Computer Running Slow or CPU running at 100%

If you are a home user and your computer is slow or you think your computer is running slow, get some computer help here.

This is often caused by spyware, viruses (see below) or sometimes a bug in Windows Updates. To fix the latter go to here and install the software on that page.

There is also an article from Ars Technica here which gives security info for Linux and OS X and more info for Windows.

Anti-Virus
Make sure you have Anti Virus installed on your computer and the anti-virus definitions are up to date. Free anti-virus software is available from Grisoft (AVG) or Avast, or Avira.  One thing to note is that AVG only works on XP and Vista now.  These three are our recommended choices that are free for home users only, if you are a business owner, you need to purchase a license.

ClamAV is also available but not so good on tests. Bitdefender is also available free but it does not give real time protection (i.e. it doesn't stop you getting a virus - only checks when you ask it to).

If you have a paid for one that is expired, buy a newer version or install one of the free versions (do not install more than one anti-virus program on your machine at one time). If you have Norton go to Symantec's website to update or remove.

Wireless Security

There is a good article here from Ars Technica which talk about wireless security.

Anti-Spyware
Anti-spyware products. Windows Defender can be downloaded from Microsoft for free and is OK. Spybot has a good reputation also. If anything is detected, run multiple scans on your machine until nothing is found.

Firewalls
If you're running Windows XP the built in firewall is probably sufficient. For systems running 2000 look at Zone Alarm. I was recently impressed with CA's Firewall suite but it is not free.

Fix Tools
Use Trend Micro's CWShredder to get rid of Cool Web Search this runs once off. Also Trend Micro's HijackThis is great but should ONLY use if you know what you are doing and have used it before.

Web Toolbars, Free ScreenSavers, Smileys Programs Avoid installing software such as these on your computer that contain web browser toolbars, screensavers or smiley programs. They can also contain spyware, slow your machine down and potentially allow third party users access to your computer via the internet.

Disk space usage
You can see where disk space has gone quite easily with a program called TreeSize. There is a free version available for download from here:

I would look at deleting everything under c:\windows\temp for a start as often a lot of junk accumulates here and you can safely delete everything.

Slow Internet browsing
A lot of the time ads slow your browser down. Check first of all that you are running a recent version of Firefox. Go to Help, About and check that it is at least version 2 - earlier versions would not upgrade. If you don't have it installed then you can install it from icon on the right hand side of this web page. Then if your PC is still slow and you don't mind losing some of the advertisements install ad blocking software - install adblock plus and filterset.g and select the first item from the list when asked for installing filterset.g.

Internet Providers, Domain and Web Site Hosting - New Zealand
We use Google Apps for web hosting and web pages.  The Jandi email domain is hosted by Google Mail.  Jandi uses TelstraClear as an Internet Service Provider and Freeparking for domain services.

Backups

It is important to back up your data in case you have a computer problem. This means making a copy somewhere that is stored off your computer. If it is out of your house that is even better. (in case you get burgled, fire etc).

There are a number of programs to backup your data on the Internet. There is a review here of these types of programs. Don't worry about the technical language in the review - look at the ratings given to the various services.

PC Recovery Tools

This article talks about Vista Recovery discs or you can just download from here. Two very useful Linux repair CDs (you can fix any system, not just Linux) are the SystemRescue CD and the Emergency Boot CD. The Emergency Boot CD can also reset any Windows password on a machine.

Also recommended by a colleague is the Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic test, which can be found here.

These suggestions are freely available for medium/advanced computer users at home, please use with care.  We do not recommend you carry out these suggestions on business computers or download these programs at work due to licensing issues (this software is free only if you are a home user).  For businesses please check out Open Source Software or talk to us.