AskBob's Best of 2016 - Part One

Your Favorite AskBob Stories of 2016

As always, there were some key concepts that dominated the year in tech. Windows 10... Security... Going Wireless, and the Internet of Things. Those phrases also popped up often in the most popular items published here during 2016. Whether you're a long-time reader, or a recent subscriber, I'm sure you'll enjoy reviewing the first installment of my "Top Ten" list below. Part Two will be arriving on Friday.

1. Free 5-Point Tuneup For Hacker Defenses

The online world gets more dangerous every day, it seems. Some quick statistics: 230,000 new malware samples are discovered daily; over 600,000 social media accounts are hacked per day; one in ten social media users has had an account hijacked by hackers. Your defense systems must be kept in tip-top shape. Here are five ways to harden your system against hackers...

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2. Can You Trust ScanGuard?

A couple of readers asked me about a new security program called ScanGuard. One said: "Hey, Bob. Just ran across this on the internet. Article makes it sound really good – maybe too good. Is it legit, and what other alternatives are available that do the same thing?" So I investigated, and was surprised at what I learned. My review of ScanGuard turned out to be one of the most popular topics of the year...

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3. Protect Your Computer With Free Anti-Virus Software

Speaking of alternatives, readers often ask for my recommendations on antivirus protection. A common question goes something like this: “I got a trial version of Norton (or McAfee) antivirus with my computer, but the subscription expires in a few days. Should I pay, or switch to one of the free anti-virus programs? What do you recommend?” Read on for my updated list of the top FREE antivirus tools, and some tips on choosing free versus paid...

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4. HOWTO: Connect Your PC to TV, Wirelessly!

Wouldn't it be great to beam whatever is on your computer screen directly to your big-screen TV? Now you can wirelessly send Netflix, Hulu, YouTube videos, photos and computer games from your PC, Mac or mobile screen directly to your television. Even browse the web on your fancy big-screen HDTV. Here's how to make a wireless connection from your desktop, laptop or mobile device to your living room TV set.

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5. How to Get FREE Satellite TV

Can you really get free satellite TV? Yes! If you're paying for satellite TV service, it may surprise you to learn that there's a free version, too. "Free to air" (FTA) satellite TV delivers thousands of channels of broadcast content via satellite to consumers all over the world. Read all about it, and also, learn about the Free Satellite TV on PC scams you should avoid.

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6. Ten Ways To Boost Your WiFi Signal

Wireless devices are everywhere now... from laptops to smartphones, tablets and ebook readers. Even printers and hard drives can be connected to a wifi network. So it's important to get the best possible signal from your wireless router. Here are 10 ways to boost or extend your WiFi signal, and most of them won't cost a penny. Oh, and you'll also want to read about Five Wifi Security Mistakes you must avoid.

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7. Windows 10 Features You Didn't Know About

Windows 10 has been on the market since July 2015, and tens of millions of users have upgraded to it. Yet there are still many new and useful features in Windows 10 that most people don’t know about. Here are ten of the most useful, interesting, or at least amusing ones...

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8. Things That Should NOT Be Connected To The Internet

The Internet of Things (IoT) promises to be the biggest explosion of mostly useless stuff since domain names first went on sale. You name it, and someone is giving it an IP address. But in the headlong rush to connect every particle of matter on Earth to the Internet, we really need to pause and consider all the things that should not be connected...

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9. Free Hard Drive Tune Up Tools

Keeping your hard drive in tip-top shape is one of the best things you can do to maintain or improve the performance of any device that has a hard drive. When things go wrong, the source of the problem is often in the hard drive. Here are some of the most common tasks that must be done with hard drives and free software utilities that make them a breeze…

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10. Here's Your Free Online Music

“Without music, life would be a mistake.” Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche did not overstate music’s importance by much. Fortunately, there's plenty of music available for free, via the Web or mobile devices. Here are the best places to find and listen to music online…

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I hope you enjoy reading (or re-discovering) each of these, and of course, leave your own comments! Tomorrow I'll have Part Two of AskBob's Best of 2016, so stay tuned!