What is TCP Optimizer? Is it safe to use?

My friend living in hongkong claims that he get the faster speed while surfing and also while downloading from internet by using something called TCP Optimizer. He asked me to try the same. I am anxious to use this trick. But is it safe to use it? And how does any such software enhances surfing on internet?

TCP Optimizer speeds up your internet connection by optimizing the internet settings in your Windows registry. Numerous Web sites and software utilizes purport to increase the speed of your network connection when using the Internet. TCP Optimizer is one of the best-known and reputable of the bunch. Programs like TCP Optimizer tweak the settings of your Windows operating system such as the TCP/IP MTU value, for improved network performance. It is absolutely safe to use as per the reviews are to be believed.

Oh, nice explanation! So can I use this TCP Optimizer to speed up my browsing? Also, will it also improve the downloading? Coz I am with local broadband connection and I fear whether using such tweak will annoy the ISP and they may slow down my speed. I doubt this because, earlier when I used to download a lot and continuously from the limewire, after about six months or so, I dont get the same download speed as usual, probably because I am downloading a lot and sometimes download not even starts from limewire. However, I can download normally with the normal way without using any software.

Whether you are using a dial-up or broadband connection, a TCP optimizer can be efficiently used to optimize the speed of the connection. It accomplishes this by finding the best MTU, RWIN values, testing latency, considering Microsoft TCP/ID implementation oddities, all the related RFCs, and by adding the related registry parameters. Even novice users can use this program after going through the documentation. The tabbed interface makes it easy for all kind of users to tweak the settings. Also, the settings can be easily saved in the backup files; so you could easily undo the changes if you accidentally made a mistake while tweaking the registry settings, for example. It also comes with built-in Max-MTU and latency detection utilities.

And yes, there should be no problem using such trick with the ISP. It is fairly legal and allowed.. I think.

While you may not notice much improvement, some people claim significant gains in network speed after using TCP Optimizer, which requires only a few minutes of your time. Don't hesitate to use the "undo" option and reverse all of the changes if you start having problems. Keep in mind that TCP Optimizer will make edits to your registry, so be sure you make a backup prior to making any changes (TCP Optimizer actually helps with this). If you give it a try, let us know how it worked for you in the comments.

Ok, I downloaded this TCP Optimizer thing and tried it. I'm always dubious of applications promising to speed up your internet connection, but my tests indicated a slight increase in my download speed, so this looks like it might be a good one. Thanks for this nice discussion and guidance :)

Any tweaking program is unsafe to a certain degree. Problem is, that you don't really know what they are doing and which parameters in your system they are changing. Often it is impossible to go back to square one. If you want to use such programs, you should have an imaging/ghosting program and take a system image before you embarque in modifying your system with questionable software.

The other alternative is to study the area for optimization well enough so that you can change settings manually in an intelligent way. Then you know what you have done and can always paddle back.