• Spyware: This is sneaking software that gets downloaded to your computer without you knowing it. Spyware can infiltrate your system, log every step you take, and perform certain functions that will give the marketing knowledge of your habits so they will know what you do. This way they can focus their ads to you when you load up your browser.
• Adware: Adware is like spyware, except it comes included with programs you may download. When you run the downloaded program, the adware also runs and installs itself. It then monitors your browser activity and presents ad related websites to your browser you did not expect.
• Viruses: Viruses are one of the biggest problems for computers and for slowing down a system. Each virus is different in the way to works and acts on the PC. Some destroy hard drives while others do more damage than that. The bottom line is that viruses do cause problems.
One thing that many technicians have found when troubleshooting hard drives that run slow is the hard drive is in bad need of defragging. When a hard drive is fragmented this means that all the files on the hard drive are scattered all over the place. This slows down system performance and causes the programs to take longer to load and run. This is because when the program loads, the read/write head of the hard drive has to look for the section on the hard drive for all the pieces of the program that goes together. When a hard drive is defragmented, this forces all the programs that are on the hard drive to be placed in sequence so they can be found and loaded quickly.
• Clean hard drive: It is best to get rid of many programs you don't use anymore. You would be surprised to find how many programs that are installed on your PC that is not even necessary or important to have. You are wasting space and memory. To get rid of these programs just go to the Control Panel. Then click Add or Remove Programs. Once the window pops up, scroll through the list until you find the program you don't need or use. Click to highlight the program and click the Remove button. Then just follow the prompts that come up. You may need to reboot your PC at this point. Do so if suggested.
• Wasted space cleaning: As soon as you get rid of those unwanted programs, you may find that there may be some residue left in those spaces. At this time it would be a good idea to run XP's Disk Cleanup tool. You can run this program by going to My computer. Then right-click on Local Disk. Click Properties. At the next screen, look for the General tab. Now click Disk Cleanup. Disk Cleanup will scan your hard drive and find any and all space that can be freed. Click on the check boxes of files you want to get rid of that is in the Files to Delete window. Once you have done this click OK.
• Defrag your hard drive: One thing that can really slow down a PC is when the hard drive can become fragmented. This is when all the files on the hard drive are scattered every which way. In order to prevent this, you need to run the defrag program that XP provides. You do this by going to My Computer. Then select Local Disk with your right mouse button. Then click Properties. Select the Tools tab and click Defragment Now. The Disk Defragmenter opens showing you a list of hard drives in your machine. Pick the hard drive you want defragged and click Defragment.
• Remove Autostart programs: to help save on space and on memory when booting, get rid of those programs that start automatically on boot. You can get rid of these programs by clicking Start then click Run. Next you will type in Msconfig. Then either click or press Enter. When the window opens click the Startup tab. Here will be a list of programs that start when you boot the PC. Look at each item and remove the check so that program will not run. Click Apply and reboot your PC. You'll be surprised at how doing this will you're your PC boot faster and run quicker.
• Clean out email inbox: Believe it or not, if you use Outlook Express and you keep all your old email, even deleted email is kept; this will eventually slow down your system. You see when you load Outlook Express for the first time, all your message folders get loaded in memory and stay there. This makes accessing the folders easier and faster. But if you have too many emails in there, that will take up a large chunk of memory. So every so often delete old email you don't want and clear your junk and deleted files folder as well.
• Use a firewall: This is probably the best choice of all tips. If you use a firewall, it will help prevent unwanted programs from downloading to your computer without you knowing about it. You can enable Windows XP built-in firewall software to protect you, or you can buy third-party firewall protection software. The main thing is to get protected.
• Update your software: If you use Windows XP, you can make sure to update your software. This way any urgent patches that will help stop unwanted programs can be downloaded and installed.
• Adjust Internet Explorer's security settings: This is a big part of your protection. In order to stop pop-ups, adware, spyware, or viruses from attacking your computer, set your security settings of your browser to prevent such infiltration from occurring. Read XP's user manual. It explains how to do this.
• Install anti-spyware and anti-virus programs: To add further protection, it would be good for you to install anti-spyware and anti-virus protection on your PC. This way you can be safeguarded from such attacks and intrusions.