The Top Twenty

Category: Reference

Every night a friendly robot looks through the Ask Bob logs to see which articles were the most popular over the past week. Here are the current Top Twenty, ranked by readership volume. If you missed any of these, take a few minutes to read and comment!

Top 20


  1. Selling Your Saliva: Privacy Dangers of DNA Testing

    At-home DNA test kits sold online are popular holiday gifts, promising to reveal facts about your family history and susceptibility to various diseases. But could sending in your saliva sample in a DNA test kit have a negative impact on the privacy of yourself, your family, and your close relatives? Here's what you need to know, especially if you've submitted a DNA sample to Ancestry or 23andMe...

  2. Geekly Update - 30 October 2024

    Can you fall in love with an AI chatbot? Is your TV harvesting your private information and selling it to data brokers? Are AI-powered cameras watching your bathroom activities? And will a flying car help you avoid traffic jams? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!




  3. Geekly Update - 23 October 2024

    Was the last tattered vestige of your privacy just swallowed up by data brokers, or did you willingly hand it over? Will dorky augmented reality glasses soon replace your smartphone? Is using AI-generated content in your term paper cheating? And is there a way to circumvent Windows 11's strict hardware requirements? Get answers in today's Geekly Update... it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and comment!

  4. The Most Common Computing Mistakes (how many have you made?)

    You might prefer to blame hackers, cyber-criminals, and shoddy software, but the unpleasant truth is that most computer problems are caused by users. Here's the good news: there are a few basic steps you can take to avoid malware infections, data loss, and performance issues. Too often, people try to save time or money by cutting corners, and they end up paying the price. Check out my list of common computing mistakes, and how to fix (or even better, avoid) them. Read on...

  5. Can I Share My Password for Netflix and Other Streaming Services?

    The question of whether you can legally or ethically share your password for Netflix and other streaming services is a hot topic. With access to enormous collections of films, TV shows, documentaries, and more, streaming services have emerged as a crucial component of contemporary entertainment. However, the manner in which users share these services raises concerns about what is acceptable and what the potential repercussions might be. Read on for a look at the details of this question...

  6. Yes, You Do Need a Disposable Email Address

    It seems everyone wants your email address -- shopping sites, your bank, your doctor, the grocery store, even the vendors at the local farmer’s market. It’s no wonder our spam filters are so busy! But I do wonder which of the many entities that have my email address gave it away, sold it, or carelessly lost it in a data breach. A disposable email address provides a handy solution to this and other privacy problems. Read on to learn more...

  7. Try These Free Online Photo Editors

    An AskBob reader says: 'I don’t have Adobe Photoshop and I’m looking for a photo editor that I can use on the go. What do you recommend for photo editing when I’m away from my home computer?' It turns out there are quite a few online image and photo editors, and the features they offer are quite impressive. Check out these free web-based image editing tools that are just a click away...

  8. Can I Get Free Satellite TV?

    A thrifty AskBob reader says: “Can I really get satellite TV for free? I've heard about free satellite TV channels one can receive with a free-to-air satellite receiver and dish. Is this true? If so, what satellite channels can I get, what equipment do I need, and is it legal?” The short answer is 'YES, NO, and MAYBE,' depending on your expectations. Read on to learn about free satellite TV options...

  9. Optimize Your Hard Drive: How and Why

    When things go bonkers with your computer, the source of the problem is often in the hard drive. One of the best things you can do to prevent computer problems and improve performance is to keep your hard drive in tip-top shape. Here are some of the most important tasks for hard drive optimization, plus some nifty (and free) hard drive maintenance utilities that make getting them done a breeze...

  10. Here's How to Upgrade Your Older Computer (and when you shouldn't)

    Is your computer bogged down with the weight of Cosmic Computer Crud that's built up over the years? Is it struggling to keep up with the latest apps and modern operating systems? Perhaps you wonder, should you junk it and buy a new one, or upgrade its hardware? The answer is highly dependent upon your specific circumstances. Here are my tips and guidelines for making that decision, and some Windows 11 considerations too...

  11. [ALERT] Fake Facebook Profile - What to do?

    Today I got a message from an AskBob reader, alerting me that someone had made a fake Facebook profile in my name. The malefactor pretending to be me stole my profile picture, reposted some of my updates, and was already running a scam. Fortunately, that reader wasn’t fooled, and was kind enough to let me know about the bogus account. Sadly, this happens all the time. Here’s what I did, and what you need to know about fake Facebook profiles...




  12. The Hidden Risks of Free Wifi Hotspots

    I remember when the Reader's Digest had a feature called “Your Slip is Showing”. It had nothing to do with women's clothing, but rather how we are sometimes unaware of certain mistakes until someone points them out. If you connect your phone, tablet or laptop to a free wifi hotspot, you need to know how you might be exposed. Read on for my tips...

