The Problem:
You and your computer have a lot in common. Take stairs, for example. Race up a flight of steps and you’re most likely fine. Perhaps a bit out of breath, but nonetheless ready for the next thing. Now carry a bag of groceries while bounding up those same stairs and your pace is noticeably slower. Add five bags of groceries and you are almost certainly climbing at a slower clip.

Your computer can’t climb stairs –not yet! But it is nonetheless affected by workload. Increase the workload, and the computer slows, just like you do with the groceries. Reduce the load, and the computer’s performance improves.

Many times a computer is slowed by a spyware, which likes to secretly communicate with the ‘mother ship’. When your computer is infested, each software tries to ‘phone home’ at the same time, thus increasing the overall workload and slowing your computer.

Other times your computer is slowed because you have too many programs running simultaneously. In this case, it’s not a spyware issue. Rather, you’re simply asking your computer to do too much at one time.

The Fix:
Spyware can be a bear to remove. Use your antispyware software, for example, _____. Scan often and delete anything it finds.

As for all the other not-so-bad stuff which may be running in the background, try this:
• Please the cursor over the Task Bar. (The Task Bar is the bar located at the base of your desktop.)
• Right click on your mouse.
• Choose Task Manager.

Task Manager displays all the processes running on your machine at that moment. Note which programs consume the most resources.

If you click on a process, the item will be highlighted and the ‘End Process’ button will become active. To quit a process, just click the End Process button.

Be careful, though. Some of those processes are actually important. If you’re unsure about a process, enter the name into Google and do a quick search. In most cases, you’ll find a good description right way.

This site is also helpful: www.AnswersThatWork.com. Click on button TASK LIST for a good description of common processes.

To permanently remove unwanted processes, take a look at www.SuperGeeks.net/tools.

Let me know if I can help with anything. Have fun!
James Kerr is Chief Geek at SuperGeeks. He can be reached at 808.942.0773 and www.SuperGeeks.net.