Now, we aren’t suggesting for a moment that computers are more likely to break or malfunction over the winter. But this has been a useful seaugeway to talk about how you can keep an eye on your IT and ensure that you don’t get caught out in a proverbial snow storm.

You see much like the check engine light there are some warning signs your computer will give you when it isn’t working at it’s top capacity. This is what to look out for and how to fix it.

Overheating can happen for a couple of reasons, but when your machine overheats its bad news for your computer. Overheating can occur just because the weather happens to be hot. If that is the case, there are limited things you can do, but keep your device out of the sun and ensure your workplace is as cool as possible is a decent starting point.

The other thing to consider is ensuring that your computer is sufficiently clean. If you have a load of dust and grime clogging up the vents this is something that can be slowing your computer down as it isn’t able to regulate its internal temperature. Make sure you clean those out if you can. In both cases, once you’ve taken action to resolve the overheating issue its worth giving your computer some time to cool down before using it again.

Slow performance could happen in a couple of ways. Sometimes it can be related to malware slowing down the operation of your machine. As a first port of call it’s well worth checking that you have antivirus installed on your machine and that it is the most up to date version of the antivirus.

Another way could be if your computer doesn’t have enough memory and it’s getting clogged up and slowed down by big files and devices. An easy fix for this would be to shift your files onto a cloud storage system like Sharepoint. And if in doubt, a very quick fix could always be to switch your computer off and on again.

Another area that can be tricky, especially as a lot of our work is now online, is where there is a slow internet connection. Sometimes this can come down to poor running of your computer, but it can also be because of other external reasons.

In this instance you may have an issue with loose cabling or a weak WiFi signal that is stopping your device perform at its optimum. You might even need to update some software on your device to solve the issue. As with the above, switching the device off and then on again can be an effective solution.

Some of the above issues are straightforward to fix, some of them you may not feel confident to tackle. WebbyTech is here to support you with all your IT needs. You can see the full range of services we offer here or contact us directly for a no obligations conversation.