Software to Increase Processor Speed

Software designed to speed up processors actually works mostly on hard drives.

Over time, computers can accumulate items that place unwanted demands on the processor and bog the processor down. Software that claims to speed up the processor is usually designed either to remove these items or to make needed information more easily accessible.

Cleanup

As it uses applications that access the Internet, your computer collects files that serve no long-term purpose. Unlike viruses and spyware, these files are not overtly malicious, but they take up system resources. Using a program to clean up these files in tandem with antivirus software can free up processor resources and speed up performance.

Defragmentation

Generally, your computer organizes information on your hard drive such that the bits that make up a given file are located close to each other on the physical disk. As the processor rewrites information to the disk, however, this information can end up in different areas. This "fragmentation" makes files harder to read. Defragmentation software, essentially, puts this data back together.

Misconceptions

The software does not literally speed up the processor. In reality, it doesn't act on the processor at all. It simply removes software that monopolizes its attention and organizes information so that it can get to the processor as quickly as possible.

References

• Windows: What is disk defragmentation?
• Tucows: Accumulating Junk

Resources

• The Coffee Desk: Tuning Windows
• CNET: Antivirus Software Downloads
• Microsoft: Delete files using Disk Cleanup