When you first bought your PC or laptop it was the best model on the market, with the most up-to-date specification; It was super speedy, navigated around the web quickly and had no issues opening multiple tabs at once, now everything seems to have grounded to a halt, searching the web has becoming painstakingly irritating and you’re left wondering – do I need a new PC or an upgrade to the RAM? Try these simple tips first.
Malware and viruses
Do you have a virus or malware on your machine?
When you purchased your PC/laptop did you remember to install anti-virus software? Many laptops or PCs from high street providers come with McAfee, Kaspersky, Norton or other antivirus software packages which offer virus and malware protection. There are also many free lite versions online which can offer basic protection.
Being infected by malware or a virus can happen easily for example by clicking on a link in an email, downloading ‘free’ software from the internet, from file sharing services and even USB sticks. These can go undetected for weeks and can render a PC or laptop unusable or very slow.
Check for malware or viruses using your existing anti-virus software, they have inbuilt scanning programs to detect any threats. If you have no antivirus software installed use Google, Bing or any search engine to find and download MalwareBytes and/or SuperAntiSpyware from the genuine approved site. Beware of downloading them from other possibly bogus sites. Both of these apps are recommended and effective to highlight any issues or threats and potentially quarantine/remove any viruses or malware which may be lingering.
We offer our clients an award-winning antivirus software solution suitable for organisations of all sizes, applicable to all platforms, with end-to-end encryption solutions also available. Talk to us on 01626 360011 for more information.
Is your PC or laptop up to the job?
What you do on your laptop or PC will determine how fast it performs. Every computer has a specification that makes it suitable for specific activities and some apps are more demanding than others.
For example, installing elaborate games can use a lot of system resource. The more graphic driven the game, the more demand it will have on your computer’s resources.
Image manipulation software such as Adobe Photoshop can demand a lot from your computer, making it harder to open more apps at the same time and making switching between windows slow & clunky.
Media storage, such as music, videos and photos will all slow your laptop or PC experience depending on its memory capability. Uploading some of your media to a secure cloud based storage may make things faster and you’ll have access to the media on any device.
Did you know the web browser you use can also affect your overall PC/laptop experience? Some are considered faster to work with than others, with quicker loading times. Google offers ‘lite pages’ a feature that lets Chrome reduce data use by up to 90 percent and load pages two times faster. Little tweaks like this can make all the difference.
Regular Maintenance
Getting in to a routine of regular PC maintenance is a good way of preventing your PC or laptop from slowing down in the longer term.
Windows operating systems have tools to enhance your system experience. Search for ‘Defragment and Optimise Drives’ in your start bar search bar (Windows 10) and click on the program, here you can choose which drives you wish to optimise. In older versions of Windows this can also be accessed by clicking on all programs on your start menu and clicking through to accessories or window accessories and system tools.
When was your last Windows update? Have you checked your plugins and basic applications have been updated recently? Many PCs and laptops do this automatically however you can check for updates in PC settings in the Updates and Security tab.
Did you know web browsers such as Google and Bing use a browser cache to improve performance of frequently accessed web pages. When you visit a web page, the requested files are stored in your computing storage in the browser’s cache. These can build up and prevent your laptop or PC using it’s RAM effectively. You can clear your Cache by opening up the web browser you use i.e. Google, going in to settings in the top right hand corner (three dots) clicking on Settings, Advanced and scroll down to Clear browsing data, here you can clear your cookies, cache and browsing history.
In 2019 we are demanding more from our technology, gone are the days of slow dial-up internet and waiting for pages to load, we want our PC or laptop experience to be instantaneous and fluid, especially when we use it for business.
Talk to us to discuss how we can improve your business IT, with super-slick hardware and quick IT support.