3 WAYS TO HELP YOUR COMPUTER RUN FASTER

Computers are notorious for slowing down with old age, but there are a few tips and tricks to give them a speed boost. From small tweaks to your settings to purchasing some new RAM, there’s plenty of options for everyone’s budget and skillset. So before you toss your computer aside for a new one, try out these suggestions to get your PC chugging along again.

Check your hard disk space
As a rule, you want to keep at least 15% of the hard disk space free to keep the computer running smoothly. Simply go to My Computer, right-click on Local Drive, and go to Properties. There you’ll see a pie chart of your free versus used space. If it’s mostly full, you’ll want to start by removing unnecessary programs and files; if it’s not, you probably want to tackle the actual way your computer operates.

Remove any programs you do not use
Go to Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs (or Uninstall a Program, depending on your operating system) to find a master list of programs installed on your computer. Some things will strike you as useless immediately, in which case you can remove them right away. Others won’t look familiar to you and may require you some research. •It may help to see how often you use the program. If you right-click one of the column titles above your program list (ex. Name, Publisher, Size, Installed On, etc.), you should be able to add additional characteristics by which to judge your programs. For example, find Last Used On on the list of options and check it; a column displaying the last time you used each program will now appear and can also be used to sort your programs. Some programs will not have been used in years and may be candidates for deletion.

Install an anti-virus program, spyware scanner, and an anti-malware also Microsoft Security essentials works well
The fewer bugs, viruses, and bits of adware your computer has to manage, the more time it will have to devote to other processes. While you’re at it, make a point of keeping Windows up-to-date; not only will this keep Windows itself in better shape, but some viruses ride in on Windows updates that are downloaded way after the fact (and therefore not monitored as closely). While installing an anti-virus program will actually slow down your computer, malware will slow it down much more. If you’re 100 percent sure that viruses aren’t going to infect you due to your safe computing habits, you might want to disable or remove your anti virus utility.