Internet Explorer is slow and my computer acts crazy

Tags: internet explorer, firefox, windows, adware, virus

Problem:

Internet Explorer is very slow. It has a lot of adware and popups. What do I do?

Solution

You probably have adware, malware or even worse viruses and/or trojans.

To remove adware, use Spybot Search & Destroy.

If you have trojans installed in your computer (downloaded involuntarily from various not-so-clean websites, they may have reduced the security settings in your computer. To restore the security settings back, here's what you do:

1. Close all instances of Internet Explorer and Outlook Express/Windows Mail
2. Control Panel | Internet Options | Click on the "Security" tab
3. Highlight the "Internet" icon, click "Default Level"
4. IE 7/8 - Make sure the option "Enable Protected Mode" is selected

Some really nasty programs also make sure that they start automatically, whenever your computer boots up. To check if anything starts automatically, check the Services.

1. Start | Run (type) services.msc
2. Click the drop-down arrow for "Startup type"
3. Look for the services that you probably wouldn't have installed, click Apply/OK and restart the computer.

After you manage to remove the unwanted rubbish from your computer, get Mozilla Firefox browser or Google Chrome! And stop using Internet Explorer if you have an option. Other "safer" browsers you could use are Safari and Opera.

- Posted on 2010-06-07 09:18:21