When using your computer and adding or removing files or programs,fragments of data are left on your hard drive in the Windows registry. Over a period of time this accumulates and causes the registry to become overloaded with unwanted data. This the most prominent cause for slow running,freezing and crashing problems.

Spyware or adware is installed unknown to you by third parties who want to track your computer usage and benefit from this knowledge.This also uses up your computer's resources and can be another cause of slow running. Free antispyware programs can be downloaded on the internet and do an excellent job.

Needless to say viruses are a major problem if they infect your machine. Every computer which is used on the internet must have an antivirus program installed or infection is certain. A firewall is good protection but is not enough on it's own. Free antivirus programs are readily available on the internet and do a very good job of protecting your computer.

When your computer registry accumulates a large amount of unwanted data entries it becomes bloated and clogged. The operating system has a hard time finding it's way through this maze to find the necessary data to run the computer. The result is a slow running computer,freezing,and the occasional complete crash. If not corrected this will steadily get worse.

Your computer registry is a databank of information which the operating system uses to run the computer and programs. All Windows operated computers since Windows 95 have a registry. This is the most common source for computer problems involving slow running,freezing and crashing.

If your registry has become corrupted by unwanted material the best solution is to remove these entries by cleaning the registry. You can use the regedit function which is installed on all Windows computers,for this purpose,to do this yourself. With the regedit function you can remove any unwanted entries from the registry. Use great caution here however as many registry files are absolutely necessary for running your machine. If you remove any of these entries you can cause problems.

Unless you are very knowledgeable about the contents of the registry,and can recognise the essential entries which must not be removed,you should not attempt to edit the registry yourself. It is better to be safe and to use an online application to clean your registry safely and easily.

Several registry cleaner applications can be found online. The most popular applications will all clean your registry reasonably well. However as with most things some are better than others and there are considerable differences in ease of use,safety and availability of email help when you need it.