Is your computer or smartphone grinding to a halt? Before you buy something new, David Ludlow has a few tricks that could rejuvenate your kit and make it run like new again.
The more you use your computer, the slower it gets. From dirt inside the case to an increasing roster of files and applications sapping strength, Windows PCs start to suffer as they get older. It’s easy to put the signs of slowdown purely down to age, thinking that it’s time to upgrade; however, there’s a good chance that you can save your computer and get it running at its original pristine speed. In this article, we’ll show you how.
We’re also looking at Android smartphones, which suffer from a similar problem to Windows PCs.
Remove hidden malware
Hidden software on your computer can really slow it down and even open you up to hackers. Here’s how to get rid of the secret bad stuff
Our recent security group test (Shopper366) demonstrated the level of threat aimed at your computer. Proper security software, such as Kaspersky Security Cloud, will block the most dangerous threats, but it doesn’t mean your computer is totally safe. Potentially unwanted programs (PUPs) could have sneaked on to your computer at some point in the past, and deeper threats installed before you updated your security software can sometimes be present.
Detecting and killing this kind of infection can be hard, but our guide will help you.
INVESTIGATEMYSTERY PROCESSES
Obvious signs that your PC is infected include random crashes and browser home pages changing (and you can’t change them back). A general slowdown can also be a symptom. Typically, the kinds of applications that cause these issues don’t show up in Task Manager.
Yet any application that loads has an instruction to do so somewhere, which is where Autoruns comes in.
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