Viruses are the most common problem when a PC's performance begins to slow down. If there is one piece of software that you must have on your PC, make sure it is Virus Scanning software. There are many paid and free versions of software, I recommend AVG Free Edition from Grisoft www.grisoft.com



As the title states, it is a free version and I have found it to be just as good as any paid version I have used. It can be set to update automatically, scan your hard drive at specific times and scan your emails as they come in.

Do a complete scan of your PC once you install the software and then set it up to scan incoming emails as well as do a complete scan monthly, just to be safe. Set it to run in the middle of the night or during the day while you are at work when you don't use your PC.

Check for spyware

Spyware is becoming just as prevalent as viruses when it comes to infecting your PC. There are over 38,000 spyware and adware programs infecting PC's around the world. Chances are that if you have been on the Internet, you have been infected with some form of spyware. For those that don't know, spyware is a program that collects information from your PC without your knowledge. It is usually installed without the user knowing but often it is installed with the users consent whether they know it or not. How many of us read the End User License Agreement (EULA) when we install software?

Not many! I know I don't.

Hidden in the pages and pages of these EULA's are statements that you agree to share information on various things including your surfing habits, purchases you've made and even to install extra software to track other things or to store files for their network they have created. In their eyes this makes it all legal because they have told you about it, again who reads the EULA?

Spyware is not only bad because of what it tracks, it also brings along with it unwanted trojans, worms and viruses. All these combined running on a PC can bring it to a grinding halt. There are spyware removal tools and software, most of them free, Spybot, Ad-Aware SE Personal, Hijack This.

These are just a few, there are many more, too many to count. I personally like Ad-Aware SE Personal, it is free and has been able to remove most of the spyware I have come across. Download it free at www.lavasoftusa.com

Update the definition files and run a scan on your PC, chances are you are infected. Check out Lavasoft's website for more info on how to use this software.

Remove unnecessary programs from your computer

Software that you are no longer using not only takes up space on your hard drive, it also can run at startup using system resources that could be used for other things. Go into your Control Panel (Start --> Settings --> Control Panel) and double-click on Add/Remove Programs. Go through the list of programs and remove any that you don't use.

Run scan disk on your hard drive

Running a scan disk on your hard drive will detect and attempt to fix any problems with files or the hard drive itself. File errors or bad sectors on your hard drive can cause PC slowness or random computer crashes. If bad sectors are found on your hard drive it is highly recommended to back up your data and it may be time to look into buying a new hard drive.

Double-click My Computer on your desktop, right-click your C: drive (or whatever drive needs scanning), select Properties and then click on the Tools tab. Click on the check now button to begin scanning.

Run a defrag on your hard drive

Defragging is done to increase disk speed access and retrieval of files. As files are updated or deleted they are stored on the largest continuous space on the hard disk, often in a different section of the hard drive from where the other parts of the file are stored. When files are fragmented like this, a computer must search the entire hard disk each time the file is opened to locate all of its parts, which slows down response time considerably. It is recommended to run a disk defragmentation on a regular basis, approximately every 2-3 months.

Double-click My Computer on your desktop, right-click your C: drive (or whatever drive needs defragmentation), select Properties and then click on the Tools tab. Click on the defragment now button to begin the process.