I clicked on a popup that told me it had caught a virus. Now it wants money to fix the issue. What should I do?
You've likely been infected by a virus at this point and you'll need professional help. What ever you do - DO NOT GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD OR BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER TO THE POPUP. I can assure you feeding cash to an internet popup is a very bad idea. Most of these programs are well written and they have already determined you will attempt to run antivirus and spyware programs on the system in an attempt to eradicate the issue. In all likelihood you have already determined you can not access the internet and that pretty much stops you from running any type of updates or scans. Unfortunately, your system is going to require a thorough cleaning. Give us a call and we'll setup a time to fix the issue. 

How old is too old when it comes to computer systems?
Technology tends to double every 18 months. Which means that today's latest software probably will not run on an older computer. As such, we generally consider the life expectancy of a computer system to be 3 years. After that point, technology has pretty much passed by and parts become very difficult to source. 

My computer system is very slow. How can I speed it up?
Slow system processing time can be the result of several factors. The two most common causes are a lack of system resources - usually a result of low memory space - and virus/spyware infections.  If your regularly open several programs at once on your system, then you may benefit from a memory upgrade. Intracat Systems recommends a minimum of 2GB of RAM (Random Access Memory) for all systems running Windows XP and a minimum of 4GB of RAM for Vista and Windows 7.  If you have sufficient memory and your system is still slow, then you may have a virus. Try running an online antivirus/spyware program such as HouseCall from  www.trendmicro.com to address the issue. If you are still having problems, then your system may need professional help. If so, give us a call - that's what we're here for!

Should I upgrade to Windows 7?
Personally - we love Windows 7. Microsoft's newest Operating System is well thought out and rock solid. However, if your current system came with Windows XP your best bet is to replace the system. If you are currently on Vista, then an upgrade may be right for you, but please note - a clean install is always better than an upgrade.

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