It could be, but do you have current, real-time, all the time antivirus and firewall protection? If not, start by updating your antivirus software and doing a complete system scan.

Thanks for the info.  I do have McAfee anti-virus and firewall protection.  When I log on, I get a message that the anti-virus and firewall are protecting my computer.  I also periodically do a system scan.  I have not a found a virus yet, but I sometimes find potentially unwanted programs detected.

Once I delete these potentially unwanted programs, the computer does seem to run much faster.  However, the problem oftens starts up again the next time I log on.

 

 

 

Make sure the AV program is up to date - it's only as useful as today's update.

You'll need to find out what you've deleted and look up the removal instructions - many programs leave registry entries that must be manually removed.

If this is the antivirus program that arrived with the system, you must have purchased a subscription for updates. If you did not, the program cannot be updated after 90 days. If you have a subscription, it should update itself periodically.

You'll need to look up the names of the programs (spyware, malware) with McAfee and follow the removal instructions.