is safer for cruising the intarwebz anyway.
If you don't have a limited account, create one from Control Panel, Users, create a Limited account.
If you have admin rights, you can choose to "run as" an admin, by right clicking any icon/executable and choosing...well..."run as", select account with admin rights and enter your secretword.

Flash

Start your browser with admin rights
Go to Macromedia's site via the Neopets link and bookmark it for the future.
I would recommend you remove any previous version first. Over time, through various updates, stuff gets left behind. Use the same link from above, or if the link is broken, use Adobe's search for "How to uninstall the Adobe Flash Player plug-in and ActiveX control", click, most likely, the first link, and follow instructions. Then go back to the Flash player page and install the plug-in.
There are two versions of Flash, both are currently version 10.2.152.32

One for Internet Explorer, which should just install, if you click the button and choose "run", when asked by Windows;
and another for other browsers. Click "Different operating system or browser?
For FF you will have to download, then install.

While on Adobe's site, from the above link: Click "learn more
- On the right, under support, click settings manager.
- Global Privacy Settings, Always ask.
- Global Storage Settings, increase memory size to unlimited; check the bottom boxes.
- Global Security Settings, Always ask. Add images.neopets.com.
- Both Website Settings, also add swf.neopets.com., unlimited memory.
You might as well add/check Shockwave while your there.

Java

You should check your Java version also. However with it's security issues I removed it, from 6 boxen, almost two years ago. I just don't use any programs that require Java.

Control panel, Java, update.(You need admin rights for this)
Getting a JABA SCRIPT DEBUG ERROR:? If you are using Internet Explorer, go to tools, internet options, advanced tab, browsing, check "disable script debugging (internet explorer), click apply, click ok.
You may need to enable the menu. Right click the tab area of IE, click menu.....or it's the little icon of a gear/cog in the upper right. :)

Squeezing a little bit more horsepower from your PC

Graphics/Display

XP: Desktop, right click, properties, settings, color quality to 16 bit.
Vista/Win7: Control Panel, Display, Adjust resolution, Advanced settings,Display tab (see what refresh rate is current), List all modes, Set to 16 bit at current refresh rate.
XP/Vista/Win7: Control panel, System, Advanced, Perforformance. Click settings. Choose "adjust for best performance".

Processes

Note: If you are unsure about a process, and don't want to do a search for it's name, DON'T mess with it. Search for "windows(version)+unneeded processes" to find out what might be disabled.
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL at the same time then release. The Task Managed pops up.

Click the process tab. If you see, anything that says messenger, it's likely you can "end process" safely. You can safely end realplayer update (realsched); java update/other (jucheck, javaxxxx, jqs); Ipodxxxx; itunesxxxx.
Unless you disable these, in the program, they will re-start each time you re-start your PC.

Again if you are UNSURE, leave it alone.
Liutilities's site might help. At the bottom is library, services (You can skip the check-up stuff). Just look to see if a process is REQUIRED by the Operating System.

Services

Most are needed by the OS, but many are unneeded and by disabling them you may get a nice little speed gain.
Shut down ALL unneeded services. Search for "windows(version)+unneeded services" to find out what might be disabled.

Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services.
Right click the service you want to stop
Choose Properties
Stop the service. If you are sure you don't want it to run at next startup, set "startup type" to manual.
Apply and Ok to exit.

The same note, as for processes above, applys here. If your not sure - leave it alone
Good for any PC really.

Older PCs

Shut down ALL unneeded programs.
No IM, no Email, etc.
Search for "windows(version)+unneeded programs".
Press CTRL-ALT-DEL at the same time then release. The Task Manager pops up.
- Click the Application tab.
- End Task" for all running programs

Internet connection speed

Your connection speed cannot get any faster than what you pay for from your provider. Even then, there can be congestion or outages in some areas.
Sites such as dslreports and speedguide can provide the necessary tools or help in tweaking your settings, diagnosing a problem, testing your speed, and checking to see if there are outages/problems with your provider.

Other performance tips

A bunch more stuff at mvps org, scroll to the bottom for Platform/Operating Systems.

and finally....Setting up the game

Clear the broswer of everything (except cookies or you must log-in again)
Exit the browser completely.
Reopen the browser, preferably with ONLY the game in the browser, no other tabs or windows.
For Firefox I usually disable all my extensions/plug-ins (I have a lot) other than NoScript and AdblockPlus. Those I allow for the Neopets domain temporarily. Tools, Add-ons.
Use this page to avoid all the crud around the edges.
**Note** The name keeps changing.

Check for the new name by starting from the normal page (with the light blue circle)
view the page source
search for "new SWFObject
look for similar address like above
cut and paste that URL into a new tab, or window, and bookmark it.

Right click the starting screen for the Flash settings menu.
- Reduce the quality to poor.
- You can try increasing the memory, if you have enough, available to Flash. Click the icon of the folder, choose unlimited with the slider.
- Generally, leave hardware enabled.
NOTE: Anytime you restart/refresh the browser you will need to repeat the last step UNLESS you set up Flash using the settings manager from Macromedia's site. There is a trade-off to your privacy with these settings. See Extras below.

