Let’s talk about ghosts, gremlins and goblins. Not the sort that have taken possession of this time of year. I mean the ones inside your computer. Many of these little demons leave telltale signs of their presence. A slow-running computer, low memory warnings or odd noises may be indications that your machine is in need of an exorcism.
If the phrase “The Internet is so slow” is part of your daily utterances, you may be the victim of the spyware demon. With increasing voracity, the nasty software unwittingly installed on your computer known as spyware is creating the appearance of a slow or useless Internet connection. This, despite the fact that the actual connection is fine. The spookiest versions send personal information, like credit card number and the like, to the software writer. The few that seem born of the Evil One himself can’t be cleaned by common spyware killers, and even re-install themselves after seemingly being removed. There are three things you can do to prevent or reduce spyware. First, get a good spyware killer like Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware or Patrick Kolla’s Spybot-S&D (http://www.lavasoftusa.com and http://www.safer-networking.org respectively). Make sure you constantly get the latest updates for these packages. I’d recommend that you check at least once a week for new definitions of spyware. Next, check out your Programs list (Start/Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs) for any software you don’t recognize or that the name is suspicious. Not sure about something? Search for it under the “Lookup Software” section on www.spywareguide.com or enter the name followed by “spyware” in your favorite search engine (like Google or Yahoo!). If either source identifies a program as spyware, you should remove it from your computer. Finally, make sure you have a pop up ad blocker running. Windows XP Service Pack 2 has one built in to Internet Explorer; you can also download good ones from Yahoo! and Google.
Another goblin that can chip away at your computer’s performance is startup programs. Some software, like Microsoft Office, installs a little piece of code that automatically runs when you start Windows. While many of these are necessary, others are just taking up space. You can see some of these by going to Start/All Programs/Startup. Go ahead and right click on Microsoft Office item if it’s listed, and select delete. For a relatively safe way to check the others, explore to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup. Cut the icon of the program, then paste it on your Desktop or another folder. Restart your computer and see make sure that your related program still works fine. If not, you can cut and paste the icon back into the Startup location.
Lastly, there are the poltergeists or noisy ghosts. Has your PC begun making an odd humming sound? Does it sound as if Lurch is moaning in your machine? A common problem with PCs is that the tiny cooling fans used to keep your main processor and other parts cool simply wear out, get dirty or get out of alignment. You would never think that these two-inch fans could be noisy. But inside the echo chamber created by the case of your PC, little noises become big noises. Three options again. One, remove or disconnect the offending fan. However, you run the risk (however slight) of allowing the cooled component to overheat. Two, you could replace the fans with ones you can find at CompUSA, Best Buy or DIT Computer. Third, you could clean the dust out of your computer to help relieve the problem in the future. Of course, there’s always the option of just ignoring the noises. Then again, any good ghost story reminds us what happens when we ignore the spooks.
