In the last few posts, I’ve written about hardware-based causes of slow computer performance. If you’ve done your share of searching for the cause of slow computer performance and still haven’t been able to locate your trouble, it may be time to get serious about the software your computer is running.

Slow Computer Performance Can Be Cured

If you haven’t already checked your system for viruses and malware. , that should be the first task you undertake. Don’t assume that you’re safe because you have a virus scanner or malware scanner running on your computer. Often users think they have the right software loaded on their computer and they don’t. Worse, they have the right software loaded on their computer and it’s never been configured or updated, or it’s been disabled.

Yes, there are viruses that work to disable anti-virus software. That’s why it’s exceptionally important to have the latest version of your virus definitions and software updates at all times. Computers often come loaded with a virus scanner, so people assume that they’re protected. What they may not understand is that their virus software may be a free, time-limited trial, or subscription that will expire at some point in the (usually) near future.

With PCs, you definitely need anti-virus and anti-malware software. You also need to keep this software updated, even if that means paying a subscription fee for updated virus or malware definitions.

Your anti-virus and anti-malware software should be running at all times. The software should be configured to perform regular scans on your computer, and should be configured to download updates on a regular interval. If you think you have a “set and forget” anti-virus software package installed or you never seem to have to do anything with your anti-virus or anti-malware software, sit down immediately and verify that your virus definitions are updated.

Once you know you have the latest virus definitions, scan your computer for viruses and malware. If your anti-virus software isn’t doing minimally this much, your performance problems could be the result of malware or viral activity that’s either robbing your system of processing power or redirecting your system to do something you don’t want it to do.

Viral and malware infections are often the first conclusion that users jump to, often without scanning their computers. A reasonably competent anti-virus program can usually find some evidence of infection. If you’ve run your anti-virus program and it’s coming up empty, there are a few reputable sites on the Internet that will scan your computer and give you some independent results. Be careful however. Some sites run fake anti-virus scanners in an effort to sell you products you don’t need.

Trend Micro, a well-known name in anti-viral products, has an online scanner you can use to check or double-check the results of your virus scan.

Photo Credit: Danny Thompson, via Flickr

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