Recently, PC SPY conducted tests to determine which common programs cause Windows computers to slow down the most.

The worst offender?

Norton Internet Security, which slowed down the test computer by a whopping 58 percent!

Other offenders in the top 5 included:

- 1000 installed fonts - Kaspersky Internet Security - Yahoo Messenger - AOL Instant Messenger

By removing or disabling these 5 programs, you could see an immediate 60% or better increase in speed, without spending a dime.

My advice . . . if these programs are installed on your computer, remove them. And in the case or Norton, replace it with the Free Windows Defender which can be downloaded from http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx