The estimated reading time for this post is 7 minutes
In case you missed it, Monday’s article was the 1000th post published at The Wonder of Tech. You probably haven’t read all 1000 of them, but I hope you’ve read at least 999 of them…
This site covers a wide range of personal technology including websites, apps, social media, phones, ereaders, gadgets and other tech that is useful or fun for your daily life.
No need to go back and read all of them to see what you might have missed (unless you really want to). These 10 articles are the ones that you should read to get caught up with helpful tech.
I chose these articles based on how helpful the topics are for readers. These articles contain information you should know to make the most of tech in your life. They also answer questions Wonder of Tech readers ask most often.
Security
Keeping your accounts safe from hacking is vital and by taking a few steps you can make your accounts much more secure. These articles show you how to secure your accounts against possible hackers.
How to Use 2-Step Verification for an Extra Layer of Password Protection
If you haven’t done it yet, be sure to secure your accounts with 2-step verification. With this enabled, your accounts will require an extra step to log in. Anyone who tries to log into your account on an unauthorized device will be asked for a code.
This code can be sent to you via text message, and/or you can generate a list of trusted codes to use when your phone isn’t available.
The article How to Use 2-Step Verification for an Extra Layer of Password Protection tells you how to set this up and lists companies such as Google, Facebook that offer two-step verification. The article also includes helpful links to set up two-step verification for your accounts.
How to Create a Strong Password and Why You Should Do This Now
Are you still using “password” as your password? How about “123456”?
If so, you’re not alone. According to a study by Keeper Security, 17% of passwords analyzed in 2016 were “123456”.
These passwords are easy to remember and even easier to hack.
Don’t make it easy for hackers to break into your accounts. Create strong passwords to provide extra protection and reduce your chances of being hacked.
Check out How to Create a Strong Password and Why You Should Do This Now before you change your passwords to make them stronger.
Also see, Forbes These Are The Most Hack-able Passwords Out There — Is Yours One Of Them?
How Free Public Wi-Fi May Cost You Dearly
Have you been using public Wi-Fi? Do you know whether a Wi-Fi network is secure?
Using public Wi-Fi may give hacker access to your accounts, passwords, banking information and more.
Find out How Free Public Wi-Fi May Cost You Dearly and learn how to know whether a Wi-Fi network is secure.
Smartphone Tips
These tips will help you make the most of your smartphone.
Need Internet? How to Turn Your Phone into a Wi-Fi Hotspot
Whether you’re having a power outage, away from Wi-Fi, or unsure about the security of a public Wi-Fi network, you may need a secure Wi-Fi hotspot. The good news is that you may already have one in your pocket or purse.
Check out Need Internet? How to Turn Your Phone into a Wi-Fi Hotspot to learn about using your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Want Better Sleep? Blue Light Filters Can Help!
The more we use our phones, the more they can affect our sleep patterns. If you use your phone at night, find out how blue light filters can help.
Many phones now, including the iPhone, have blue light filters to help you sleep better. You can set these filters to go on automatically at night and turn off in the morning.
See, Want Better Sleep? Blue Light Filters Can Help!
I received a lot of feedback from Wonder of Tech readers about what a difference this article made for their sleep at night.
iPhone Tips
iPhone articles are very popular at The Wonder of Tech with tips to help you use your iPhone more effectively. These articles show you a few easy steps you can take to make your iPhone work better for you.
How to Find Your iPhone Even After the Battery Dies
Many people know about Find My iPhone that helps you locate your iPhone when it’s lost. (If you don’t know about it, check out Find My iPhone – The Very First App You Should Get)
But most people don’t know that you can use Find My iPhone to find your phone even after the battery has died. I often hear from readers who lost their iPhones but gave up hope of finding it because they figured the battery had died.
You can use Find My iPhone even after the battery on your phone is dead, if you change your iPhone’s settings to allow this feature.
How to Find Your iPhone Even After the Battery Dies explains how to do this.
Do Not Disturb – The iPhone Feature You Should Be Using
Have you ever been woken in the middle of the night by a wrong number? Or you put your phone in silent mode all night then forget to turn it off the next morning and miss and important call? Or maybe you don’t turn down the volume at night because you don’t want to be unavailable in case of an emergency?
Do Not Disturb on the iPhone solves all of these problems. You can schedule your phone to turn on Do Not Disturb to be silent every night, and schedule it to turn off in the morning.
