What to Do When Your Computer Slows Down

Fast and Slow browsing via ipoint-tech.com
There are many aspects of computers that have warning signs when something is wrong. Many people don’t know how to identify or respond to them if noticed. Sometimes it isn’t as simple as running a virus scan or setting up a firewall, but there are ways to address any situation that your computer may not prevent, and which could become a problem.

First, you have to learn what to identify as a threat. Touching on slow computer operations, not every slow reaction is a virus or a ‘hacker.’ Sometimes your connection is receiving interference, or over-activity on a server or site will cause your computer to become slow to respond. However, with those facts in mind, many major and minor threats that affect our computer and phone systems cause their normal operations online and offline to slow drastically.

Online browsing issues

If you experience a slowing when browsing online, it is best to make sure that you are on a secure site, with a secured internet connection protected by a solid firewall and a good password for Wi-Fi. Many social sites, frequently visited pages, and rapidly growing internet blogs are targets for unsecured mirror sites which put up the images of desired pages but use keylogging to steal information and infect your computer.
The first thing you need to do if you begin to experience a slow browsing session is to verify your site’s security and legitimacy. Do this by carefully reviewing the web address and details of the site to make sure you are on your safe destination. If you use multiple windows to multitask, that is one reason for a slow connection. The lack of software updates can cause a lot of content to load slower or not load at all. It is best to update readers and flash players manually from their developers’ websites to avoid any scareware scams.

Working offline

When using normal computer operations offline, such as Microsoft Word, Notepad, Paint, Games, or working on a program that requires no internet connection, a slowing computer is a sign of a problem either related to software or hardware issues. Opening the task manager to review your CPU usages, and evaluate the source(s) of high processor operations is the first thing to do in this situation.
If you notice any questionable programs, software or usages in high numbers and percentages, then you should first end the processes if safe to (not a product of operating system files). If you find programs you didn’t install or download manually or you don’t recognize them as safe, it is best to remove them from your PC using the provided tools of your operating system to prevent any hidden virus, malware, scareware, or spyware to infect or steal from your computer.
The most basic and probably the best preventive step is to obtain and use a powerful antivirus protection. There are many free services available that offer minimal security of your system, and they will provide you with the information they have obtained from their scans. However, not having solid virus protection/prevention software at your disposal can make your system vulnerable. Have a solid, strong protection installed on your system that detects all malicious, suspicious, and dangerous programs and files. Running a full scan of your computer weekly, with quick scans daily after using your PC, is an advisable step for your safety.
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