Extra

Clearing your browser cache does not get it all

Especially FLASH COOKIES. Known as supercookies they WILL track you through ALL the sites you visit. Forever. Grrrrr! I have the folder, where the Flash cookies are stored, cleared then locked to prevent any further changes. Wikipedia has an article on this. Search for Local Shared Objects (LSO). I also use the BetterPrivacy extension for Firefox.
Use something like CCleaner, from Piriform, to clear out stuff that is left around in temp files and other locations. Very useful but use carefully. Look at each screen and READ any warning about what it is going to do. If you use the registry tool, save a copy when asked. You may need to go back to an earlier version. Also can be used to keep un-needed programs from starting.

Blocking advertisements

You visit a site. The code is loaded into your browser. Some of the code requests other stuff, like ads, from some domain on the intartubes.
The best way is to block, or "blacklist", the ad requests completely, with the HOST file. It gets read by Windows on start-up. Basically any domain, or URL, entered in the HOST file, makes the displayed webpage (serving you ads) request the ad from IP address 127.0.0.1. That is the localhost, which is......your machine.
Since the ads are not on your machine, nothing is returned to display. Yippee!
There are multiple, HOST files out there. Most coming from the anti-malware sites. You don't want the file to get to big or the system may slow down, so pick ONE to use. You can add specific sites, yourself, later if needed.I currently use the HOST file from MVPS. Search HOST file+mvps or winhelp2002. There is a good explaination of how it works and how to update it.
I use HostXpert, from Funkytoad, to manage my HOST file. Use download, 'Import and replace' one of the "blacklists".
You can mask the ads, or remove the empty space (if using the HOST file) with CSS.Not quite blocking the actual data transfer, you just don't see them.
You can add an extension to your browser (see below in Plug-ins)

General Security

Firewalls

The Windows firewall is all I use.
I AM using a router, and have been, since switching from dial-up about nine years ago. A router is hardware that allows PCs to be connected to each other, and is the main connecting point of all small networks. It can also block inbound/outbound requests to/from the internet which is....a firewall.
If you're on a broadband connection, your modem may already be a router. Check the info that came with it, or from your ISP, or from the company website using the model number (usually found on the bottom or back).
If it is just a modem, get a router, even if you only have one PC. I've been happy with D-Link hardware for about seven years. Everything before was Bay Networks. Current price for a wired 4 port is about $25usd. I recenty picked up the Extreme N Gigabyte, model DIR-655, for wireless, at Costco for $70usd.

Operating System protection

Search for av-comparatives for how various Anti Virus software stack up against each other.
Windows Defender is free from Microsoft, if you haven't installed it. Though I think it was forced on with service pack 2 (now unsupported, by the way. Upgrade to service pack 3). It works in the background, watching for changes to the OS. You choose to allow or disallow anything that tries to change your system.
I dumped an old paid-for corporate version of Symantec Anti-Virus because the definition updates were getting to hard to find, on their site, and Live Update was no longer working.
For a free solution, I have installed Windows Security Essentials on 6 machines (three desktop and 3 laptops). So far, it has been a very good product. Lightweight and speedy.
If I were going to buy an Anti-virus product, it would be NOD32 from Eset. Does well at catching new, in-the-wild, viruses. It's three PCs for 50$ a year, or about that. Not a lot to pay (and I'm as cheap as they come) but versus the time to track an infection down and remove it, or just reformatting your hard drive and re-installing everything, it's a bargain.
Sometimes if you think you have too much malwar to remove, it's faster to just re-install the OS and programs again. Of course after backing up your important data.....not forgetting the IE favorites, FF bookmarks and emails.
Setting a restore point can be a help. It happens automatically during any new software install. There is also a limit on the number of days Windows will remember.

Browsers and Plug-ins

Internet Explorer 8

IE add-ins are linked from Microsoft's Internet Explorer main page.
Toggle Flash - Allows you to block any flash content from loading (like ads that carry malware payloads).
Compatability - ON
Developer - ON
Protected mode - ON

Firefox 3.6.15

AdblockPlus - Open Adblock, Filters, Add filter subscription, view all subscriptions. EasyElement and The Tracking Filter is the one I use. Varies by country or region
NoScript - I only use the "temporarily allow" option for about every site, and just allow what I want from the page by clicking the NoScript icon on individual objects or from the browser status bar (lower right).
Better Privacy - removes Local Stored Objects (LSO) or "super cookies" from the browser.

As an aside, If you are still using Windows98, you can still find a copy of XP for about $70-80usd. If you have a Pentium3 or AMD K7 motherboard you can probably upgrade, maybe adding memory to get up to 1 or 2 Gigabytes.
I am running Windows 7 Professional on two machines (one upgraded to current quad core hardware and 64bit) and 1 new Acer laptop with Home Premium 64bit. So far it has perfomed great. It's even been really stable on an old AMD 1.2G, with only 1G of RAM. I will gladly pay for the hardware upgrades required, if it maintains this stability. You can find an OEM copy for about $100usd.
Many people complain about the cost of the OS. Really? Something that lasts for 10 years and costs $10 a year? Come on. It's time to move on.