Is your PC so tired that you can take a walk around the block waiting for a program to open? If your machine is sluggish and tired, there are a few things you can do to give it a digital caffeine-boost!

Applications and programs running in the background can slow your computer down. For example, if you listen to music, an audio program runs in the background taking up resources. Go to your Task Manager to see which programs are running, and if you are not using something, then you can quit the process.

Antivirus is one of the programs that runs deep within the system in order to protect you continuously against malware threats. If your security product takes up too many system resources, you could get annoyed and disable it, which is definitely not good.

AV-Comparatives published their Performance Test Report recently, and Avast Free Antivirus was at the top of the list compared to 19 other solutions, most of them paid versions. Since Performance is one of Avast's company pillars, we take pride in the fact that our products will not slow you down and one of the most respected testing agencies around has confirmed that with their test.

It's worth noting that Microsoft Defender, which comes free with Windows 10 installations, came in last with the highest system impact compared to other antivirus products. We recommend that Windows 10 users install Avast Free Antivirus which provides significantly stronger protection with negligible system impact than Windows Defender.

Drivers, programs, and operating systems that are out-of-date or unpatched can have vulnerabilities, bugs, and incompatibilities that drag you down, so make sure to install the recommended patches and updates.

Software Updater is a tool in Avast Antivirus which helps keep widely used third-party software up-to-date to eliminate potential security risks. To start it, open the Avast dashboard and go to Scan - Scan for outdated software.

We all love free stuff, but not everything is as trustworthy as Avast Free Antivirus. When you download free software, it often comes with hidden add-ons or other PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) that slow your computer down or contain harmful code which can damage your computer. Some free toolbars infect your PC, steal personal data, hijack your browser, or install software you do not need or want.

Avast Browser Cleanup is a feature in all Avast products which identifies poorly rated add-ons for Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox and allows you to disable or remove them simply and easily.

If you get messages that your hard drive is 90% full, then it's time to do some serious cleaning. You can reclaim some space by emptying the trash, moving video, audio, and image files to the cloud, or deleting stuff you don't use anymore.

Older computers don't have the memory capacity to run some of the latest software. Windows 10, for example, is pretty intensive with the visual effects, but it can make older machines sluggish. Experts suggest a minimum of 1GB of memory (RAM) for 32-bit system and 2GB for a 64-bit system.