Darn, Slow Computer!! (Part 2)

I talked about bloated anti-virus programs in my last blog so next up are the toolbars; those little “handy” gadgets that are installed in your browser or even on your desktop. The problem with toolbars is they use a lot of your computer’s resources and most of the time they are unnecessary.



The most used functions of toolbars are quick searches, pop-up blocking and auto-fill. All three of those functions are already built into Internet Explorer and FireFox so they are unnecessary. The problem caused by toolbars is a slow Internet, especially when several computers with toolbars installed are using the same Internet connection. While you’re surfing around, the toolbar is constantly sending information back and forth to their servers. They do this to help websites you visit determine what ads should show up for you while you are there. They can also allow hackers a portal to get into your computer and record information that you type in when you visit sites. So if you have a toolbar and you’re tired of your slow Internet, get rid of it.



The last of my top three things that slow your computer down is spyware. Spyware consists of little programs that install themselves when you install other programs or in the background when you visit some websites. They can also be disguised as a program you think is good and you install them yourself without knowing it.



Spyware is vicious and can wreak all kinds of havoc on your computer. It can cause ads to pop up all over the place uncontrollably. It can record where you surf and what you type into your computer, even when you are not online. It can worm its’ way through your private information and report it back to a remote server. Finally, if several spyware programs are installed they can use a tremendous amount of resources bringing your computer to a very slow crawl or even make it unusable.



As with viruses, there is a great program that will take care of spyware problems. Spybot Search&Destroy by Safer Networks not only finds and deletes already loaded spyware programs, it allows you to “immunize” your computer to keep you away from known spyware websites. It also has a runtime program called TeaTimer that asks you to confirm Registry and System Configuration changes before allowing them. That keeps those nasty auto-install programs from doing damage in the background without you knowing it. This is a great defense program, but it does use about 40MB of RAM so if you run the Spybot checker pretty often you don’t have to install this. If you always forget to check things out, install it and have peace of mind that nothing is installed without you knowing about it.



Spybot Search&Destroy is a free program available at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html and there is a good write up on the previous version of the software at http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0200024r2k1o (the new version, 1.60, just came out so there are no reviews of that version yet). The program is free, but if you would like to thank the makers of the software you can donate to their efforts at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/donate/index.html BE CAREFUL!! Don’t go to search engines and just grab any free “spyware detection” program. There are a ton of them that are fake and actually install spyware on your computer. They are sneaky, like the one that is called “SpywareBot” playing off of Spybot to try and get you to download and install their junk.