So, you can't legally automate your levelling or your earning, but that doesn't mean that you can't make use of the power of your computer, and the community, to speed things up.
The following tools aren't expressly RuneScape related, but they are useful for gamers in general, and they're free to download too:
Teamspeak 3 (http://www.teamspeak.com): This handy tool lets you join a Teamspeak server and chat with other users. It's popular with many clans (groups of players that tend to play together to work towards a common goal), as it's faster and easier to talk over voice communications than it is to communicate through text.
Ventrillo (http://www.ventrillo.com): Ventrillo is another popular voice communications tool. Teamspeak seems to be taking over in popularity at the moment, but Ventrillo is still used by many older clans.
r Libre Office (http://www.libreoffice.org): If you want to be able to make use of all those nifty character spreadsheets and resource gathering/crafting efficiency calculators, then you'll need a decent spreadsheet. Why pay for Microsoft Office when Libre Office is free?
Fraps (http://www.fraps.com): Fraps is a great tool for recording videos, set it off when you're about to reach 99 skill or get into a great PVP fight, and upload the results for instant YouTube fame. You can also use Fraps for taking screenshots, and monitoring the performance of your games.
Firefox and Greasemonkey (http://www.getfirefox.net): The Greasemonkey plugin for Firefox can be used for a lot of purposes, and there are several good RuneScape scripts available for it. If you plan on playing RuneScape in a browser window, then this is a must-have.
The RuneScape Game Bar (http://www.runescape.com/g=runescape/downloads.ws): if you use Chrome, Firefox, or Internet Explorer as your main browser, you may find this new browser toolbar useful. It's an official application, created by Jagex, and it offers one-click access to Runescape, reminders for game events, and an easy way to keep track of the Grand Exchange.
In addition to this list, it's a good idea to get a decent firewall and antivirus application. Popular options include:
Microsoft Security Essentials (http://windows.microsoft.com/mse)
Comodo (http://comodo.com)
Avira Anti-Vir (http://avira.com)
AVG Free (http://free.avg.com)
There are many other options, the above are just a few suggestions. Pick one, and make sure that you keep it up-to-date and running at all times. Don't install more than one anti-virus or firewall application. Installing more than one won't give you double the security. There's a good chance the two applications could conflict with each other, causing unexpected (and annoying) results!
Whenever a game becomes popular, an entire industry of scammers and account thieves springs up around it, but scamming isn't the only way that you can lose your account. Protecting your account from scammers and hackers will be discussed in detail in Chapter 6, Avoiding scams, but for now, we're concerned with the risk of getting your account banned, or your password stolen.
You've probably seen some of the software being advertised for Runescape — bots, trainers, auto-miners, auto-typers, helpers, macros, and character editors. You should stay away from this software. Most of those programs don't work at all (they're designed purely as a way to steal people's account details), and the ones that do work are against the rules, and could well get you banned.
That's not to say that all RuneScape tools are bad, there are a lot of useful applications designed to help people play RuneScape smartly and easily. So, how can you tell which tools are ok, and which to stay away from?
If some software promises to instantly level your character, give you gold, or give you equipment, then it is a scam. Some scammers produce some very sophisticated videos that look convincing, but those videos are not taken on the real RuneScape servers.
Some software promises to automate the playing of the game, freeing you up to do other things. Botting is against the terms of service that you agree to when you sign up for a RuneScape account. If some software promises to chop wood, kill NPCs, make items, or post messages in chat for you without you having to be at the keyboard controlling it, then Jagex won't like it. You may get away with it for a while, but eventually you will get caught, and when you do, you will most likely lose your account. Is that really worth the risk?
In general, the only things that are safe to use are calculators, planners, databases, and clients with cosmetic skins. If you're thinking of downloading a client that is not the official Jagex one, it's best to look for ones that are open source and that have been around for a long time.
There's always the risk of unofficial clients breaking if Jagex make major changes to the game. So if you want a hassle-free gaming experience, it's best to stick to either the official client, or a well-maintained one, such as SwiftKit, but if you're feeling adventurous, then those unofficial clients are a good starting point.
Whenever you download an application, virus check it, and also spend a few seconds thinking about what the software is supposed to do. If it's just a calculator, or a searchable quest guide, then you should be suspicious if it asks you for your password.
In general, it pays to be paranoid. It's better to miss out on the next big money maker and keep your account than it is to lose your account to a scam.