Cleanup my PC — Checkser

Download codestuff starter (startup manager)

Delete any startup applications which are not needed

Identify the applications that will re-register themselves in the registry

Go to each of the applications and disable startup through the apps gui

Check the list of running windows services

Create a list of suspicious services. These may not have a description or may have a bogus description

Disable the service and potentially uninstall the application associated with the service

Turn off annoying message services in MSN and Real Player. You don't need these

Check your list of scheduled tasks in the control panel. This is another way apps can run covertly

Eliminate any unnecessary scheduled tasks, esp. those which have never run

Install Windows Defender

Click on an entry in the control panel called software explorers

Investigate any process with a classification of Not Yet Classified

Repeat above process every few months or once default mem usage surpasses an acceptable threshold