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Old 11-09-2005, 07:41 AM
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Default Re: time for a new computer?

When seeking computer help, information about your system and problem is key. I'm assuming your computer's operating system is Windows (because I'd be right 9 times out of 10), but you don't state this. Stating information such as this is important.

There are a few things I can point out. Saying that your computer has "slowed to a crawl" can be the result of a few things. The most common one is that there are programs running on your computer in the background. These are often programs that piggyback on other programs. They are usually mentioned in the legal text displayed when you run an installation for a program, but an easier way to avoid these things sneaking into your system is to avoid installing software downloaded from websites with many advertisements and lots of FREE DOWNLOAD text.

To get rid of this software (called "spyware"), you can download programs that are designed to remove it. The one that I find works the best is Spybot: Search and Destroy. You may be surprised how much crud this program finds the first time you use it.

The next, and in my opinion, most important thing to do is do not use Internet Explorer, unless required specifically by a website you need to do business with. Internet Explorer has a very poor history in terms of security, with many bad design decisions made by Microsoft in the past allow shady websites to install software without your knowledge and spoof security on your system. I would suggest using Mozilla Firefox as a web browser, as it has a much better security record and it does not require a powerful system.

It is also important to apply the "updates" that exist for your operating system. In Windows, this may be set to "automatic", where you don't see it happening, or you may need to do it yourself. There should be a menu option in the Start menu called "Windows Update" or something similar.

These measures can be done without reinstalling your operating system, which is a more drastic move because it requires you to make backups of all your documents. This is because this erases all the information on your computer and does a "clean" install of Windows.
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