Q I tried to download the Malwarebytes software you recommended using your Web address tinyurl.com/ygezscs. Unfortunately, this Web page is loaded with viruses that nearly shut down my computer. Please take care in your recommendations to avoid this kind of thing.

JOEL MALMBERG, WAYZATA

A The download you mention hasn't caused problems for other readers. I've personally found Malwarebytes to be legitimate software, and I recommend the CNET download website because it is scanned for viruses.

I suspect that something else nearly shut down your computer. It may have been malicious software you'd gotten somewhere else. Or it may be that your PC is an older machine that is overburdened with the demands placed on it by newer software.

I suggest you check whether your PC is operating near capacity. Open the Windows Task Manager by simultaneously pushing the ctrl, alt and delete keys. Depending on your version of Windows, it will either open automatically or you'll have to then select Task Manager from a list. Click the "performance" tab.

The top chart tells you how much of your computer processor's capability is being used; the bottom chart tells you how much of your PC's memory is being used. If either is operating near capacity for long periods of time, you're running more programs at once than your PC can handle.

Malwarebytes or Spybot-Search & Destroy (tinyurl.com/clbek4) can help you find and disable malicious or annoying software that can use up your PC's capacity. At the bottom of the Spybot download page, there's a list of downloadable anti-spyware programs, most of them free. You should also be running antivirus and firewall software to keep your PC safe.

However, your problem may not be malicious software but an older PC. Because aging computers run more slowly with newer, more demanding software, your PC may be in need of a random-access memory (RAM) upgrade.

Two gigabytes of RAM is rapidly becoming the basic amount of memory a PC should have. If your PC can't be upgraded to 2 gigabytes, consider replacing it.

Q The Recycle Bin icon has disappeared from the desktop of my PC that uses Vista Home Premium. It used to disappear, then reappear when I restarted the computer, but now it seems gone for good. What happened to it and how can I get it back?

STEVEN VITE, RICHFIELD

A Standard icons such as the Recycle Bin normally appear on your PC's desktop because they're on a checklist Vista uses when it starts up. When they don't appear on the desktop, it's typically because the Vista checklist has changed.

But it's easy to fix the checklist. Microsoft explains how at tinyurl.com/2vmuo3.

E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander @gmail.com, or write to Tech Q&A, 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488-0002. Include name, city and telephone number.