2017 has been the best year of PCsteps.com so far, with 1,8 million unique users from around the world visiting our website and reading 2,8 million pages. This is also the year we have increased our editorial team, with some of the best writers of PCsteps.gr making the transition to our international website. Here are the 17 posts of 2017 that piqued your interest the most, and received the lion's share of the pageviews.
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Number 17: How To Gain Administrator Access in Windows without a Password
Pageviews: 58,000
In theory, if we don't know the administrator password for a Windows system, we should be locked out for good. However, there is an exceedingly easy, less-than-10-minute way, to gain administrative rights in Windows, despite the password and its strength.
Of course, we expect you to follow this guide only on devices you own, or if you have the explicit permission of the owner. Using this method to break into someone's computer without their knowledge is frowned upon, to say the least. Not to mention illegal.
How To Gain Administrator Access in Windows without a Password
Number 16: How to Make GIMP Look and Work like Photoshop
Pageviews: 61,000
Free and open source, GIMP is probably the best alternative to Adobe Photoshop for professional use. However, both GIMS interface and controls - including keyboard shortcuts - are deliberately different than Photoshop's.
This makes the transition difficult, especially for professionals that have been using Photoshop for years. In this guide, we attempt to make GIMS as close to Photoshop as humanly possible.
Number 15: Chrome Canary vs Chrome and the Chrome Channels
Pageviews: 63,000
Most of us know and use the plain, stable Chrome. However, we can also download several different versions, ranging from the Beta and Dev to Canary and the Continuous Builds. These versions incorporate new features, but can also have bugs and instabilities.
Chrome Canary vs Chrome and the Chrome Channels
Number 14: Basic Linux Commands for Linux Terminal Beginners
Pageviews: 63,000
Beginner users of any OS usually dread the use of the command line, seeing it as a difficult and obsolete procedure. However, especially in Linux, the terminal can be an extremely useful and powerful tool at our disposal.
In this guide, we have gathered the essential Linux Terminal commands, that will help any beginner build a steady foundation and unlock a powerful way to control the OS.
Number 13: Install Ubuntu Linux 17.04 Alongside Windows, or By Itself
Pageviews: 88,000
Ubuntu Linux is one of the most popular distributions and an excellent way to get to know Linux. In this guide, we go step by step through the process of installing Ubuntu, 17.04, either in a dual-boot configuration with Windows or replacing Windows altogether.
Ubuntu 17.04 also happens to be the last Ubuntu version that comes with Unity. Since 17.10, Gnome is the default desktop environment.
Number 12: Download Movies for Free with Torrent, Legally
Pageviews: 91,000
Torrents are the best way to transfer a large volume of files. The BitTorrent protocol might have a bit of a bad rap, with all this "piracy" and "copyright infringement" stuff, but not everything transferred through torrent is illegal.
In this guide, we examine how we can use torrent files and a torrent client to download public domain movies, which are 100% legal to download and share.
Number 11: Find the Windows Product Key in Any Version of Windows
Pageviews: 91,000
When we buy a Windows license, even as part of a PC with preinstalled Windows, what we actually buy is the 25 digit product key. So, if we want to reinstall Windows or transfer it to a new PC, we need to know that product key.
In this guide, we saw how to find the Windows product key either on a functional Windows installation or on a system where Windows won't boot.
Number 10: How To Create a Windows Virtual Machine in Linux and Windows
Pageviews: 93,000
A virtual machine allows us to have a complete virtual PC running in parallel with our main operating system, providing compatibility both for hardware and software applications.
In this guide, we go through a complete checklist on whether our system can handle a virtual machine, to describing the creation of a Windows VM both on Virtualbox and the free VMware Workstation Player.
How To Create a Windows Virtual Machine in Linux and Windows
Number 09: Run Command: A Complete List for Windows 7, 8.1, and 10
Pageviews: 96,000
The Run command box is an essential shortcut for Windows power users, to quickly open a multitude of windows and apps.
In this guide, we have created a list of 133 commands, tried and tested on all the latest Windows editions, since Windows 7.
Number 08: How To Install VirtualBox in Linux Mint / Ubuntu Linux
Pageviews: 104,000
Virtualbox is one of the most popular applications to create virtual machines. As an added bonus, it is available on pretty much every major platform under the sun, including Linux.
In this guide, we go through all the necessary steps for a successful installation of VirtualBox in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.
Number 07: Windows 8.1 Product Key: How to Get it from the BIOS
Pageviews: 148,000
In the good old days of Windows 7, when we got a laptop with the OS preinstalled, it would have a sticker underneath with the Windows product key. Since Windows 8.1, though, these stickers are gone, and the product key is embedded in the BIOS instead.
While this is convenient when installing the OS, since the installation reads the product key straight from the BIOS, if we want to transfer Windows to another PC, we need to use a third-party application to find the product key.
Number 06: How To Disable Comments on a Facebook Page, with a Trick
Pageviews: 198,000
Most Facebook page administrators welcome comments from their fans. However, for anyone wanting to disable this functionality, there is as of yet no official solution from Facebook.
Thankfully, there is a clever way to take advantage the custom swear filtering, to disable virtually any comment on our Facebook page, if we wish so.
Number 05: How To Create a Windows Installation Disc or Windows USB
Pageviews: 198,000
Nowadays, downloading a Windows ISO is one of the easiest things in the world. Once the download completes, however, then what?
In this guide, we go through the easiest methods of creating a Windows Installation DVD or USB flash.
Number 04: YouTube to Mp3: The ClipConverter Alternatives with 320Kbps Quality
Pageviews: 202,000
For many of us, YouTube is a great source of free music. Having Mp3 files, though, is definitely more convenient, since we can play them offline on our smartphone, on the car stereo, or with an old-school Mp3 player.
Since ClipConverter.cc has stopped supporting mp3 ripping for YouTube music videos, we have searched the best alternative services for this end. We have also tested the quality, to make sure we are getting true 320Kbps, without fake upsampling.
YouTube to Mp3: The ClipConverter Alternatives with 320Kbps Quality
Number 03: How To Install Windows 8.1 without a Product Key
Pageviews: 221,000
Windows 8 and 8.1 are the only versions of Windows that won't allow us to skip entering the product key during the installation.
There is, however, a simple trick that can add a "skip" option, and allow us to install Windows 8.1 as a free trial.
Number 02: Run a macOS High Sierra Mac OS X Virtual Machine on Windows
Pageviews: 343,000
Mac OS X, now known as macOS, is good looking, fast, and stable, but it only comes with $1000+ Apple hardware. Installing it as Hackintosh is hardly practical, since it also requires specific hardware, and won't work on any PC.
Fortunately, using the free VMware player, we can have a full macOS High Sierra installation inside Windows or Linux, in just a few minutes.
Number 01: Every Way to Download Windows 7 ISOs, Legally and for Free
Pageviews: 1,000,000
Windows 8/8.1 has had a less than stellar reception. Windows 10 didn't win every Win7 user over. For better or for worse, two years before the end of its support from Microsoft, Windows 7 is still extremely popular.
Microsoft used to allow us to download Windows 7 ISOs through their content delivery partner, Digital River. On February 2015, the company decided to take down those links, and offer an ISO download only for retail Windows 7 key owners.
For the rest of us, who have DSP or OEM Windows 7 product keys, we have found all the methods to download Windows 7 as an ISO.
Which was your favorite PCsteps.com post of 2017?
If you enjoyed the best PCsteps.com posts of 2017 or liked one or more posts that we haven't mentioned in this guide, leave us a comment.
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