Computer bottleneck software

Secunia PSI free; site is an application and service that periodically scans your PC for outmoded software versions. Secunia PSI usually works reliably; but like all software, it can have trouble with some PC configurations and system changes, as Wayne Wert discovered.

It simply stated it was looking for a fix. Have you tried connecting to other https sites? Note, however, that Secunia PSI is a safety-oriented app; it flags only software with known security issues. On the other hand, CNET and FileHippo are in the general download business — their tools look for almost any excuse to suggest software upgrades.

In fact, this chasing-version-number approach can lead to the unnecessary churning of your software and drivers. So if you switch to something other than Secunia PSI, use caution. Also, the Feb. Windows PowerShell is a scripting environment that combines the immediacy and convenience of traditional command-line tools with the flexibility and adaptability of a higher-level programming language.

For example, Windows 8. To its credit, Microsoft is being gentle about the transition. Right-click an empty spot on the taskbar, click Properties, and then select the Navigation tab.

Uncheck Replace Command Prompt, as shown in Figure 1. In Win8, it's easy to select either the classic Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell as your default command-window tool. It seems fairly clear that the classic command prompts, batch files, and other system tools of yore are on the way out.

PowerShell and its successors are the future. Why not learn now — for free? Lounge member georgelee needs more storage for photos and is looking for information on cloud storage — info mostly about OneDrive. Like almost all software and technical services, cloud-storage capacities and costs are evolving rapidly. Join the session in the Windows 8 forum to see what fellow Loungers think about OneDrive — and what storage strategies they use instead of or in addition to filing cabinets in the cloud.

The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members. Maybe so. After you see his Cow Art video, you might believe Klingenberg contributes a measurable boost to elevated bovine mood — or at least to the banishment of cow boredom on his section of the Great Plains.

Click below or go to the original YouTube video. Process Explorer was designed for IT pros, but anyone with relatively advanced Windows skills can use it to diagnose software issues. In Part 2, I show how to use the utility to troubleshoot Windows and even help hunt down malware. As noted in Part 1, Process Explorer site provides an extraordinary amount of information about what Windows is doing and which software is currently running.

For the individual PC user, Process Explorer is perhaps most useful for finding software that should not be running. This could be background applications that are taking up system resources or malware that tries to stay mostly out of sight.

I also used Process Explorer to hunt down an app called Driver Booster — an unwanted program that was inadvertently loaded onto my machine and that kept installing itself. All running applications are built of processes and threads. A process, in the simplest terms, is an executing program. One or more threads run in the context of the process.

A thread is the basic unit to which the operating system allocates processor time. A thread can execute any part of the process code, including parts currently being executed by another thread. Keep in mind that an application might appear to be closed or even uninstalled. But its processes are still running in the background. Process Explorer gives you the tools to find those processes and the location of their code on the hard drive; it can tell who created the code and much more.

I was surprised when I checked my notification area and discovered that Driver Booster was still present, even though a search of my hard drive indicated it had been removed from the system. After a restart, it was still there. As noted in Part 1, Process Explorer opens with a long list of running processes see Figure 1.

Process Explorer opens with a long list of running processes programs. But Process Explorer loaded a blank webpage. For a colleague of mine, the same command opened a Google search with the name of the application. Finding and killing a particular application can take some time and requires drilling down into process information.

For example, many of the processes listed are the somewhat obscure srvhost. Hovering your cursor over these will pop up a box with additional information. Many processes also have subprocesses, which you may have to look through. For example, when Camtasia Studio is running, I have two ways to see its full path. Other property tabs provide a wealth of additional information about the process. Process Explorer's detailed information on Camtasia Studio's properties. Select the Command Line option and click OK.

Use the Select Columns dialog box to filter process information. Process Explorer displaying company name and file location for a process. For more information on what a particular process does, your best bet is to simply search its name with your preferred search engine. But several sites — such as tasklist. Some older malware programs are relatively easy to identify and remove from your computer. But newer malware can be adept at evading removal. But when you return to the top of the list, the first process is now running again.

