There are some simple things you can do to improve the speed of your computer system. When you keep your computer maintained you can ensure that it continues to run at its peak performance. You can improve the speed of any Windows computer whether it is XP, Vista or Windows 7. You should not just be concerned about maintaining your computers speed you want to ensure you protect your privacy as well.

Removing spyware, viruses and adware will not only ensure that you are protecting your privacy and information it will also help to dramatically improve the performance of your PC as well. Spyware if present on your computer will run continuously in the background resulting in dragging down the speed of your computer while collecting personal information about you without your knowledge or permission.

Microsoft offers some tools you can download for free that will scan and remove software from your computer. Live OneCare will help you check your computer for viruses and remove them.

You can also download the Security Essentials from Microsoft that will help to protect your computer from being infected with adware, spyware and viruses. This tool will help to remove these threats and is updated automatically ensuring that you are protected for any emerging threats.

The final tool from Microsoft is the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool that will detect and remove Mydoom, Sasser and Blaster.

Being sure that you eliminate and prevent infections from malware will ensure that your system will perform at top speed.

If you have been disappointed in the performance of your computer lately there are things you can do that will improve it. Microsoft includes several utilities that will allow you to both monitor your system performance and make modifications that will help to improve its performance.

The Performance Information and Tools utility will list all the tasks running allowing your to improve your systems performance. Here you can determine the capabilities of your system as well. You can find this utility in the System and Maintenance section of the Control Panel.

The tasks allow you to manage the programs that automatically start up. You are able to enable or disable the start up of these programs. You can also stop any task running at the current time.

Another feature you can manage here are the visual effects of your computer. New features and effects have been introduced including shading, drop shadows, etc. While these may seem cool they are un-cool in how they tax your system performance. You are able to optimize your visual effects to optimal system performance or manually adjust them to gain the look and level of performance you desire.

Indexing while it can make your searches run quicker it places a continual drain on your system resources. If you are able to narrow your search criteria you can eliminate indexing and save system resources for more important functions.

Other tools you should utilize include the Disk Defragmenter, Event Viewer and System Information.

The Windows operating system has utilities built into the software that will help you improve the speed of your computer. You can easily remove items cluttering the computers hard drive by using the Disk Cleanup utility. It will find all the temporary Windows and Internet files that you can safely remove.

The Add/Remove programs utility will display a list of the software on your computer, the last access date and how often the program is used. From here you can safely un-install any program you do not need.

Once you have cleaned up all the items cluttering your computers hard drive you can use the Disk Defragmenter utility to re-organize the remaining files and programs. Fragmentation occurs as you open and save to programs and files. This makes is harder for your computers processor to find and access these items. When files and programs are aligned in a more organized fashion it is easier on the processor allowing it to work more efficiently.

There are many tools and utilities you can use in the System Tools folder of the Accessories folder found in the All Programs folder. You can also fine more detailed instructions online at Microsoft on these and other utilities that can help you improve the speed of your computer.

Performing these tasks should produce a noticeable improvement in how your computer performs for you. But if performing these tasks do not satisfy you completely you may need to add RAM or upgrade other hardware components of the machine.

Would you like to improve the performance of your computer so it would run like new again? Getting your computer running faster depends upon the cause of its slowness. Different issues will require different solutions.

If you computer is slow due to software demands or RAM insufficiencies then you can purchase more RAM for your computer or use a ReadyBoost device. You need more RAM if you run multiple programs at a time. Also gaming software might require more RAM as well. The larger the software program is the more it will slow down your PC. When you have more RAM you are able to multitask more and not experience negative effects to the speed of your computer.

Fragmentation of the hard drive is another cause of computer slowness. Fragmentation requires more time for programs and files to be accessed. You can eliminate most of the fragmentation on your hard drive with the Disk Defragmenter utility. Recommendations are to run this utility minimally once a month, weekly would be even better. You should always run this utility when you add or remove large programs and files as well.

Attacks and infestations from virus, adware and spyware programs can not only affect your computers performance it can cause damage to your system as well. Not only do you need to get rid of this malware you need to try to prevent future infections as well. Purchase a good anti-virus scanner and use a firewall.

Keeping the clutter out of your PC is an ongoing task but you will reap the rewards when you do it. Using the tools provided in your computers operating system will make this task easy.

The Disk Cleanup utility will allow you to easily free up space on your computers hard drive allowing it to run faster. Disk Cleanup will identify the files that are safe to remove and allows you to select the items you want to delete. This utility will deleted Java applets and ActiveX controls that have been downloaded on your PC along with temporary internet files. It will empty the Recycle Bin, error reports and temporary Windows files as well. You can also remove optional components of the Windows operating system with this utility as well as other installed programs you do not need or use. Removing shadow copies and restore points is another feature of the Disk Cleanup utility.

Once you have removed all the unnecessary items from the hard drive you need to speed up the access to the remaining data. The Disk Defragmenter utility will reorganize all the programs and files on your PC in order for them to be accessed more efficiently. When data and programs are scattered all over a hard drive it takes significantly longer for your PC to respond. You should run this utility whenever your hard drive s more the eighty-five percent full, you add large files or install a new program or operating system version.

Over time the computers hard drive can develop bad sectors. This can be a result of system and software crashes as well as power interruptions. These bad spots on the hard drive can jeopardize the integrity of the files on your computer. They can also make it difficult and even impossible for your computer to write to certain folders or files. This could result in the loss of data.

You should run the Error Check utility weekly if you use your computer daily.

Before you run this utility be sure all files and programs are closed. Right click on your computers hard drive in the My Computer window and choose Properties. Then choose the Tools Tab. To run the utility select “Check Now”. The tool will scan for bad sectors. If any are found elect to fix them.

ReadyBoost is a feature of the Windows Vista and 7 operating systems. It can be used to increase the speed of your PC by adding virtual memory by using a USB memory card. This can help improve the performance of your PC without having to buy and install additional memory.

If you are on an older version of Windows consider upgrading to Windows 7. This can help improve the performance of your computer along with giving you more tools and features that can be used to achieve this goal. Be sure to run the Upgrade Advisor to see if your hardware can be upgraded.

If your system has been running slower you may have looked at the items on your hard drive and wondered what would be safe to remove. You might want to try to compress older files. This will leave all the items on your hard drive intact. If a file is found that has not been accessed in a certain period of time it can be compressed. Just know that if you do access this file at a later date it may take a bit longer for it to open the first time.

There are many types of files that are completely safe to remove from your computer.

Downloaded program files include Java applets and ActiveX controls that are downloaded from web sites. These files are considered ‘temporary’ however they are stored on the computer until you choose to delete them. These are not program or zip files.

Temporary Internet files are caches of web pages and are also stored on your computers hard drive. Cached web pages make browsing the internet faster. Deleting these files will not change any web settings not will it delete internet cookies.

Recycle Bin is where all things go that you choose to delete from your computer. They are stored here in case you made a mistake and want to retrieve the file. It is important to empty the Recycle Bin from time to time.

Temporary Remote desktop files are created when you use the Remote Desktop utility and can be safely removed along with Setup Log files. It is also safe to remove backup files for any previous OS if you have updated.

Microsoft provides a disk defragmentation utility that will re-organize your computers hard drive to centralize all the programs and files getting rid of the spaces. Every time you add a software program or file to the hard drive as well as when you open and write to files bits and pieces are strewn all over the hard disk. When the programs and files are located all in one area the processor of the computer can access them more quickly.
While it is amazing that your computers processor can piece together all these bits of information you can lend it a hand by keeping the hard drive as defragmented as possible.

The system Registry is another area when problems arise will cause issues with slowness in your computer. The Registry holds all the information about your computer as well as the software and hardware. From time to time invalid entries get written to the Registry. This can be caused by power interruptions and system and software crashes. If you do not uninstall a software program properly it can cause issues in the Registry. When you are able to remove these invalid entries you can increase the speed of your PC noticeably.

As important as the Registry is you would think that Microsoft would include a tool to analyze and fix Registry entries. However they have not but there are many good products you can find on the market. Ccleaner is freeware that is a registry cleaner you might want to give a try.

Not as much as tricks are required as mastering the tools that Microsoft provides for you to improve the speed and performance of your computer.

The MSCONFIG tool is commonly used and has many utilities that will benefit and improve the speed of your PC. Here you can find all the programs that are set to startup when your computer boots up. You are able to enable or disable their startup depending upon if you feel it is important to have them starting up and running. The fewer automatic startup programs you have the quicker boot time you will experience. Also all the programs that automatically startup run in the background and consume system resources as long as they are running.

At the Microsoft website you can use Windows Defender, a spyware tool, that will search and remove any malware that is discovered on your system. It may also be used as a startup manager as well.

CCleaner, while not from Microsoft, it a free tool that will help you keep the registry free from any issues that may be causing problems with the performance of your computer.

Adjusting the properties and setting of your PC can also help improve its speed. In the Advance system properties screen you can change these settings and turn off some unnecessary features that consume system resources. They may include sliding, drop shadow and fading and other visual effects.

The Disk Cleanup utility will find and allow you to remove all the temporary internet and downloaded files along with other files you do not need on your system.

Computers are intended to make our lives easier but sometimes it seems to be the opposite. Sometimes having to deal with the issues related to the latest technologies it is both time consuming and stressful. If you want to simplify your life you need to safe time, reduce your headaches as well as the effort it takes to get your work done. For that you need to be sure that your information on your computer is secure and that your PC is always running at peak performance.

For many people their computer is the source of organization and efficiency in their lives. It helps them to organized their clutter and increase their performance. When you keep your computer free from security threats then you can be sure that you and your family are safe.

For many people just getting all the files and folders organized on their computers is a major task. There are free applications that allow you to organize your browser files and folders. These help you sort through all the information there helping you find it faster.

Identity theft is on the minds of most people today. You probably have a lot of information stored in your computer that is both personal and private. Your social security and other information if in the hands of the wrong person can threaten your financial security.

Also ensuring that your children are safe when browsing the internet and using your computer is important. There is software available that are designed for children that will protect them and your computer from attacks.