HiJack This is an ominous sounding piece of software; however, it is a very efficient piece of freeware.

This software actually pulls up the startup on a windows machine and lists all running processes; the user can then simply select which processes to “kill” to improve system performance. Which ever software is “killed” generally will not start again on a system reboot. The software is normally listed as a anti-spyware piece of software but it works just as effectively to reduce system drag associated with unwanted programs running in the background. It can be run from a flash (thumb) drive, or downloaded and put on the desktop and run from there. It has a file size of 392 KB, which means it takes no time to either download or use. A word of warning, if you utilize HiJack This and do not create a backup you could cause a serious operating issue on your computer. Start with the things that you know shouldn’t be there, like if you aren’t using McAfee anti-virus then it shouldn’t be listed in the “running” programs. There are some programs which are just easier to disable in their own interface as to prevent them from starting such as MS Messenger or Quicktime.