If you have ever bought a new computer, there is nothing like how cool it seems when you first get it out of the box. Everything is so clean, and new, and it appears to be much faster than your old machine. But then after a while, something seems to happen. You start to go online, and start to download all kinds of cool software. Pretty soon your computer doesn't seem to be as fast as it used to be.
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 programs are the ones that automatically fire up whenever you switch on your machine. 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. You'll see a nice sortable list of all the programs running on your PC, and how much of your memory and CPU they are using up. 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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