I'm not sure if this is in the right section or not as I know little about computer and didn't really know what section was appropriate for my question.

But my computer is running REALLY slow lately. What programs do I need to run to make it faster and clean things up?

On mine I go to the Safety dropdown & choose Computer Check Up... go through each step -- including the DeFrag... that should help

Safety drop down? I'm already lost...

These are your best options:
a) buy a new computer
b) reformat your hard drive
c) invite a tech-saavy friend over your house to help you out

If you don't know much about computers, I'd find someone who can reformat the hard drive for you. It will run better than when you first got it.

Buying a new computer is not an option.

I don't have time to do anything with my computer unless I'm at work. So that's why I am asking. I need to know how to do this myself.

But thanks for the suggestions.

Even better try this lot: https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/computers-beginners/frequently-ask-questions-about-computers-233870.html ;)

Agree with Curly..

I have the following free applications on my computer and they work fine for me:

AVG antivirus
Adaware (used to use Spybot S&D but it makes system lag when running)

ZoneAlarm also makes a decent free Firewall

You can find these applications and more more by visiting Free Software Downloads and Reviews - Download.com (http://download.com)

I guarantee that just by installing and running Adaware, you will see an immediate improvement. Just make sure you keep the program up to date by using the program's update button (sorry if that sounded redundant) :D

OK I haven't read the any answers.. but I have tried this many times and nothing honestly works

Simplest ways would be:
Start>my computer>right click C drive>properties>tools tab and then click defrag its very simple from there

Also you might want to try downloading easy cleaner from here:
Official ToniArts software pages (http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm)
Follow the instructions in the program, run a registry clean and also make sure that as few programs as possible start up with the computer (its very simple so just try :))

Also you could consider buying more RAM for your computer, it is not expensive and unless you have high ram already you will see an improvement

Sorry for double post but I forgot this

The post above me mentioned zone alarm and AVG..

Zone alarm I agree with but AVG I have had many virus's while using

Personally I would go with avast! 4.8 but hey its up to u :)
(if you install avast make sure you schedule a boot scan,reboot your computer and let it run :D

As Bacon says, there are many different free antivirus programs, firewalls, and anti-spyware programs on the internet to download.

If you ask 20 different people what their favorite is, you will get 20 different answers. I would use ratings site like CNET to see which programs are rated best (which is why I recommended download.com, a site sponsored by CNET)

When you notice it gets real slow, try hitting "Ctrl+Alt+Del" and when the task manager pops up, see if something is running that is slowing you down. Mine, gets to a complete halt, and something called "Iexplore.exe" runs at 95% when nothing is even going on... That will be my next post on how to fix that...

With the programs that are already running, you can look under 'msconfig', to see what you can prevent from loading, thus freeing up space for speed. Go start/run/type 'msconfig'/choose 'startup' tab/look at the programs, and Google them to find out if you need them running. Next, check out the programs that update themselves, and understand that can be an area of slowdown when they're silently updating. In fact, I'll bet your windows update is slowing you down.

Hey Cogs, thanks a lot. I haven't let windows update in 3-4 years... YIKES!