The installation places several files in the O-Larm directory, as well as places shortcuts on the desktop and QuickLaunch. The shortcuts point to o-larm.html, which must be opened in Internet Exploder (Firefox doesn't support ActiveX controls). The settings.txt file saves information that you enter, such as the OGame RSS feed link, the ogame login, and the O-Larm login. Your OGame login information is only sent to OGame RSS login and is not stored on any O-Larm servers; it is kept strictly confidential.

Run the program by executing either the shortcut on your desktop or in your QuickLaunch menu. This will open the webpage control interface in Internet Explorer (Firefox does not support the necessary ActiveX components).

Depending on your IE's security settings, you might be faced with a number of warning like these. Accept all content, as there are no viruses or spyware with the program. I got a report from one of the testers that Anti-Spyware software might detect this as a spyware, but that's not the case, it's simply that I use the webpage interface to run the executible O-Larm file that does most of the actual work (webpage is just used to set the options).

Another warning you might see. I use ActiveX to save your settings into a file on your computer (for example, the RSS Feed URL, your O-Larm login, etc.).

Yet another warning you might see.

Finally, the page is displayed. When you run the program for the first time, you must update the settings, so that they can be stored in a file and used later. So, click on "Modify Settings" at the bottom.

This brings up the settings form. Enter the RSS Feed URL from your OGame Options (be sure to enable the RSS feed first, then OGame will display the link for you). Also, enter your OGame username and password to access the RSS Feed (username is case-sensitive here, so be sure to follow proper capitalization of letters). Finally, enter the O-Larm username and password provided to you via PayPal when you subscribed. Click "Update Settings" to save these in "settings.txt" in your installation directory. You won't have to modify settings again, unless your URL or OGame login changes. To activate RSS feed in OGame, go to Options:

First, delete all of your OGame messages. This way, the program will not alert you of any existing ones, but only of any new ones you get. Then, use the checkboxes to choose which alarms should be enabled. Most of the time, you want to be informed of any hostile activity (espionage and combat alarms). You might also want to be alerted of any player messages. The remaining options are generally useful only if you are worried about some of your fleets returning from missions. This might be useful if, for example, you have a late night harvest mission returning from an earlier target, and you don't want your recyclers to get pwnd. Click Start Alarm to run the main program. Note the "View RSS Feed" button, which gives you a quick shortcut to viewing the RSS feed.

Starting the alarm brings up a command prompt box, which indicates that the alarm has started. It also shows which alarms you have activated. You can go to bed now :)