Computer Slow? How about these?

Now that you've been using that computer for awhile now, it is now slowing down, to a crawl, and you don't know what to do.. I've put together this short article to cover some of the basics that I check for with slow computers.

Computer slowness can often be attributed to too many applications running in memory. When you first start up Windows, it has a series of programs that automatically launch at startup. These programs add functionality to your computer, behind-the-scenes. Most are begnign like your anti-virus solution or functional like Google Desktop, but there are also programs on your computer that you might not want.

• Virus infections are the most common cause of PC slowness. A virus will use your computer's processing power to replicate itself to as many other computers as possible. When a virus infects a computer, typically it adds itself to the startup routine. Now each time the computer boots the virus is loaded into memory. Some viruses are harmless and generate pop-ups, some are malicious and delete or overwrite files.

  All viruses have some method of spreading themselves. Since 2000 with the ILOVEYOU virus, viruses have utilized Internet e-mail to deliver to unsuspecting recipients. A virus will attach itself to an e-mail message with friendly looking body, enticing the user to open the message. Once opened, the virus grabs their e-mail systems address list and sends a copy of itself to everyone (spoofing the FROM address on each e-mail). Inside a corporate environment, the virus may go once to everyone in the address list, then again to each of the distribution lists.

  To keep from being infected, follow two simple rules. Don't open an e-mail you did not anticipate. "I never get attachments from my uncle, what is this??" and update your local virus scanner at least once a week. There is at least 10 new viruses written each week and any one of these has the potential to do harm. Only 1 each year will reach "TV News worthy".

  If you think you are currently infected, check out HouseCall by Trend Micro. It can scan and clean your computer over the Internet. You will need a fairly fast Internet connection. Otherwise, download and install a desktop anti-virus solution. I've listed two in the resources section at the end of this article.

• Spyware and errant applications - If you've installed some of the popular P2P applications, you may very likely have spyware running on your computer. This software watches what you do, places you go, and can popup ads for products on the web, that may be relevant to your search, or adult-related. In addition, some SPAM e-mail has even started including 'quiet' installs of spyware. (I've been hit this way with all the Spam e-mail I deal with for work.) In Windows XP, if you hit CTRL-ALT-DEL the popup will have a link to the Windows Task Manager. Check the Processes Tab for everything running on your computer. You can search Google for items you don't recognize (like tcpsvcs.exe?). Stop items you don't need, then run one of the Anti-spyware products below. You may have to reboot and scan again to clean some memory resident programs.
• Server providers, like TivoToGo, or MoodLogic have applications running constantly to allow access to content on your local computer. This allows remote users to share your music, photos or videos stored on your computer. Shutting them down prevents remote access, but you can shut them down when you need that extra speed. Or only load them when you want to access those MP3s from your TIVO box!
• Multimedia add-ons, like Real Player has functionality to watch your Internet traffic and automatically load with any RA format files. Same with Quicktime. I've gone through and disabled these products from loading their products.
• System limitations, like lack of hard drive space or not enought system memory can cause slowness. Windows utilizes approximately 10% of your hard drive for virtual memory. This allows you to switch between programs and put on in 'background' mode, by offloading the app to your hard drive. When you have very little system memory (RAM), you are constantly swapping programs to the much slower hard drive. When the hard drive is near capacity, it only swaps smaller bits and forces more apps to run in what available memory you have. Freeing up space on your C:\ drive is crucial. This may require adding an additional hard drive on your computer. If you have at least 10% free on your C: drive, look at your system memory size. (Under Accessories | System Tools, run System Information). Compare this size with the maximum that your computer's motherboard can recognize. Windows XP requires at least 64MB of memory to run, but ideally, you should have closer to 256MB or 512MB. (The next version of Windows will require 512 to 1GB of RAM). Memory chips are typically available for computers up to 5-7 years old. The technology has moved so fast that older computers are only partially supported. You might have luck searching on eBay?

  I hope this helps with your computer's slowness.

  Resources:

  1. Anti-Virus:
     • Pc-Cillin
     • Grisoft - Free!
  2. Spyware:
     • AdAware
     • Spyware Search & Destroy - Free!
  3. Eliminate Spam from e-mail:
     • SpamBayes - Free!