BACKGROUND PROGRAMS

Second Verse – same as the first! A little bit louder, and a little bit worse. That old campfire song describes today’s post. Like toolbars (see previous post), applications running in the background can negatively impact PC performance. Except background apps do not limit their performance hit to just web browsing.

Background applications and services run the gamut from Anti-virus software to desktop weather applications. Many display an icon in the system tray, but most do not. And by default, even those that can appear in the system tray are often hidden. (See settings in the Taskbar Properties, under Notifications.) To see just how many programs start on their own, type ‘MSconfig’ on the ‘Run’ line or at a Command Prompt (Start | Programs | Accessories | Command Prompt).

Obviously, most services need to run in order for Windows to function. Clearly, it's important for Anti-Virus software to be running. But it seldom is the end of the world if you don’t know the outside temperature. Nor do you need to spend every minute checking for an update to Adobe Reader, Flash, QuickTime, Java, etc. These little applications all contribute to slower PC performance. Perhaps that does matter if you have 8 gig of RAM and a quad core CPU. But for many people, the sum of all these unnecessary background applications takes its toll on PC performance. To find out, try discretely disabling them using MSconfig. (Do NOT disable Windows services - your PC may no longer boot!)

I should probably mention that Anti-virus software takes it toll too, but disabling it is not an option. Anti-Virus may be one of several reasons your PC may not run as guickly as it used to run. The number of viruses is growing exponentially, and consequently, so has the overhead to protect against them.