  13. Review: PC Matic Gets a Zero!

    After years of hearing from AskBob readers about PC Matic, I finally decided it was time to give the popular antivirus and PC optimizer software a test drive. So 18 months ago, I did just that, and published my PC Matic review. At the time, I was impressed enough to ditch my current security software, and entrust my home and office computers to PC Matic. A year and a half later, I'm giving PC Matic a ZERO. But wait... that's actually a GOOD thing! Read on for my updated review and recommendation...

  14. So You Dropped Your Phone in the...

    For a variety of reasons, millions of mobile phones are “drowned” each year. When your phone stops working after falling into the sink, toilet, bathtub, swimming pool, muddy puddle, lake or the ocean, can it be saved? In many cases the answer is “yes,” if you do the right things and don’t do the wrong things. If you're thinking about using rice, silica gel, cat litter, couscous, or instant oatmeal, don't waste your time. Here's what you need to know if your device is dunked, and the tale of my unsuccessful attempts to teach my phone to swim...

  15. Google Yourself, You Might Be Surprised

    Have you ever used Google, Bing, or another search engine to search for your own name, address or phone number? In an age of powerful search engines, social media, artificial intelligence, and changing attitudes about privacy, you might be shocked to see what a casual searcher can learn about you. If you're okay with that level of transparency, then fine. If not, read on for some tips on what you can do about it...

  16. Detect and ZAP Your WiFi Leeches

    Is your wireless Internet connection being 'borrowed' by a stranger? If your home WiFi connection is sometimes mysteriously slow, it might be that a neighbor, stranger (or a malicious hacker) has tapped into your wifi. It happened to me! Read on to learn how to bust bandwidth bandits, and give digital leeches the boot...

  17. Here’s How to Boost Your WiFi Signal

    A frustrated AskBob reader says: 'How can I boost or extend the wifi signal in my home? I finally got high-speed internet with a wireless router, but the wifi signal is very weak in some rooms. What tweaks, tricks or gadgets do you recommend to boost wireless signal strength and distance?' I've got some, read on!

  18. A Time Machine for the Internet?

    Have you ever wondered what the Internet looked like 25 years ago? The Internet Archive has been crawling the Web since 1996, taking snapshots of Web pages and preserving them for posterity. Today, approximately 835 billion Web pages, 44 million books, millions of images, audio recordings, and video, along with a million games and software programs are stored on the IA’s servers. Read on to learn how you can access the Wayback Machine, an amazing resource that offers a window into both the history and the present of the Internet...



 
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This article was posted by on 4 Mar 2009


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The Top Twenty
Next Article:
My New Phone is an iPod Touch

Most recent comments on "The Top Twenty"

(See all 79 comments for this article.)

Posted by:

Yvonne Mathis
02 Apr 2016

Wrote once before and since I am not computer savy, I was saying Linksys was tryin to hi jack router. Now A friend says modem, Linksys has removed my isp and entered their own code and now are controlling my computer,has removed my security which is Norton, who by the way cleaned my computer and said all was good, after that, noticed the Icon disappeeared and then reappeared, but is not functioning, I am redirected to sites other than the one I try to get to. I am elder female, other than a pricey computer service, can you help?


Posted by:

John
11 Apr 2016

I need virus clen my drive


Posted by:

Peggy
04 Jun 2016

Greetings
My internet speed is slow and if I have my grandchildren streaming a movie, it constantly buffering and my PC too.
I have a dual web-band and a range extender 3 yrs. old and Verizon router is over 5 yrs. old
Base on your expertise, what step should I take.
Greatly appreciate your help


Posted by:

Calvin
06 Jun 2016

can you go back and read articles further back than the last 20, if so how?


Posted by:

Ken Fisher
21 Jul 2016

Upgraded my Win 7.1 Dell computer to Win 10 last December. Two weeks ago, it downgraded itself by dropping the Start Button and screen, the info button on the left and Cortana. It has not corrected with updates. Pressing the Start produces a critical error and a restart.


Posted by:

Pay
08 Aug 2016

Bob, My Microsoft Publisher software gas disappeared from my computer sometime since I downloaded Windows 10.

Also, the names of my directories have been eliminated. I used to have one called Pat and Ray Computer and it no longer exists. There were two directories called mydocuments, one inside the other directory that I can no longer find.

I did a backup of 7 before I installed 10 (thanks for you publication!) HELP!!!


Posted by:

Jd hackhowsar
15 Jun 2017

Hi Mr Bob

We have 600 plus pages for years as a tech support user club for European industrial machines at eeuc98.net in html now https posted.

After the https all picture links quit working.

Also with google nobody can find us any more. Since the page content applies often to the same subject, the keywords are the same.

