Tips

Why you shouldn't put computer repairs off

“If it’s working, don’t touch it” is a dangerous strategy when it comes to electronics. Over the years I’ve seen dozens of cases where a 150₪ problem turned into a 600₪+ repair simply because it had been put off.

The most common scenarios

Overheating → dead GPU

The laptop is hot and noisy — annoying, sure, but not critical, right? In reality the constant overheating is steadily destroying the solder under the chips on the motherboard.

The hidden cost of "free" antivirus software

“I installed a free antivirus and now my computer is even slower and there’s ads everywhere” — one of the most common complaints I hear. The paradox: the program meant to protect the machine has become the problem.

How it works

The makers of some “free” security tools don’t make their money on sales. They make it elsewhere:

• Collecting and selling data. The program reads your browser history, the list of installed applications, details about your hardware — and sells that information to advertising networks.
• Showing ads. Pop-up notifications saying “your computer is at risk!” — typically false, designed to push you toward the paid version.
• Bundled extras. During a “default” install several programs slip in automatically — a browser toolbar, an “optimiser”, another “antivirus”.
• System slowdown. Constant real-time scanning eats CPU and RAM in the background.

Programs worth uninstalling

If anything from this list is on your computer, I’d recommend removing it:

Why you need an SSD in 2026

If your laptop or desktop takes 2–5 minutes to boot, and then “thinks” for a long time when you open a browser or office app — almost certainly the cause is an old hard drive (HDD). It’s the most common complaint I hear, and the fix is simpler than it sounds.

Why HDDs are so slow

A hard drive is a mechanical device: inside, a magnetic platter spins and a read head physically moves to the right spot. Random read speed on a typical HDD is around 1 MB/s.

Hard drive clicking — back up your data right now

If you can hear rhythmic clicking, ticking or grinding while your computer is running, that’s one of the most alarming signals your laptop or desktop can give you. You need to act now.

What those sounds mean

A hard drive (HDD) is a mechanical device. Inside, a platter spins and the read/write heads — incredibly thin elements — float above its surface at a distance of just a few nanometres.

What happens if you don't clean your computer for 5 years

Dust is the number one enemy of any computer. Most owners don’t think about it until the machine starts roaring like a vacuum cleaner or shutting down out of nowhere. By that point some of the damage is usually already done.

What’s happening inside

The CPU and GPU are cooled by a fan that pushes air through a heatsink. Within a year or two of active use, the gaps between the heatsink fins get packed with dust and pet hair so densely that almost no air gets through.