need computer help

[Russianwolf]

okay our desktop has slowed to a crawl on the net. I'm looking for a program that I can install that will snoop out everything that's slowing it down. I'm not too tech savy so it needs to be very simple to work with.

Any advice?

[poolhound]

Assuming you have some form of virus of trojan issue rather than just a bunch of new software that is taxing its horse power. Try both these tools

Adaware
http://www.lavasoft.com/products/ad_aware_free.php


Spybot
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html

[jaybee]

And, after finishing with those two, top it off with a helping of:

http://majorgeeks.com/Malwarebytes_A...are_d5756.html


A bit of snooping through majorgeeks will probably do anyone a lot of good - I do it from time to time just to see what has become available.

[JoeyGee]

I would start with the very simple step of checking the Task Manager to see what is consuming processor and/or memory. Right-click on the task bar and select Task Manager. Go to the Processes tab, and click on CPU, which will sort the taks by CPU usage. Google the Image Name of whichever is taking chunks.

I agree, it's most likely spyware or malware, and I second the apps listed, but it's best to do this troubleshooting first.

[pelligrini]

Try clearing your browser cache too.

[jfuselier7@centurytel.net]

a great and FREE program is MV regclean that takes care of crap in your registry and it will not mess up any needed files! clean your registry, delete
all unneeded programs, letters, mail etc,,and defrag it! errant registry entries can have it looking all over for non existent info before connecting to the web..

MV REGCLEAN,, GOOGLE it and download today,,, free and great program

[cgallery]

A slow machine can be an indication of a failing hard drive (lots of retries slows everything down). You can check the Event Viewer for errors regarding any of the disk drives. If you see any red bangs on hard drives, backup any critical files immediately.

Next, try http://www.superantispyware.com. The free-for-home-users version is fine. When you're done, uninstall the software cause it is kinda a CPU hog by itself. Especially at boot.

Now, get Sophos Anti-Rootkit:

http://www.sophos.com/products/free-...i-rootkit.html

And make sure nothing is cloaked.

If the machine still runs slowly, open Task Manager and sort the processes by CPU utilization, and post-back what is using most of the CPU time.

[OpaDC]

I highly recommend getting Spybot Search and Destroy. Application to scan for spyware, adware, hijackers and other malicious software. Very simple to use and FREE!

[Rich P]

If the performance is fine other than internet access, the problem could also be network related. On rare occasion, my dsl modem goes spasmodic and starts throwing all sorts of errors and net access goes south. A restart of the modem clears it up. If you have not already done so contact your ISP and have them diagnose the circuit and route.