Reading googles requirements it would be a lot of volunteer work to vamp it all up.
We started in the 80s out with DOS 6 based Clarks bulletin boaerd sw.

Having a good site content search function is imporatant.
We used since the 80s macromedia robohelp and dreamweaver sw, now all Acrobat.

Thanks for your wisdom.
Lots of virtual hugs.

Johann


Posted by:

Mr.Pic
29 Jun 2017

In using Outlook 2003 I need to know how to increase text size as now the inbox shows about 31 one line emails info, I would like about 15 with larger more readable text. The new Dell computer has Windows 10 and I have just started using it. Appreciate any help provided.


Posted by:

Alexander Harkes
25 Sep 2017

When using my printer and trying to send a copy of a photo or send a email it says i do not have a connection and everything is working ok. the mail recipient will not work also how can i change the mail recipient from fax recipient.


Posted by:

stanley westell
23 Jun 2018

I wondered if you had a topic regarding India's people constant attack upon the US?
I recently have been receiving all kinds of so-called free gift cards $1000 gift card Walmart, Nike gift cards, I recently have received several different grant scams from India and they even tried to use US sounding names and received a phone call claiming it was the IRS preparing to open a file if I didn't call them then there is a computer tech support company that claims they are Microsoft and tell you your personal information that risk and if you don't call them they'll stop your computer from working there are several of those I will admit being on Social Security disability that I was extremely hopeful and I had filed for grants and unfortunately before I caught on. Already swindled me out of $200 their goal was to swindle me out of $1000 so knowing that the IRS never calls they only send mail and I started asking the questions will qualify me for these grants where did you get this information clearly they are attaching themselves or spying on websites or setting up these free card giveaways to get information I was just wondering if you had set up a page on warning the elderly which is clearly their target I think the most important thing is think first asked questions on how you qualified how they got the information and so forth and before you know it they hang up the one thing I have seen is that their phone calls are being rerouted through the US and there clearly well-versed insome of the information needed regarding grants the address of the grant building in Washington DC and basic info for their scam I saved many of the phone numbers and names used but you know they're all fake or they're using untraceable SIMM cards well I was just wondering if you had a page that would help protect people against India's ongoing attack upon the US? you need not reply it was just a suggestion or if you have created this page thank you.


Posted by:

Andy Baldwin
21 Sep 2019

Dear Bob,

I am a technical IDIOT!

But, somehow this ADD brain of mine can understand what you have to say. Can you help me understand what this particular tool does?

Also, can you tell me if you cover computer issues pretty much from A to Z? If so do you cover different kinds of email like Reagan.com?

I ask because I got hacked with 'free' email and there are things I can't seem to understand sometimes with private email.

I simply want to thank you for being there helping very low tech guys like me!

Warmest Regards,

Andy Baldwin


Posted by:

Bonnie R
02 Oct 2019

The links in my emails on my phone will not open


Posted by:

Daniel Swist
26 Nov 2019

I got hacked about a month ago. Changed password, etc. But now all my incoming email(YAHOO) goes to my "Archive" folder and has to be manually transferred to my INBOX. Called ATT several times , but the idiot agents (in India) can't help me. I tried to call ATT in the US, but never got connected. Someone on a blog told me to go to Settings- Filters and remove filters/ add filters. But that doesn't work. Any suggestions?
Thanks.


Posted by:

Harold
17 Apr 2020

very very GOOD Bob and thanks for all those great possibilities


Posted by:

Phil Biggins
23 Apr 2020

How to fix printing problems for windows 10 ,only wants to save an not print.


Posted by:

Gary
25 Apr 2020

Your top 20 is great, Thanks
Gary


Posted by:

Edward E.Weeter
21 Jul 2020

Bob,
I have been a reader for many years, but due to long-term health issues, my reading time and comprehension have slipped. Now my wife wants a divorce and most of my investment profits I am 74, a Type 1 Diabetic for 60+ years with many other health issues!. She is 71 and in her second round of cancer. We have I married daughter who caters mainly to her wishes and live about 5+ hours from us. My problems utherwise are my AOL.COM account (blocked for over 9 months. Any idea who in gov’t I can contact? Thanks for everything! She has blocked my use of many things also!pp


Posted by:

WJ Stewart
15 Dec 2021

How can I make my 2 year old laptop faster? I have to wait almost 10 minutes for it to start up so I can use it


Posted by:

WD Nelson
30 Mar 2022

I signed up for IDrive last week!! Only 5TB Can I still get the discount you are offering?
WD


Posted by:

Paul
06 Mar 2024

Your "Top 20" list contains only 19 topics;
items 12 and 20 are identical! 😋


There's more reader feedback... See all 79 comments for this article.

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Article information: AskBobRankin -- The Top Twenty (Posted: 4 Mar 2009)
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