The Culprit: Spyware
In my last column, I mentioned the first-aid you can apply to a slow running computer: check the number of programs that load at the
If you're running a Mac with OS 9 or earlier, your programs use extensions upon starting the computer. Having too many of those running will bog down your system resources. The way to deal with that is to create different startup options so that only the programs you will need will have the relevant extensions loaded. That will improve your system performance. However, OS 10 and later performs differently, so it's unlikely that you'll have problems there.
Assuming you follow the steps outlined above and in my last column, and your computer is still running slowly, then your problem might be spyware.
For those of you who don't know what spyware is, it's software that covertly gathers user information through the user's Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes.
It resembles a Trojan horse (a virus) in some ways as users unwittingly download the software. Among other things, spyware steals resources from your computer and also eats up bandwidth. The results can be a slow running computer, system instability, and crashes. Some spyware has the ability to monitor keystrokes, scan your hard drive, snoop your applications, hijack your web browser, and much more. Hence, the need to eliminate. Preventing future incursions on your machine is also very important, not just for performance, but your personal security.
Here's one fast way that you can find out if you have spyware on your computer. Visit the Trend Micro Web site at: http://www.trendmicro.com /spyware-scan/ and run a scan. The results may surprise you. On an ongoing basis, I recommend that you purchase
Pest Patrol
http://www.pestpatrol.com/
Spy Sweeper
http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/spysweeper/index.html?rc=4650
Pest Patrol works fairly quickly and takes a snapshot of your hard drive. It's good for many spyware issues, but if you have a persistent problem, I recommend Spyware Sweeper for an intensive system scan.
I don't recommend using Spyware Sweeper on Startup, as it slows down your system. Pest Patrol is a better option.
Nathan Segal boosts your Photoshop productivity with proven tips, tools and techniques to create better scans, images and prints, in his book, "The Photoshop Companion."
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