My Netbook is Running Too Slow - Ways to Speed it Up Again

My Netbook is Running Too Slow - Ways to Speed it Up Again 

Most people don't buy a netbook for speed by any means. There are purposely designed with lower power parts that don't draw much power to get longer battery life and to also cost less than a laptop. At times though, your netbook is running slower than it should be. There are things that you can do that will help you get your netbook to be a bit faster.
One big problem that many people do on a netbook is that when installing software, it's set up to start up when booting your machine. You need to make sure programs like your instant messaging clients are not starting up when you boot up else your netbook will feel slow.
Be sure that you are running your spyware and virus scanners are working, updated, and have fully scanned your system. These malicious pieces of software can slow down a fast system. They will wreck the speed on your netbook if you aren't careful.
One upgrade that you can do to your system that is cheap and easy to do on your own is to add RAM. It's best to maximize your netbook's RAM for best performance.
Learn to use your netbook a bit differently. Don't have open programs that you aren't using minimized. If you aren't going to use a program, shut it off. The goal is to only have a few programs open at once.
Use cloud based applications. These are software that you can use that are being processed on a server versus your machine. This is a better way to multitask on your netbook.
Consider adding Linux or buying a Linux netbook versus a Windows netbook. Typically the Linux netbooks do run much faster as they are designed to take up less resources making your netbook run much faster.

Meera Puri is an avid writer for laserthermometerhq.com Visit her site to learn more about Laser Thermometer and reviews on Fluke Laser Thermometer. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Meera_Puri

Get Rid of Ghost Antivirus From Your Computer and Make it Free From Spyware

 Get Rid of Ghost Antivirus From Your Computer and Make it Free From Spyware 

When you think of security programs on your computer, you think of things like anti-malware and anti-spyware or antivirus programs. For most of us these are ways for us to protect our computers and the personal information we have stored on them. But this is unfortunately not always the case. Some of these programs are designed to do just the opposite and trick you into installing fake antivirus software. One such program is called ghost antivirus.
Ghost antivirus is actually the evolution of a previously released malware named antivirus Pro. Promoted and spread in much of the same way that the earlier version was. Ghost antivirus Pretends to be a legitimate antivirus scanner and tells you that your computer is currently vulnerable to attack or under attack when it is not.
It tells you that in order to protect yourself you need to download this program. Once on your computer it starts to change vital files and information and actually downloads other malware automatically and installs them without you knowing and you need to know how to get rid of ghost antivirus from your computer.
In order to protect its self from being located and removed ghost antivirus does a few things to throw you off its trail. First it will disable your task manager which would allow you to actually see the program running in the background and terminate it if you knew what you were looking for.
Next the additional malware it installs on your computer will be in random locations and given random names so that tracking them down is much harder to do if not impossible with detailed knowledge and help.
To make matters worse it will constantly try and terminate a program by the name of explorer.exe and this program is vital to run your computer. Without it you are pretty much left with a blank screen. The only way to avoid this is to reboot your computer in safe mode. from there you have two choices to deal with the issue, either go and find the files yourself and delete the infection or use a automated system that will do it quickly and easily for you.
If you have decided to go the manual route remember to first start your computer in safe mode before you start this process otherwise chances are you will simply get a blank screen. Once in safe mode you need to follow these steps.
#1 Start task manager in safe mode and disable any files associated with ghost antivirus in task manager, including these.
GhostAV.exe
unins000.exe
services.exe
#2 Find and delete the following files.
register.ico
working.log
uill.ini
unins000.exe
Ghost Antivirus.lnk
iGSh.png
onin.exe
#3 Next we have to deal with the registry entries and remove them with the registry editor.
"3P_UDEC"
"URIAPRO[1.1.3.9]"
"Debugger" = "?"
"RealDebugger" = "?"
"RealLogonType" = "1"
Once you have those files deleted you should be able to reboot your system in normal mode and everything should be back to normal and you should have found a way to get rid of ghost antivirus from your computer.
Because the files are randomly named it may still fail and if this happens if the manual way sounds a bit too technical for you or you go through you can get rid of ghost antivirus from your computer automatically.
You can download and run an integrated system and registry scanner. This will scan your hard drive for all malicious files then do the same for the registry and will only take a few minutes. Once you have done this you can get rid of ghost antivirus from your computer and any other malware it has installed on your computer. You can also delete any registry entries and associated with it and repair the registry errors caused by this malware. Doing this will not only get rid of ghost antivirus from your PC but will speed it up and make your computer a malware free zone.

