Ford F150 - Computer help - background programs

My computer has been running a littler slower lately and I figure it's probably one of those background programs that I keep hearing about. Does anyone know of a way to see what is running on your computer? The explanation needs to be simple for me to understand. Thanks

I am assuming Win XP. Do ctrl/alt/delete and look under the processes tab.
Then you can go to this site and see what each one is.

http://www.liutilities.com/products/win ... sslibrary/

If you have never done a defragment, it certainly wouldn't hurt.

You might have a bunch of programs that are in your startup folder, so they will execute when you log on..like limewire, itunes, hp (there programs love to be startup). and some others.. if you go to Start>Programs>Startup. You will see some programs in there. If you dont want them, then Right click and delete. It will remove it from startup. it wont remove the program, it will stop it from starting when you log in. Also go into Add and Remove Programs. And check for misc stuff that you didnt install..Spyware does that a lot, like internet task bars. uninstall all that. But be careful you dont uninstall your video card or sound card..

Oh you should back your system up with ntbackup (its in the system tools under accessories) before you start deleting shi$. if you dont really know a lot, you can hose yourself over. Run a full backup to say an external harddrive or zip drive.

XP makes it easy, Start->Run type msconfig, hit enter. Almost all of your start up programs and services are here, you can just deselect them. A spyware scan is also recomended (I would suggest MS Antispyware), a disk defrag and clearing out your temp folder (use the disk cleanup tool in Accessories).

Stop downloading those movies and you won't get viruses.

I like Adaware SE, it's a free download, and it will pick up all the spyware stuff for you. I do that every couple of days and then I have virus control that stays open instead of scanning. Good stuff.