If you are fed up of your computer running slowly then please take time to read this article closely as I am sure it will help you with your problems.
- Download and install a program called spybot search & destroy at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html
- Go through the setup routine.
- Go to the mode tab at the top and select advanced. Click yes on the message that appears.
- Go to the tools menu in the bottom left hand corner and click it.
- A new menu should appear click start up programs on this menu.
- A big list of programs will now appear in the main body of the program. Disable all but essential programs such as anti virus programs by unchecking the check boxes. If you are not sure what a program is do an internet search for it. Generally you can uncheck the yellow and white shaded ones but you should keep the green shaded ones.
- Restart your computer to see the difference; if it still goes slowly you may have a virus: if so download one of the anti virus programs I recommend below and install it; this should solve your problem. I would also recommend that you download the latest updates for spybot S&D and run a full system scan even if you don't think you have a virus as a lot of spyware is very good at going unnoticed.
Other programs I recommend:
Firefox - this is an alternative web browser, it is more secure and customizable than internet explorer and you can find it at - http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/Openoffice - this is a near drop in replacement for microsoft office; it may lack one or two features you never use but it is free find it here - http://www.openoffice.org/
Foxit reader - do not use adobe reader to look at PDF files it is slow and wastes system resources you can find a replacement here - http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
I would also recommend you use a bishopthopre.net email account as this comes with anti virus and anti spam and also bishopthopre.net does not want to make a profit so it won't try and tie you into restrictive software and protocols as email service providers such as Microsoft do.
If you are paying for your anti virus software you needn't be. Whilst programs such as Norton and Macaffe do stop viruses they use up a lot of computer memory and cost you money. Instead I recommend either AVAST, AVG or Clamwin anti virus. These are all free to use: I would recommend Clamwin as it is open source. I do not need anti virus software as I use an operating system called Ubuntu that is an open source operating system. The only viruses that exist that can affect it are listed here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_computer_viruses.
The people I have introduced to Ubuntu have found it a welcome rest from Windows as they don't have to worry about their computers being clogged up with start up programs and they have access to virus free software repositories. These software repositories are databases of free software you can download from the internet.
I find the best way to avoid viruses during normal internet use is to use a program called no script which is available as an add on for firefox. This program blocks unwanted programs you may come across on the internet from working on your machine; it can also stop your bank details etc. going awry when something goes wrong when you log on online. When you have firefox I recommend that you visit https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/ and install the adblock plus add on as this will block most internet adverts.
If you don't understand any of the terms I have used here do a search for them or if you want to know the meaning of a word type "define:" followed by the word you want to know into google (don't included the quotation marks).
I hope this helps you if you have any comments please feel free to leave them on using the comment boxes below.
Alex Bishop