System slow, stalls while transferring to USB stick, finder crashes

Question

Problem description:
Mac OS 10.7.5 running very slow, file transfers stalling.
I'm also having a lot of trouble with Chrome sucking up resources when it's on -- I've quit it now.
EtreCheck version: 2.1.6 (109)
Report generated 16 January, 2015 12:59:57 AM EST
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Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.
Click the [Adware] links for help removing adware.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
  MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) (Technical Specifications)
  MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,2
  1 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core
  8 GB RAM
  BANK 0/DIMM0
  4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
  BANK 1/DIMM0
  4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
  Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
  Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
  Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 731
Video Information: ℹ️
  AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 1024 MB
  Color LCD 1440 x 900
  Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB
System Software: ℹ️
  Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Time since boot: 11:50:41
Disk Information: ℹ️
  Hitachi HTS725050A9A362 disk0 : (500.11 GB)
  disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
  Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 499.25 GB (32.16 GB free)
  Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>  [Recovery]: 650 MB
  MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-8A8 
USB Information: ℹ️
  Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
  Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
  Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
  Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
  Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
  Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
  /System/Library/Extensions
  [loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt (0.0.68) [Support]
  [not loaded] com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverVSP (0.0.68) [Support]
  [not loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraIPDirect (1.1.1) [Support]
Launch Agents: ℹ️
  [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.divx.dms.agent.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.divx.update.agent.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.rim.BBAlbumArtCacher.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist [Support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
  [not loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Support]
  [invalid?] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.rim.BBDaemon.plist [Support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
  [not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Support]
  [not loaded] com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
  iTunesHelper UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)
  Google Chrome Application Hidden (/Applications/Google Chrome.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
  o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.38.6.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]
  OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 [Support]
  Unity Web Player: Version: UnityPlayer version 4.3.5f1 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
  Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.0.11 [Support]
  Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
  FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.257 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
  DivX Web Player: Version: 3.1.1.9 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
  Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.257 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
  QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
  googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.38.6.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]
  SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.3.9 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
  JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version
User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
  FolxNetscapePlugIn: Version: Unknown
  Picasa: Version: 1.0 [Support]
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
  Searchme [Installed] Adware! [Remove]
  Folx Safari Extension [Installed]
  SlickSavings [Installed]
  Ebay Shopping Assistant [Installed] Adware! [Remove]
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
  Flash Player  [Support]
  Flip4Mac WMV  [Support]
  HP Scanjet  [Support]
  Perian  [Support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
  Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      9% WebProcess
      1% sandboxd
      1% WindowServer
      1% hidd
      0% PluginProcess
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
  249 MB WebProcess
  155 MB Safari
  103 MB sandboxd
  60 MB loginwindow
  53 MB Finder
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
  116 MB Free RAM
  1.30 GB Active RAM
  599 MB Inactive RAM
  6.57 GB Wired RAM
  2.22 GB Page-ins
  2.16 GB Page-outs
Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
  Jan 15, 2015, 01:15:25 PM /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/QuickLookUIHelper_2015-01-15-1 31525_[redacted].crash
  Jan 15, 2015, 01:09:49 PM Self test - passed

Answer 1

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
          SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
          View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then take an action that isn't working the way you expect. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
Some private information, such as your name or email address, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.