Mel,

This thread is a good example of probably the two most common problems I hear related to internet + computer use: speed and security. Speed can be affected by many things but for purposes of this thread, your computer is increasingly likely to slow down the more time you spend on the computer. This is due to cache size, temp files, etc. If you spend a lot of time surfing combined with downloading programs, plug-ins, etc., this will be especially true.

So maybe one way of looking at whether you are a "heavy" or "light" computer user is by looking at your activities, as opposed to just counting the time spent. That is, a "heavy" user is one who does the downloading and installing of programs and all that jazz. And a "light" user is one who tends to use email and visit a more limited number of sites, usually the sames ones repeatedly.

This distinction is very important when it comes to the "other" computer problem - security. Any regular web surfer needs to determine how many levels and what kinds of security checks to use. A light user should be adequately prepared with 3 layers at most: hardware and/or software firewall, antivirus, and a trojan blocker or perhaps just a scanner.

Brian's recommendation of Spybot and AdAware are for that third level. When I last used them, they were scanners - in other words, designed to scan your computer for malware, trojans, and so forth that has already been surreptitiously installed. I really think this is adequate for the vast majority of light users. If you want more protection, then you would install a blocker, a program which keeps vigil for the bad stuff and prevents it from entering in the first place.

The drawbacks of increasing the levels and the complexity on any given level - such as using blockers instead of scanners - is that they can be difficult to configure properly and unless you want to spend a significant sum of money, they will take up more memory and thus affect speed.

One recommendation to consider: a great program that can really help bump up your speed if you have been experiencing unexplained slowdowns. And it can also remove some security threats. It is called Startup Control Panel. It installs into Control Panel (Windows only). It displays all the programs and processes that are scheduled to start when Windows boots. It should come as no surprise that all commercially sold computers install a lot of junk that end up slowing your machine down. And by using the program periodically, you can eliminate all the other stuff that gets installed that shouldn't be running at startup.

It can be downloaded at most any good internet utility site. But I would recommend going directly to the author's web site:

Startup Control Panel

rfinney