Oh, Lord, has it been a year. There’s really no way to describe 2020 objectively. All the adjectives that come to mind aren’t pretty, and aren’t suitable for publication here.
Nonetheless it’s helpful to take a look back. I always find it an interesting perspective on what people were looking for, what issues they were dealing with, and which answers they found most useful.
2020’s Most Viewed Articles
9: My Email Is Hacked, How Do I Fix It? – 7 Things You Need to Do NOW! – Down from #4 last year, that this article remains popular is really no surprise. There’s not a day goes by where I don’t hear from someone who’s run into some suspected problem with their account.
8: Can I Use a Charger that Provides the Same Voltage but a Different Amperage? – Down from #2 last year. Honestly, that this article is as popular as it is, it continues to surprise me. Apparently, chargers and knowing what works, remains a Big Deal for many people.
7: Can I Move My Old Computer’s Hard Drive to My New Computer to Transfer Data? My Recommended Approach – New to the top 10 list this year. Apparently, more people are trying to move more hard drives to more new computers than ever. The good news is that some programs (hello, Macrium Reflect) try to make this work. The bad news? No guarantees.
6: Is Someone Trying to Hack My Facebook Account? – Also new to the list this year. This is the result of people getting “was this you” kinds of emails relating to their Facebook accounts. Apparently, it’s on the upswing. The short answer, of course, is “maybe”, and securing your account properly remains the best defense.
5: How Do I Move the Taskbar Back to the Bottom? – Last year’s #7, this has been a popular article for years. One might think that perhaps Microsoft would do something to avoid this situation from happening as easily as it apparently does.
4: What’s an “Internal Server Error” and How Do I Fix It? – Last year’s #10. Most commonly a server-side issue, I wonder if longer URLs – which seem to me more and more common – are proving to be more fragile.
3: How Do I Find the DNS Server Used By My PC? – New this year, but I’m not sure why. There are lots of good alternative DNS services, but I’m not sure why this has become as popular as it has.
2: What Is “about:blank” (or “about:blank#blocked”) and How Do I Get Rid of It? Why It’s Not Malware, and How You Can Use It – Last year’s #3. This one, at least, I understand. Not only can it sometimes happen as a result of malware (causing people to believe it is malware, when it isn’t), but apparently some security software will now block possibly malicious links by sending you to “about:blank#blocked”.
1: How Do I Recover My Facebook Password? – Last year’s number one is this year’s number one. As I said last year: for years, my peers joked that my primary function at Ask Leo! was to help people with lost Hotmail passwords. Clearly, that torch has been passed on to Facebook.
2020’s Most Commented-on Articles
I find this a fascinating view of exactly what gets people talking, and/or pushes their buttons.
10: I Have Two Facebook Accounts, How Do I Delete Just One of Them? – More specifically, people believe that their single email address is used for more than one account. Facebook doesn’t work that way.
9: What Laptop Would You Buy for $1500? My Choice, and My Recommendation for You – Not surprisingly there’s no shortage of opinions when it comes to what to purchase.
8: What Security Software Do You Recommend? Basic Protection in Four Steps – Another place where people have many opinions. One of my most important articles.
7: Should I Use FAT32 or NTFS on a Flash Drive? The Differences, and a Third Alternative – Somewhat surprising this was on people’s radar. There were many additional questions and thoughts.
6: What Do I Do About Adobe Flash End of Life in 2020? – That this article only existed in the last two weeks of the year gives you an idea of how many people have concerns as the end draws near.
5: How Long Should a Password Be? – The answer keeps slowly changing over the years. Many folks comment with the technique that they use to keep password secure.
4: Edge Redeemed – Lots of feedback on whether the “new” Chromium-based Edge is any good. My take, of course, is that it is. Some disagree.
3: Is a Microsoft Office Subscription Worth It? – My “heck yes!” was met with some “hell no!” responses. Some folks would rather pay more, once, than subscribe annually.
2: Why a Chromebook? (And Why I Purchased Two for the Important People in My Life) – Lots of feedback on this one. Expect an interesting update in the new year.
1: How To Keep Using Windows 7 Safely After Support Ends – That this is the most commented on article this year is really no surprise. Windows 10 remains controversial enough, and Windows 7 users are passionate enough, that this topic will be with us for some time to come.
2020’s most viewed videos
I ended up investing more heavily in YouTube this year, and the stats of what’s most popular are also quite interesting.
10: Why UEFI? – The difference between BIOS and UEFI continues to confuse.
9: Can I Move My Old Computer’s Hard Drive to My New Computer to Transfer Data? My Recommended Approach – The #7 most popular article has the #9 most popular video.
8: What Is about:blank, and How Do I Get Rid of It? – The #2 most popular article shows up as the #8 most popular video.
7: Do I Need These Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributables? – This has always been a popular topic, and apparently something YouTubers are searching for often.
6: Taskbar Missing – This is actually a very old video that continues to apply and do well as people struggle with taskbars ending up where they’re not supposed to. Very much related to popular article #5.
5: How Do I Recover My Facebook Password? – Lost passwords remain popular, and as I mentioned above, Facebook is the most common.
4: Changing the Windows 7 Login Background – I honestly don’t understand this one. But, clearly, people care.
3: I Have Two Facebook Accounts, How Do I Delete Just One of Them? – The companion video to the article that got the 10th most number of comments this year. Topical and perhaps controversial.
2: How Do I Recover My Gmail Account Without My Recovery Email or Phone? – Besides being a very common problem for people, this also gets an inordinate number of “thumbs down” on YouTube because people simply don’t like the reality of my answer.
1: Free Microsoft Office in Windows 10 — Quick, Easy, Compatible, and Free! – Free always seems popular. This one goes 50/50 on the like/dislike scale. Some people truly appreciate that the online version is as compatible, and free as it is. Others are looking for a free installable version, which doesn’t exist (legally).
2020 Observations
While 2020 elsewhere was — well, it was what it was — here on Ask Leo! it actually seems a return to a normal, broad mix of problems with Windows, problems with accounts, and an assortment of other things. Where prior years had strong themes (like Windows 10), there weren’t really and huge issues that towered above the rest, at least when it came to articles, videos, and interaction.
As always, let’s hope that 2021 is better in all possible ways.
This post was written by Leo Notenboom and was first posted to AskLeo.com
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