Why has my computer become slow?

How to speed up my computer.

The Internet has many advantages, but with it come some problem. The first is the process by which Viruses propagate from one computer to another through the Internet causing more incidents of viruses. The 2nd is the programs that are installed in your computer, called Spyware, these programs monitor your activities on the Internet and slow down your computer.

Disclaimer: Do at your own risk. We do not accept any responsibility for any consequences brought about by the procedures described here.

If your computer has become extremely slow. There are 5 things you should do

1) Make sure your hard drive is not full (you need at least 200 MB for Microsoft Windows XP). To check for space availability on your hard drive, click on Start, right click on My Computer, right click on Local Disk (C:), choose Properties, Free Space is the hard drive space you have available.

2) Run antivirus program to check for viruses (for example Norton Antivirus or MacAfee).

3) Run antispyware programs to check for SPYWARE software (for example spybot, ad-aware or Microsoft AntiSpyware). You can download spybot @ spybot. Microsoft antispyware beta 1 actually removed link hijacking spyware and popups that google could not block for me. So I was very impressed with Microsft Antispyware beta 1. You could download Microsoft Antispayware @Microsoft antispyware

4) Choose Start, Run, msconfig, Startup, remove the programs you think should not be there. (this is a very dangerous task , if you remove the wrong program some of your applications may not function right, if you are not sure which programs to remove call a technician)

5) Run Disk Defragmenter by choosing Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter.