BleepingComputer.com: Facebook slowed to a crawl

I get a lot of "not responding" messages when trying to operate Facebook. When it is responding, it is terribly slow - I can't even scroll up and down. This has happened since I updated and installed AVG Free Edition and ran AVG PC Tune-up (with repairs). It seems to me that a lot of things on my computer have slowed down, but it's most noticeable in Facebook.

Simple answer: Uninstall AVG. Install another antivirus. See if that solves your problem.

Any free anti-virus you would recommend?

Try •Avast Free or •Avira Antivir
See our list L@@K

AVG Free, in addition to an anti-virus component, has a number of other components. Is that merely a matter of how it labels its components, or does it really offer more security than Avira and avast!?

Quote

AVG PC Tuneup:
Fix registry problems that cause freezing and crashing

Registry Cleaner and Registry Defrag

Fix cluttered and corrupted registries that consume memory, slow down your applications, and cause overall stability problems.

Disk cleaner scans your hard drives for files that waste disk space and slow down your computer. These may include temporary files, internet browser cache or junk files. Registry cleaner scans your registry to fix problems that cause your computer to slow down, freeze or even crash.

I'm wondering if something got messed up when you ran the registry cleaner in AVG PC Tuneup.

Bleeping Computer DOES NOT recommend the use of registry cleaners/optimizers for several reasons:

• Registry cleaners are extremely powerful applications that can damage the registry by using aggressive cleaning routines and cause your computer to become unbootable.

The Windows registry is a central repository (database) for storing configuration data, user settings and machine-dependent settings, and options for the operating system. It contains information and settings for all hardware, software, users, and preferences. Whenever a user makes changes to settings, file associations, system policies, or installed software, the changes are reflected and stored in this repository. The registry is a crucial component because it is where Windows "remembers" all this information, how it works together, how Windows boots the system and what files it uses when it does. The registry is also a vulnerable subsystem, in that relatively small changes done incorrectly can render the system inoperable.

• Not all registry cleaners are created equal. There are a number of them available but they do not all work entirely the same way. Each vendor uses different criteria as to what constitutes a "bad entry". One cleaner may find entries on your system that will not cause problems when removed, another may not find the same entries, and still another may want to remove entries required for a program to work.

• Not all registry cleaners create a backup of the registry before making changes. If the changes prevent the system from booting up, then there is no backup available to restore it in order to regain functionality. A backup of the registry is essential BEFORE making any changes to the Registry.

• Improperly removing registry entries can hamper malware disinfection and make the removal process more difficult if your computer becomes infected. For example, removing malware related registry entries before the infection is properly identified can contribute to system instability and even make the malware undetectable to removal tools.

• The usefulness of cleaning the registry is highly overrated and can be dangerous. In most cases, using a cleaner to remove obsolete, invalid, and erroneous entries does not affect system performance but it can result in "unpredictable results".

Unless you have a particular problem that requires a registry edit to correct it, I would suggest you leave the registry alone. Using registry cleaning tools unnecessarily or incorrectly could lead to disastrous effects on your operating system such as preventing it from ever starting again. For routine use, the benefits to your computer are negligible while the potential risks are great.

Ed Bott's Webog: Why I don’t use registry cleaners
Do I need a registry Cleaner?

This post has been edited by Queen-Evie: 25 April 2011 - 11:53 PM

Thanks, Queen-Evie, but your advice is a bit late for me. Assuming that some harm was done to my Registry - and I did "clean it up" - now what the hell am I supposed to do?