What happened? Working together, each process checks many times per second to ensure the other one is still running. With both processes paused and no long able to check the other, you can now kill them both. Click and hold your mouse button, then drag the tool over the popup window. The sheer number of running processes — well over on a typical Win7 system — can also make it hard to locate malware. The color purple, for example, denotes a packed, or compressed, executable.

This could be a virus; compression makes it difficult if not impossible for antivirus heuristics to detect malicious code. Malware is not likely to sign a company name. If you want to dig really deep into a particular process, the Properties dialog box will probably tell you more than you want to know. For example, Figure 6 shows just one tab for the Winword. The Properties option offers an extraordinary amount of information about any process.

I recommend starting with the Strings tab. But you can find information such as related Web links highlighted in Figure 6 that can help identify malware. You might find out more about listed URLs with an online search. You can also search for any DLLs that are in memory.

Making use of the Strings tab can be really useful for catching malware as it infects your system. You can set up process alarms that will, for instance, alert you to sudden, sustained disk activity. It would be especially noticeable if you had only a couple of programs open and no virus scan running. You should be able to put two and two together and start looking for the running virus. The next step is to suspend the executable. That stops it from encrypting, and the process is all in memory.

As soon as Crypto… is finished doing its dirty work, it sends the key to the Crypto… server and then drops it out of memory. So you have to catch the key quickly. Expect a ransom demand soon after. Originally, this was all unnecessary if you had recent backups of your files. Unfortunately, Crypto… has changed the way it works. It encrypts and decrypts your files as you use them over some number of days. When Crypto… finally reveals itself, even your recent backup files might be encrypted.

It gets worse: there are now Crypto… clones in the wild. As noted in Part 1, the help tool would not provide information on the color coding—selections options. Those are admittedly rather minor issues. When searching for malware, one of the challenges — which Process Explorer does not address well — is identifying programs that quickly launch and then switch off.

A process of this type could be used to reinfect your computer with the malware that has, in theory, been deleted. However, using Process Explorer in conjunction with other tools such as Windows Autoruns — a sort of sysconfig on steroids — can give you a better chance of identifying malware that opens and closes rapidly. Another tool for hunting malware is Windows Process Monitor, which monitors a process and shows you every file it accesses on the hard drive.

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Getting a good deal on a pre-built gaming PC can take just as much research as putting together a great high-end PC build.

Some system builders will try to saddle you with a bundle that charges a premium for things you may not need, like overclocking, RGB, a monitor, or a keyboard and mouse. A specs-sheet balance of price and performance is our top priority. Ideally, your gaming PC will have one of the best graphics cards and the best CPUs for gaming, though that's not always financially possible.

But you can't skimp on one and go overboard on the other; an Nvidia RTX Ti is only worth having if it's paired with a top-flight processor that can take advantage of its power. Then there's the support. After sale support is where a good system builder becomes a great system builder and is where it can really make sense to buy a pre-built machine.

All power players ponder how to build a gaming PC at some point or another and whether it's worth it. That's great option if choices and DIY don't scare you -- it's sometimes the only way to get the exact configuration you want -- or if you think it'll be fun. But it generally doesn't work out to be a way to save money over an identical ready-to-ship model.

It may be cheaper than getting a premium custom built model from a company like Origin PC, Falcon Northwest, Digital Storm and the like, but the flip side is that it's nice to have someone else do the overclocking iterations, stability testing and burn-in runs. There are few things more frustrating than gearing up and sitting down to play the latest AAA only to have it crap out during the opening cut scene with only yourself to blame.

The other high-level decision you may confront is desktop vs. An all-in-one with a really fast, gaming-optimized display. Though big laptops like these usually support upgrades, its usually not as cheap or easy to do it as it is with even the least-expensive desktop. Most ppl have a hard time differentiating High settings with Ultra, as most of that is uber fine detailing, shadows and shades, every blade of grass etc.

You can cut back on a lot of that and never tell the difference. You must log in or register to reply here. Overclocking 5 Feb 12, Post thread. Question Dead RX ? Keeps shutting down even at low to med usage.

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