Do Not Disturb – The iPhone Feature You Should Be Using explains how to use Do Not Disturb and also how to set it so important calls can ring on your phone even if the feature is turned on.
Other Tech Topics
These articles answer tech questions I get often and solve tech issues you may have.
How to Read a Kindle Book Without a Kindle
People often think you need a Kindle ereader to read a Kindle book. They may wonder what it’s like to read an ebook, but don’t want to invest in getting an ereader.
The good news is that you don’t need a Kindle to read a Kindle book. You can read Kindle books on a smartphone or tablet using the Kindle app. You can also read Kindle books on your computer using the Kindle Cloud Reader.
This article explains: How to Read a Kindle Book Without a Kindle.
With all of the free Kindle books available from Amazon, you may want to download the app and some books handy on your mobile device.
Zamzar – Free File Conversion Made Easy!
I often get asked for recommendations for software to convert file formats. Maybe you have a Word document that you want to convert to a PDF file. Or maybe you have a photo file you need convert to a different format.
You don’t need to download software or purchase a subscription to convert files. Zamzar is a website that offers a free file conversion service that converts files to and from a wide range of formats. You don’t even need to sign up for an account to use Zamzar.
Check out Zamzar – Free File Conversion Made Easy! to learn how to convert files for free.
How to Fix Your Frustrating Facebook Feed (Without Unfriending Anyone)
Many people express frustration with Facebook and what their friends post. They don’t want to see some posts and the posts they do want to see get lost in their News Feed.
Unfriending people often isn’t an option so people may stay away from Facebook. Instead, they could take a few minutes to set their News Feed preferences to see more of what they want and less of what they don’t.
My 1000th article on Monday shows how you can take control of your Facebook Feed:
How to Fix Your Frustrating Facebook Feed (Without Unfriending Anyone)
Infographic
This infographic shows a list of the 10 Must Read articles at The Wonder of Tech:
Your Thoughts
Have you read all 1000 articles at The Wonder of Tech? How about these 10? Are there any must-read Wonder of Tech articles you would add to this list?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Voice of America Learning English
Want to learn English while reading about tech? Check out my weekly personal technology column at Voice of America Learning English. This week’s article: How to Fix Your Facebook News Feed.
Hi Carolyn, congrats on your 1’000th post, this is an awesome achievement! You are my favourite WOMAN OF TECH and I am eternally grateful for all the important information and advice you generously hand to us on a regular basis.
Wow, thank you, Barbara. I feel very blessed to be able to share my passion for tech with others via The Wonder of Tech. You’ve been with me since the beginning and I truly appreciate all of your support.
Wow Carolyn…1000 huh? Congrats. I have read most of your articles from my earlier blogging days, then lost a few, now back actively following you.
Keep those good articles coming, I am sure I can find anything tech-related on your website.
Thank you, Praveen. I appreciate your kind words and your support over the years, including what may have been my first guest post: How to Shop Online With Added Security.
I’m so delighted you’re back blogging, Praveen! I look forward to celebrating your milestones too!
Ah…I do remember that guest post of mine. It got some pretty good response.
I am far away from reaching milestones yet on my blog, I do hope I keep up the pace as you do with your articles.
Thanks for the reply.
Praveen, you coming back to blogging is a milestone of its own!
Well I’m kinda new here and I think you did a wonderful job creating a round up post so that I could read all the best post here.
And congrats for 1000th post, I must say it really needs lot of efforts to post articles consistently.
Hi James, Thank you very much for your warm wishes. Yes, writing 1000 articles for The Wonder of Tech has been a lot of work. But I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to share my passion for tech with others and inform readers about tech that can help them in their daily lives.
My success comes when I hear from someone that something I wrote helped them.
Hello Carolyn,
First of all congratulation on your 1000th post, that is amazing.
I’m new to the blogging world, I’ve just created my first blog three months ago.
Your blog seems incredible, I will take some time this week and read a couple of articles. I can learn from your blog and will bookmark your blog for sure.
Oh and great job on this article!
Hi Giovanni, Thank you very much for your kind words. That’s great you just started a blog. Keep at it and you too can reach 1000 posts someday!
Will do I’m working very hard on my blog. I became a father recently and managing real life and work time is a challenge, but I won’t stop that’s for sure.
Congratulations on becoming a father, Giovanni! You’re right, both blogging and fatherhood are time-demanding. I hope you have wonderful fun with both!