29/12/2025

LYFE MONDAY | DEC 29, 2025

22

Ű BY MARK MATHEN VICTOR

SSDs will improve load and boot speed. – PICS FROM FREEPIK

THERE was a significant shift in artificial intelligence (AI) usage during the holiday season. Far from being just a reliable shopping or planning assistant, AI has emerged as a multifaceted digital companion capable of delivering emotional support – a phenomenon particularly pronounced among the Gen Z and millennial group, including in Malaysia. However, placing too much trust in AI can threaten data security. Kaspersky recently conducted a survey to find out how people leverage AI-powered tools to make the most of their free time and streamline holiday preparations, and to highlight the potential cyber threats related to it. The study was conducted by its market research centre in November with 3,000 respondents from 15 countries, including Malaysia. It turns out that AI’s popularity in the 2025/2026 holiday is rather high, with 74% of survey participants indicating they plan to incorporate AI into their holiday activities. The younger generation demonstrates the strongest enthusiasm for AI usage, with 86% of respondents aged 18–34 expressing intentions to resort to artificial intelligence during the holiday period. In Malaysia, the findings point to a similar trend, with 79% of respondents planning to use AI as an assistive tool during the holiday season. How can AI help you? According to the survey, more than a half of AI users plan to use the tools during the holidays to search for recipes (56%) or restaurants and accommodation (54%), underscoring AI’s ongoing significance in simplifying research processes and reducing search-related time commitments. However, AI as an idea generator also gets a A S laptops age, they will begin to feel sluggish. Turning them on or even booting certain software will take far longer than before, but that does not necessarily mean the old should be thrown out for a new replacement. Older machines can be sped up with a few of these proven fixes, which are often cheap, simple and very effective. Key steps to make laptops faster The most foolproof method is to simply switch to a solid-state drive (SSD), as most old laptops have traditional hard drives (HDD). Replacing the HDD with an SSD often cuts boot and load times dramatically, as the latter reads and writes data much faster than a HDD. Next, look into adding more RAM. If the laptop has limited RAM, running multiple apps or browsers will prove to be a cumbersome experience. By adding more, the increased RAM will reduce lag when multitasking, making the laptop more responsive. Thirdly, you can clean up disk space and delete unwanted files. Storage filled with old files, temporary data, downloads or duplicates makes the computer slower – so get rid of the unnecessary bloat, either through manual deletion or using built-in disk clean-up tools. Speaking of bloat, the following are smaller tweaks that can easily be done: 0 Remove or disable startup programs and bloatware Many programs auto-start when laptops are first booted. Turning off unnecessary startup items reduces boot time and frees up memory. 0 Uninstall unused applications Extra software that is no longer in use can slow down the system and consume resources. Removing them can improve performance. 0 Keep system and drivers updated Manufacturers often release updates that can improve system stability or performance, and a well-maintained system will ultimately run smoother. 0 Use lighter software or operating systems if needed Newer apps or OS versions sometimes

RAM modules provide more memory, which in turn helps with smoother multitasking.

Deleting unneeded files can speed up performance.

o Simple upgrades, tips for faster, more responsive devices Speeding up old laptops

interest in AI-powered support among all ages, with 35% of respondents voting for this option. The older generation demonstrates a very restrained interest in this area of AI – only 19% of respondents aged 55 and older consider talking to AI when they are upset. In Malaysia, a higher proportion of respondents compared to the global average report using AI as a“chat buddy”, with 31% indicating they would talk to AI when they feel low during the holiday period. While communication with AI services may seem personal and private, it is important to remember that most chatbots are owned by commercial companies with their own data collection and processing policies. Here are some tips for enhancing privacy: 0 Before starting any conversation, review the privacy policy of the AI tool you’re using. Some AI providers may use your emotional conversations to infer information about you, which can be used for targeted advertising or even sold to third-party marketing firms. Check whether you can opt out of using your chats for such purposes as model training or marketing to minimise the amount of data collected. 0 Try to avoid sharing deeply personal, identifying or financial information with AI chatbots. Treat your messages as you would a public social post – never assume absolute confidentiality. 0 Stick to AI services from reputable companies with strong privacy and security track records. Avoid using anonymous or unknown bots that could be designed to harvest data. 0 Malicious or fake AI bots may attempt to extract personal information to commit fraud, phishing or blackmail. To protect your data, use a security solution that prevents clicking on unreliable links. hardware. Uninstalling unused apps reduces background services that may run unseen, and using lighter software reduces demands on CPU, RAM and storage. With these out of the way, here are some things to consider before buying anything new to boost the old tech. Firstly, check the old laptop’s current specs, such as how much RAM, type of hard drive and how much free disk space it has. If it has below 8GB RAM and a traditional HDD, upgrading to an SSD and adding RAM will likely give the biggest boost. Meanwhile, if the hardware is modest but still functional, simply cleaning up the disk and managing startup programs might deliver a noticeable uptick in speed.

loading. Meanwhile, more RAM gives an old laptop more working memory, so it does not rely on slow disk-based virtual memory, which slows everything down. Disabling startup programs reduces the number of tasks running right away or simultaneously, which reduces the initial load and memory use. Cleaning disk space avoids fragmentation (on older drives) or simply reduces overhead for file searches and OS operations. Finally, updating the system and drivers helps keep the software optimised for the

demand more resources. Running lighter or older versions may help prevent older hardware from being overwhelmed. What comes next By doing one or more of the above, old laptops will certainly see some change in speed and performance, but why do these steps work exactly? Well, an SSD lacks the mechanical parts of an HDD, as there are no spinning disks or moving heads. That removes a major speed bottleneck in data access and application

Users turning to AI for holiday shopping, planning, emotional support

Many users converse with AI when they feel low during the holiday period.

budget planning (54%). Modern AI tools enable holiday shoppers to find offers that match individual preferences and budget constraints with just a few clicks. However, the reliability of chatbot-generated information remains a significant concern. Shoppers should check all links provided by AI before clicking on them, as they may contain malicious or phishing content. Talk to me, AI Beyond its capacity to tackle diverse challenges and generate new ideas, AI assumed a new role – serving as a virtual companion capable of offering emotional assistance. 29% of those who use AI during holidays consider talking to it when they feel unhappy. Zoomers and millennials show the biggest

great response from the audience. The survey uncovered that 50% of users seek AI assistance for brainstorming gift ideas, ways to celebrate or tips on Christmas decoration. During the holidays, half of respondents regard AI as a shopping assistant, which can help them to create shopping lists, find the best deals or analyse reviews. The younger generation shows high interest in AI as a budget planner (50%), while older people (55+) are less passionate about allowing AI to manage their expenses (31%), preferring to use it to search for recipes (59%) and generate present ideas (41%). Many Malaysians are using AI to support their holiday research and planning, particularly to search for restaurants and accommodation (62%), find the best shopping deals (60%), discover cooking recipes (56%) and manage