Here is the #1 solution To Get Rid Of Ghost Antivirus this is guaranteed to make your malware free, just click here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_S_Marshall

How Do I Know If My PC Is Infected With Spyware or Adware

How Do I Know If My PC Is Infected With Spyware or Adware

Many people that are new to the Internet world are nervous about the potential of viruses, Spyware or Adware that can harm their computer, affect performance or make their very private information public to others.

Spyware programs can do a number of damaging things to your personal computer. Spyware infects your pc and hides in the background and can do many nasty things to the performance of your system. It can also do harmful things to you such as send out your personal information, your every keystroke and photo that resides on your hard drive, watch your surfing habits and shopping habits and annoy you with annoying pop-ups filled with advertisements and even pornography.

If you are experiencing any unusual changes in your computer's performance or have any unusual new pop-ups, changes to your toolbars or new icons on your desktop, you should run a system scan to find out if you have Spyware. Products exist on the market to help you combat this problem. Be sure to install software that you know is credible. Downloading freeware can often result in further Spyware existing on your computer. Spyware, Adware and Malware companies frequently fool users into sending pop-ups telling them that there's a problem with their computer and this in fact is further spyware. These errors can open your system up to future further problems by fooling people into thinking they're downloading fixes when really further spyware is being downloaded.

Watch your system's performance and at the sign of any unusual activity, realize that you are probably infected. Do something as soon as possible to protect your privacy. These programs don't discriminate and can launch themselves when you or your family members sit in front of the computer. Pornographic pop-ups can turn up whether it's an adult or a child using the computer. Protect your pc.

Antivirus alone isn't enough to combat this problem. Spyware sneaks into your system via executable files that you don't need to do anything to launch. They can sneak in as attachments that you download or by many other means. They're harmful and annoying but you can protect your computer and your privacy with the right software. This software needs to have an auto update for spyware definitions as new spyware definitions are being added daily. So a spyware removal program is a great compliment to your existing anti-virus software.

Total Innovations, Inc. specializes in developing award winning software programs designed to solve computer users needs. The spyware removal software, http://www.emailspy.com & http://www.folderhider.com are a few of the most recent. See full details at: http://www.spyblaster.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Buzz_Scott

How to Choose a Sound Card

How to Choose a Sound Card

Are you baffled by the different types of sound cards on the market? I mean, do you really need 5.1 channel surround sound? Or wavetable synthesis and EAX support? Or are you looking for a simple, basic sound card? Some PCs even come with sound cards built-in. This article will help you with your decision by elaborating on the different factors to consider when buying that new sound card. Armed with this information, you'll be able to make better purchase decisions.

Some sound cards available in the market

 

What Are Your Needs?

First thing to consider here is your intended usage of the sound card. If all you want is basic sound support and not spectacular 3D surround sound, I'd say go buy a cheap, simple card or even rely on your motherboard's on-board sound. If you want great surround sound and better speaker connectivity options, then you'll want to consider a dedicated sound card.
 

What's Your Budget?

As always, cost is an important issue to consider. A basic, no-frills sound card these days costs about $10, while the latest heavy-duty sound card with surround sound support can cost about $250. If you only need simple sound support, don't waste money buying a high-end product with features you don't need.
 

Surround Sound
A critical factor to consider is to take a look at what sound standards your sound card supports. Most high-end sound cards in the market today have EAX and 5.1 surround sound support. You can connect up to five speakers to these cards to enjoy a surreal, 3D audio effects. Some cards even starting to provide 7.1 surround sound support.
 

Special Needs

Do you have any special needs that you need to cater for? For example, if you're into professional, multi-track music recording, you'll want to get a proper multi-channel sound card. If you're into things like MIDI, you'll want a card that supports provides good MIDI support.
 

Is Your Computer Good Enough?

If you want to take advantage of the latest features in the new sound cards out there, you'll usually need to ensure you have a powerful CPU to go along with it. No point having the latest super-duper audio card if you're installing it into an old Pentium 3 computer.
 

Bundled Software

It's also useful to look at what software comes with the sound card package. Cards like the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy are wonderful because they throw in great music and audio software. This will save you money, especially if the software you've always wanted is found in the package.


