The new year begins with a new computer for millions, but many others will continue to use what they have for at most for a while. If you’re willing to ride out the year with your workhorse computer for a while longer, this is a great time to bring that machine back to life and get rid of any lingering issues.

Pop-ups are annoying but not to be ignored as they don’t usually disable or cripple computers. Pop-ups can be dangerous because they open up doors to malware-laden sites and phishing attempts.

To ensure nothing is rogue, check each browser’s extensions menu. Spam-generating extensions can often bypass antivirus and anti-malware scans.

Click on the hamburger button to select the “Settings” option in Google Chrome and the “Add-ons” option in Mozilla Firefox. To disable suspicious extensions, click on the heading “Extensions”/”Extensions or Appearance”.

The pop-up windows should disappear. If they do not, it is time to delete the suspicious extensions. Next, run an antivirus scan. This is not a quick scan. Even if you have removed a bad extension, it is still prudent to scan your entire computer for any other suspicious extensions.

Printer won’t print

Check that the default printer is not being used if there are print issues. You can cancel the printer by pressing the “Cancel” button.

If there is no print queue, the print settings could have defaulted to the native Document Writer. Go to the Control Panel’s Devices and Printers menu. Right-click the device and select “Set as Default Printer” from the context menu.

If you continue to have problems, update the printer’s drivers. Click on the icon of the updater and search for Windows Update in the Windows’ search bar.

Click on “Check for Updates” to search for an update for your printer. Disconnect the printer if there aren’t any updates available.

Frozen Screens

There are many causes of partial or full-on seizures and temporary freezing. However, some common ones include hardware changes and bottlenecks. Try switching to a different driver for your device if you experience freezing problems after a computer’s hardware update, such as an upgrade to a component or software.

The aging of hardware may be responsible for the slow development of the freezing problem over time. Your computer can freeze if it has less than 4GB RAM. This is because pre-buffered HD content can be easily added to it.

If you suspect the problem is related to hardware age, then there are chances that one component could make a big difference. If RAM’s pool is less that 4GB, RAM is a good place for you to start. If one component is not problematic, it’s time to have an expert diagnose the problem.