Why Is Computer Slow? – Spyware vs Viruses

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Slow computers are probably one of the most common problems that many users have. The question is simple: “Why Is Computer Slow?”. One specific problem is the proliferation of spyware and viruses. These malicious programs tend to slow down the computer especially in the background. This article will aim to talk about the difference between spyware and viruses and how they answer the question: “Why Is Computer Slow?”.

Spyware and adware are almost synonymous in that they are each trying to collect or display information for marketing purposes. Companies pay for these programs to be installed on computers, often without any notice. They come in the shape of pop-ups, toolbars, system tray icons, etc. For the most part, they don’t provide a way to access your system like a virus does but cause more of a nuisance to your computer experience. If you think about it, the pop-ups and toolbars are at least visible where viruses and trojans tend to be invisible to the common user. Viruses will be installed as a running process in the background without you even knowing it is running.

So how do these programs make your computer slow? It’s obvious that they are extra programs running that are not even necessary to the computer system. Spyware and adware tend to come in bunches, where several running eat up a good percentage of your CPU processing. Viruses will do various things like attach themselves to running processes or even act as a server to hackers on the Internet. Spyware and Adware tend to be easier to remove, but viruses may require delicate care and technical knowledge to really get rid of it.

As you can see, spyware, adware and viruses do contribute to the slowness of a PC. If you ask yourself, “Why Is Computer Slow?”, you may want to consider the possibility of these types of infections. Make sure that you have the latest security applications and virus definitions to protect yourself from these malicious programs.