Conclusion

To sum up, sound cards are an essential component in computers today - they're your gateway to experiencing true multimedia. Make sure you consider your audio needs and do some homework before buying that sound card. If you don't need certain high-end features like multi-track recording support, or hard-disk recording, then go for a lower-end card.

How to Choose a CD, DVD or Hard Drive

How to Choose

a CD, DVD or Hard Drive

There are many devices which can be used to store or write data in your computer system. The options include hard drives, USB/Firewire storage devices, CD writers and DVD writers. Hard drives are a very essential (and delicate) piece of equipment and are a standard feature on most computers. CD writers are also very common. USB/Firewire storage devices and DVD writers are currently getting more popular with consumers.

Some hard drives, CD and DVD drives available in the market
 

This article will give you some tips on selecting proper data storage devices for your PC.
 

Hard Drives

First, let's cover hard drives. We'll look at some hard drive terms like ATA and SCSI, as well as cover the factors to consider when buying a new drive.

ATA and SCSI
Let's get some terminology out of the way before we go further. In the hard drive world, there are two data access standards, ATA and SCSI (pronounced 'Scar-Zee'). The ATA standard is split further into Parallel ATA (PATA) and Serial ATA (SATA). Most of normal hard drives we're used to rely on the PATA standard. Some newer hard drives use the SATA standard.

SATA allows transfer speeds of up to 150 MBs while PATA gives up to 133 MBs. However, to use SATA, you'll need a Serial ATA controller, a SATA drive and a SATA power cable. The speed difference between PATA and SATA is also not significant unless you have a high-end SATA drive.

The SCSI standard is a very fast hard drive standard used for professional computer systems which demand extremely fast data access. SCSI drives provide an access time of about 9.5ms - which I feel is really not needed for average home use.

Disk Space vs. Price
An important factor to consider is the disk space versus price ratio. When you look at the 30 GB, 40 GB and 80 GBPATA hard drives, you'll find they are very close in price. If you don't mind paying an extra $20 or so, I'd say go for the maximum disk space you can get! If you do a lot of graphics or video editing, you may want to consider larger drives like the Seagate 160 GB hard drive. For the average home user, however, 40 GB to 80 GB of disk space is plenty.

Drive Speed
If data access speed is important to you, you can go for faster SATA drives or SCSI drives. But remember that these drives come at a price premium and may not be necessary for average home use. Another option is to use a RAID setup where multiple hard disks are used to gain drive performance and/or data integrity.
 

CD Writers

CD writers are practically standard issue on all PCs these days. Prices are ridiculously cheap, so there's no reason not to get one, unless you prefer a DVD writer.

Drive Speed
For CD writers, you should generally look for a 40X record speed or faster. If you buy anything that is slower, it will definitely waste a lot of time when you're burning CDs.

Internal or External
You can choose between an internal or external CD writer. Internal drives are best suited for desktop PCs and are the cheapest option. If you want portability and don't mind paying a little more, you can get a FireWire or USB 2.0 external CD-RW drive.
 

DVD Writers

DVD writers are the newest rage in the consumer data storage market. They let you store up to 4.7GB on a single disc several times the amount of on a CD-RW disc. So let's look at some factors to consider when purchasing a new DVD drive.

Drive Speed
One factor to consider when buying DVD writers is drive speed. Most DVD-R drives write at 8X, with some older models supporting only 4X. Personally, I don't think there is significant speed difference between a 8X and 4X drive - so don't spend extra money unnecessarily if you don't have to.

Compatibility
There is a huge range of DVD media formats out there (DVD+R, DVD-R,DVD+R DL), represented by various brands. You need to consider compatibility of your DVD writer with these DVD discs. DVD-R and DVD+R formats are both very compatible with existing DVD players and DVD-ROM drives - so try to get a player that supports those.

Internal or External
You can choose between an internal or external DVD writer. Internal drives are cheaper but it also means you need to deal with the installation hassle and non-portability. External DVD writers come with Firewire or USB 2.0 interfaces and may well be a better choice if you need to move your data around a lot.
 

Conclusion

To purchase a good storage device, be it a hard drive, CD writer or DVD writer, you need to consider what price you're willing to pay for a given set of features. In my opinion, the DVD burner is fast becoming an essential item in the average home user's PC. If you're building a new computer, you should definitely consider buying a DVD writer on top of your standard hard drive.