What Browser Uses The Least Resources?

This is fairly common question that many computer users are asking.  Believe it or not, the browsers are all very good at what resources they need. In many instances, the real problem is not the browser but the computer it is running on.

If your computer has up to date hardware, usually the real issue is spyware or malware and some simple software maintenance.

You may be having problems with your browser hogging resources because of malware. Most of the browsers you choose will work more efficiently once your computer is clear of internet trash. 

I suggest you use one of the free ones that are available like Spybot  and do a thorough scan.  (Remember to update the definitions)

Then update your Anti-Virus program and run that one too (I prefer AVAST, free home version).

Another overlooked area that will speed up any internet browser is cleaning out the temp files and temporary internet files. A good program for this is  CC Cleaner, also free.

Finally, defrag your hard drive.

 Once you have done these maintenance tasks, your computer will run like new and your choice of internet browser will be very speedy.

A tech shop will charge you big bucks to “tune up” your computer and then charge you for software…ending with a bill for maintenance you could do yourself.  So, give it a try and if you are not successful, then call your local tech shop for help.

Recommended Programs: Spybot,  Avast,   CCleaner

These are the programs I use and will do my maintenace about once a week.  Takes a few hours but the computer is a lot happier and so am I!

Finally: There is an excellent browser comparison study “Chrome and Firefox 3.5 Memory Usage” done by Dot Net Perls.com that compares Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Safari.  Easy to understand and quite informative.

The commonest kind of malware threat in widespread circulation on the internet toady are the rogue antivirus programs. Personal Antivirus is the latest of these rogue infections which are fake tools designed to frighten the computer user into buying another full version of the software. This infection attempts to decieve the PC user by displaying fake warnings and notifications warning of various infections that actually dont exist.

This rogue software will attack your computer with various unwanted and undesirable behaviours. These significantly decrease the speed of your system.

1.Personal Antivirus can record what you type into your keyboard and keep track of the web sites you visit. It sends this private information to remote servers. The hacker can then use that data to hack your bank accounts, steal your identity or flood you with pop-ups, toolbars or spam WebPages and offers.

2.Various warnings will pop-up, warning you to purchase the Personal Antivirus software. These are carefully designed to impersonate genuine Windows Secuirty Center dialog boxes.

3.Frequent fake warnings will appear warning of other security problems on your computer. These make it difficult to get on with your own work as they reappear and are highly persistent. You should not interact with these messages as they are designed to bring you to a purchase page or download more infections.

4. Strange new icons might appear on your taskbar.

5.Your Internet Explorer browser will be hijacked to show security warnings when browsing the web that stop you from reaching your desired page.

Personal Antivirus should be removed immediately from your computer. Follow the removal guide below and you won’t break into a sweat! Personal Antivirus is a resistant virus. It won’t just leave your computer if you ask it to (through the normal uninstall process in Add/Remove Programs). Manual removal is a challenge since the infection builds its new home in many different locations on your hard drive. Unless you are very experienced at virus removal, it is likely that you will leave some of the associated files and registry keys behind that will reinstall the infection at a later date (’reinfectors’). Bearing all of this in mind, for the vast majority of computer users, an automatic removal tool will be the best option. Malwarebytes is a very effective and trusted malware removal program. Download and install the free version of this software. Run the ‘Quick Scan’. This will only take about 10 minutes or so & will automatically remove the Personal Antivirus infection. It is likely that if Personal AntiVirus was on your computer, other infections will have crept in as well. It would be wise to follow up the Malwarebytes scan with a full scan using your own existing AntiVirus software.

Prevent Future Infections

1. Strengthen your first line of defence. Update Windows and any other software you use to make sure that any security vulnerabilities are patched and fixed. Check for updated software at least once a month.

2.Get some decent Antivirus and AntiSpyware software installed. The free alternatives are struggling to fight against these new stronger viruses.

3.Finally, if you use p2p software, ease off or stop altogether. In pracatice, a large proprotion of viruses are downloaded from the file sharing networks.

Hopefully you have followed the advice given here and got rid of the Personal Antivirus infection. Don’t forget to beef up your internet security to prevent future infections and run some full antivirus scans to check for other signs of infection.

Recommended: Malwarebytes Free Scan and Removal

Virus Infections have become a larger problem for computer users with the widespread adoption of fast broadband internet connections. Before this, in the early 1990’s, malware infections were not a big problem for the average computer user.

Why are Viruses a bad thing? Simply becuase when on your computer they are there to do a job (or deliver a virus payload). This could be keylogging, stealing your passwords, serving up unwanted pop-up advertisements, frightening the user into buying fake antivirus software and generally interfering with the smoothe and efficient operation of the PC.

Your first consider should be strong and capable antivirus software. This will be your computers main line of defense against external attackers. Not all antivirus software is equal. Some in practise are truly appauling, letting too many infections in or slowing your system down drastically. It is essential that your do some research and find out from someone you can trust what is the best software to use. It is normally better to buy antivirus software as the free options are not all that strong. Another tip is to avoid the versions which vendors offer that attempt to combine antivirus, antispyare and a firewall all in one. Most of these are over complex and prone to a myriad of problems and are best avoided.

As well as decent antivirus software, another vital part of your security strategy should be updating. You should update not only Windows istself but also other applications that you use like Java and Flash. This is because older versions of software often contains small faults (security vulnerabilities) that can easily be exploited by virus authors and hackers. If you leave these things unpatched, you are asking for trouble so make sure you spend some time each month getting the latest versions of your software installed.

Antispyware software is ofter overlooked even though it is an extremely useful partner to your antivirus mainstay. The same principal applies here as with the antivirus. Do your research and install the strongest antispyware software you can find. This will greatly lessen the burden on your antivirus software and should leave it with less to do.

Practice safe surfing. Even if you have followed all of the other advise and installed good antivirus software, excellent antispyware and updated all of your other software, you could still get infected if you surf irresponsibly. Visiting certain types of websites (like pornography or unlicenced software sites) or engaging in particular activities like peer to peer file sharing, carries with it an extremely high risk of virus infection. These are just some general pointers and you will learn many more as you spend more time on the internet and sharing experiences with other computer users.

Follow all of this advice and you will have a much better chance of staying virus free for longer.