text: how do i find and stop some of my programs that is currently running on my computer ? i've got so many different programs that start up automatically when i boot my computer up. i'm trying to find out how can i stop some of the programs that runs when i reboot my computer. start--> run--> type in msconfig , hit enter-->click on startup tab--> uncheck all programs that you do not wish to run on boot up.  if you have adware, spyware and or virus...unchecking some programs will be no use because it will automatically create a new file name to boot up. i recommend going into safe mode and run a program called security task manager and delete all programs that are found to be a hazard.