Every computer user at some point, regardless of skill level – yes, even the geeks – have a problem with the performance of their personal computer. There are many symptoms that occur when there is something not functioning properly such as slow response time, “freezing”, application errors and long load times. Typically software, whether legitimate or spyware, tends to be the culprit when a computer becomes sluggish. The best method for regaining system stability is to determine what program is causing the issue and remove or correct the offending software.

There are many types of software and processes that get loaded on a computer that can cause an issue and most of the processes are not apparent. For example, a software package that is installed for writing documents may install a background utility that checks for software updates. The installation program does not inform that this software has been installed but now it is loaded every time the operating system is the background checking process is loaded.

The problems start occurring when more software is installed and all of these programs start loaded background processes that eventually adversely affect the system speed and stability. The worse part is large amount of these processes are not needed to properly operate the computer. The good news is that many of these processes can be safely disabled or removed in order to increase system speed – the trick is determining the good processes and the not so good processes.

There are many utilities on the market that claim to “clean” a computer of unnecessary software and processes with little or no user interaction. The main problem with a lot of these utilities is that the user has little control over what is removed or disabled. Many of these utilities disable or remove software and processes are that are necessary for the system to function properly. Another problem with this software is that it costs to purchase and maintain the software not to mention it is another piece of software running on the computer – something we are trying to prevent.

Another option for detecting and removing unwanted software and processes is to use the system tools provided with the operating system. The downside to using the provided tools is that it requires a certain amount of effort for the user as the process of detecting and removal is manual. The upside of this process is that the user has full control over what software or processes are removed or disabled making it easier to control the process. Not to mention the utilities are free!

The next article will provide the instructions for utilizing the included systems tools to detect rogue software and processes along with how to remove or disable these processes.