Jim said:
My computer has been acting more slowly lately, but intermittently. For
example, when I do a virus scan with Norton Antivirus, the time
needed by the scan will vary between 1 hour and 5 hours, and I'm not
using the computer while the scan is running.
Norton Anti-virus is the *poorest* product on the market. Slow performance
is only one of its issues. I recommend junking it and getting a better
anti-virus product, such as the freeware Avast (see below).
When I look at the Task Manager at the "Processes" tab, there is
something called "System Idle Processes" which often has a number in
the CPU column greater than 90. At the same time the "Performance"
tab shows that the CPU usage is less than 5%.
What are these System Idle Processes?
Process (singular,) not processes. "System Idle Process" is not any problem
at all. That's just the name for what the system is doing when it's not
doing anything. It's just there to make the total add up to 100%
Look elsewhere for the cause of your performance problem.
Any suggestions on how to improve my system performance would be
greatly appreciated. I'm using XP Home edition and have installed
all of the updates from the Microsoft web site.
You say you run an anti-virus program, but you say nothing about
anti-spyware. Spyware is becoming a more and more serious issue lately, and
an anti-virus program isn't sufficient to protect you. Sudden slowdowns in
performance are often caused by spyware, and especially if you have no
protection, that possibility is one of the first things you should be
looking at.
I can't be sure that your problem is malware, of course, but sudden
slowdowns are often caused by malware these days. Regardless of what Norton
says, the first thing I would do in your shoes is be sure you are
malware-free. So I recommend that you go to Malke's Malware Removal site at
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware and follow
the instructions there.
Then, for ongoing protection, I recommend that you dump everything Norton,
and take a four-part approach to security. The first three parts are
software:
1. Install a decent Anti-virus program (I like the freeware Avast, but there
are other choices)
2. Install two or more of the following, all freeware:
Windows Defender
Adaware
Spyware Blaster
Spybot Search and Destroy.
Note that just using one is *not* good enough. Eric Howes, who has done
extensive testing on Anti-Spyware products, states:
"No single anti-spyware scanner removes everything. Even the best-performing
anti-spyware scanner in these tests missed fully one quarter of the
"critical" files and Registry entries" See
http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-test-guide.htm
3. Make sure you have a firewall running. The built-in Windows firewall is
acceptable, but it protects against incoming threats only. Almost any
third-party firewall also protects aginst outbound threats--rogue programs
trying to call home--and is a better choice. I recommend the free version of
ZoneAlarm.
4. The fourth part isn't software, but it's caution and alertness. Don't
rely on software protection alone. Stay away from porn sites, pirate sites,
and other questionable sites. Don't open executable attachments, and so on.
Remember that software can *never* protect you completely. If a new threat
appears today, it's at best a day or two before your software protects you
against it, and in the interim you are vulnerable.
