When did you buy your computer, the one you are using to read this article? When you did, you were likely excited to get home and fire it up, and jump right online to your favorite sites. If you bought your computer more than a year or so ago, you may be thinking about buying a new machine, maybe because you want one that is faster or quicker. It seems that its a sad fact of life that computers get slower as they get older.
Many just accept this as the natural way of things. Some people call this "CPU creep," which just means that over time, your computer will tend to run slower and slower as you add more programs. While it is true that the same processor won't run as fast if you have several applications, it's not a given that your computer will slow down after a given amount of time.
To understand if any slow down is normal, take a look at the programs that are listed in your start up menu. These are the programs that run automatically when you turn on your computer. Common ones are Skype, Quicktime, Microsoft Office, and an Internet connection program if you have your Internet set up in a particular way. Sometimes, these programs that start up automatically will check for updates, and this can tie up some computer resources.
But chances are, if you are experiencing a significant decrease in speeds, you have something called spyware and adware on your computer. One way to check is to run your task manager, if you are running windows. It will list all of the programs that are using up your CPU, and will list how much memory each is taking. If you see something you don't recognize, simply Google it and see what you come up with.
Many times it is a manifestation of another program, which is all good. However, other times it will be an adware or a spyware program. Spyware and adware software do exactly what you'd expect by their names, they sneak around your machine and seek out personal information for advertising purposes. By themselves they don't pose much risk, they won't erase any data or corrupt your hard drive, but they can take up a significant portion of your resources, making other programs run considerably slower.
If you're lucky, you can click on the "end process" icon from within the program, but usually it won't be this easy. The spyware developers have made many of them very hard to shut down that way. Which is exactly why it is a must in today's Internet environment to have a good, strong anti spyware and adware program that will not only scan your system on a regular basis, but get rid of the ones that you likely have right now.
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