RESCUECOM Featured in United Press International

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Jan. 16 (UPI) -- "Problems with Windows" is the most frequent complaint among computer users, a U.S. report by a nationwide computer-repair company said Tuesday.

"This year, we're continuing to see Windows-related issues with great regularity, with an increase of 12 percent from last year and now accounting for more than 22 percent of calls to our call center," Rescuecom Chief Executive David Milman said.

"We've also noticed a clear increase in hardware problems, attributed in part to the growing use of laptops, which are generally less stable than desktop machines," he said.

The percentage of computer users reporting hardware problems increased to 18.1 percent in 2006 from 15.2 percent in 2005.

Rescuecom's Top Five Computer Problems Report also cited "Problems with Computer Speed" (viruses or spyware) at 13.7, down from 16.4 percent a year ago; "Internet Connectivity Problems" at 13.4 percent, a 22 percent dip; and data transfer or failure issues, at 12.3 percent, up from 10.6 percent a year earlier.