Slowwwwww computer..no adware or viruses found?

Question

I've scanned my computer for adware/spyware, using 3 different software & it came up with nothing. My virus scan didnt show any viruses either. I'm using Norton.
Recently, I downloaded a 7-day trial of adware/spyware prevention from Anonymizer and when I left for work, the sweep hadn't been complete. It was run for 2 hrs at that point.
My computer is very slow, and seems to be behaving this way since downloading the free adware/software section of Anonymizer's program.
Should I be using a different virus scan??? Any suggestions??

I did a defrag this morning also.

Answer 1

A clean computer is key to a faster computer. Run the 3 scans below.

Run a virus scan weekly.

Update and run your Anti-Virus program. Don't have one? You can run a free online scan from CA.
http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virus...



Run Spybot and Adaware weekly.


Download, update and run Spybot---http://www.safer-networking.org/... . Don't forget to use the Immunize feature.

Download, update and run Adaware---http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaw...



Now to prevent spyware from being installed in the first place....




Download SpywareBlaster---http://majorgeeks.com/download2859.html

SpywareBlaster doesn't scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from ever being installed.

It's main features include:
- Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware, adware, browser hijackers, dialers, and other potentially unwanted pests.
- Block spyware/tracking cookies in Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox.
- Restrict the actions of potentially dangerous sites in Internet Explorer.






Now lets clean up your registry.


Run RegScrubXP weekly. Run Cleanup every time you log off.


Download RegScrubXP--http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?d...

Safely cleans junk out of the Windows 2000/XP system registry. All changes made to the registry are fully restorable to it's original condition. You can make an exclusion list of registry entries that RegScrubXP will not display as problems. You can sift through a list of file extensions, company names, run upon startup programs, Internet Explorer history, and uninstall programs to delete what you think is junk.

Download CleanUp---http://www.stevengould.org/software/clea...

Free disk space, make your computer run better/faster and protect your privacy - all in one easy solution. All for free!





Now lets clean up your disk.



Run a Disk Cleanup 2 times a month. Run Disk Defrag. monthly.


Do a Disk Cleanup and Disk Defrag. You can find both of them by following the path below.
Start>all programs>accessories>system tools>Disk Cleanup. Let it do its thing. You can check every box that has something to delete.
Now follow the same path and do a Disk Defrag. Again just let it do its thing.




Now lets tweak your connection.


If your speed is good I would not mess with it by trying to tweak it. If you do tweak once it is done you should not have to do it every again.


There are many programs out there to do this. I will give you 2 of them.
The first one is TCP Optimizer.

Description: The TCP Optimizer is a free, easy Windows program that provides an intuitive interface for tuning and optimizing your Internet connection. There is no installation required, just download and run.

http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php....

You can get support for the best way to set it up right from their forum http://forums.speedguide.net/

The second one is Cablenut.

Windows XP tested and approved

CableNut is a tool for optimizing your Internet Connection. We have provided a way to tweak any option you may want to in the adjuster. You can load "CableNut Custom Setting" files that are included with the program to tweak your Internet connection.

http://www.cablenut.com/

Again support is available right from their forum.http://www.broadbandnuts.com/index.php?p...




All programs are FREE!




After applying the suggestions above you will have a clean and faster computer. Enjoy.

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

You might just need additional memory. Anything below 512 is sort of slow. Check your computer to see how much memory you have. If you end up adding memory, you will definitely notice a difference.

Other things to consider

You should do a defragment on your computer. Things will run faster once a defragment has been done. Many people dont do this at all. Do a disk clean up also.

Answer 4

Try unloading the free 7 day trial of adware & see if it makes a difference. When we bog our computers down with so much spyware protection, it can really slow things down. Get rid of programs you aren't using & see if the computer is faster.

Answer 5

I think Norton is strong enough,you dont need new one.
According to your description,there are some regsitry errors in your PC to cause "Computer slow".You need to clean you PC.
Every time you install and uninstall software on your computer and surfing online you create junk in the registry.You need to scan and clean your PC with registry cleaner to make your pc faste.Good Regisry Cleaner will improve your PC and Internet performance dramatically.It even can speed up your PC by 300% or more!
There are some comparison and review of
TOP 5 registry cleaners.
http://www.registry-Cleaners.info

You can download and scan your PC for free.

Answer 6

If you computer is running slow unplug the computer wait for 3 Min's then plug it back in it will be just fine (slow computer) This is causes from holding keys down to long that will make it run slow

Answer 7

You may want to try a disk clean-up and defragmenize your computer. I did this last week and it sped up considerably. My parents got this info from Time magazine "spring clean your computer" and they shared it with me when I visited last. E-mail if you want the directions. Too long to type if you are not interested.

Answer 8

maybe you should try to partition your hard drive. did you do a defrag lately? maybe you need more memory ram you know?

Answer 9

get rid of anonymizer.