So you recently bought a new computer and it was working great. Programs started up with blazing speed, web pages loaded super fast and everything was great. Then a few months down the road your new computer started to remind you of your old computer that you wanted to throw out the window. Why? Well there are a number of things contributing to the slowdown. Understanding the items below will keep your computer fresh and fast.

1. Limit the number of programs that startup. Probably the number one thing that can slow your computer down is having a ton of programs loaded into memory when you start your computer up. Not only do they make starting up very slow, but those programs are now in your memory for as long as you are using your computer. They are taking space away from other programs. You might say "I didn't put them there, how did they get there?" When you download and install programs, most of the time they are automatically put into the Windows startup folder.

To remove them, follow these steps. First, click start > click on run > type msconfig into the prompt (if you have Vista, type msconfig directly into the search box) > In the window that pops up, click on the startup tab (This will display a list of all programs that start when you start your computer) > Uncheck any program that you do not need started right away when you login (Ex. Quicktime, Google, Yahoo, etc.) > When done click ok. > Restart your computer (You just saved yourself a ton of memory.)

2. Remove junk files to clean up hard drive space. Having too many junk files on your computer can slow things down. There is a utility that comes with your computer to remove these files. Go to start > programs > accessories > system tools > Disk Cleanup. Select the type of files you want to remove. It will tell you how much space you can free by removing these files. Doing this will free storage space on your computer and allow things to run smoother.

3. Remove unused programs. Try not to download programs that you will not use and if there are some of those already on your computer, you can easily remove them by using another Windows utility. Go into Control Panel and select Add/Remove Programs. From here you can uninstall programs that you have installed. It will also tell you how large a program is and how much room you can free on your hard drive.

4. Disk Defragmenter. Yet another Windows utility that you can you to speed up your computer is the Disk Defragmenter. As you use your computer, files that are stored on your computer become fragmented and are moved around your hard drive. Now the next time you go to access these files, your computer has to do a little more work to retrieve them. This slows down how fast things open on your computer and why it can seem sluggish at times. Go to start > programs > accessories > system tools > disk defragmenter. Once this is run, it will put the fragmented files closer together making it easier for your computer to find them and load them faster.

5. Anti-Virus/Spyware Removers. Having a Anti-Virus and/or Anti-Spyware program on your computer is essential to keeping it running smooth. If you wind up getting a virus or spyware, your computer will become slow, sluggish, and eventually may stop working all together. I use Norton Anti-Virus and Windows Defender as my Anti-Spyware program. I also recommend Macafe Anti-Virus. Schedule scans every other day for times when you are not using your computer. While these scans are running, your computer will be slow so don't schedule them if you are using it in the middle of the day.

6. Be careful on the internet. Most of the time you will get a virus from the internet while surfing around. You might not even intentionally download something that will give you the virus. If you go to a bad website, scripts run in the background that automatically put it on your computer. I suggest using the Mozilla Firefox web browser over the popular Internet Explorer. I feel it is safer and most hackers try to penetrate IE more than Firefox. Plus Firefox comes with a bunch of downloadable extensions that make the web even safer such as something called 'No Script'. No Script blocks javascript from running freely. You enable it on the sites you trust. Having those scripts run can load viruses on your computer.