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A process on a computer is either an application or service that is running and using Memory and CPU power. The easiest way
to view these processes is going to the Task Manager. This can be accessed by pressing CTRL + ALT + Delete and clicking on the processes tab.

Most people would say it is going to be useful to know what processes are running on your computer. This is definitely true. It can help you in a lot

of ways.

1) Find out if there are any memory hogs.
Sometimes a program or service can crash and suddenly start using lots and lots of memory making your whole computer to crash. Easy way to fix it
is to go the Task Manager and end the process which is suddenly taking up a lot of memory. This is especially useful when applications like Photoshop,
Adobe Acrobat Reader or Firefox crash. Remember end the process not the application.

2) Detecting if there any unnecessary programs running in the background
Sometimes applications will have part of their programs running. This can be seen by checking the processes. For e.g. A Logitech webcam usually
has a process called Logitray.exe running all the time. It uses very little memory but ending around 5 of these unwanted programs can help improve
performance of the computer.
Rule of Thumb : Do not end a unknown process if you don't know what it is. Don't end System Processes.
Search the process on Google you usually can find out what it is before ending. Also explorer.exe is NOT Internet Explorer it is your desktop
if you end it your computer will do something like a restart and you will LOSE all your current working data.

3) Checking for viruses or spyware

Sometimes some viruses or spyware can be seen on your processes although this will be a rare occurrence. Usually they try to imitate the names of
services so be wary when trying to end these processes. If you think your computer might be infected then without doing anything just run some scans
on your computer.

You could also find out which processes start up when you boot up your computer. Press Start > Run > Type msconfig and go the Startup tab.
Uncheck programs you don't want to start up automatically. This will decrease the time it takes to boot up your computer.
Again don't uncheck programs you don't know!

To find out which processes are running try using the following
1) Process Explorer - Running Processes
2) Startup Delayer - Startup Processes

Learn more about this author, Althaf Hameez.
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