We at How-To Geek appreciate all our readers and hope you have learned new and interesting things from our many articles. We’ve collected the top 25 articles published on How-To Geek in 2012.

How To Fix Shockwave Flash Crashes in Google Chrome

If your copy of Google Chrome has taken on a sudden and inexplicable hatred for Shockwave Flash, we’re here to help. Read on as we show you how to tame Chrome and get it to play nice with Flash.

10 Amazing Uses for Wolfram Alpha

You may have heard of Wolfram Alpha, which is a “computational knowledge engine.” That makes it sound a bit scary, but it’s a great tool once you can wrap your head around it.

How to Root Your Android Device & Why You Might Want To

You’ve probably heard of people “rooting” their Android phones. If you’ve ever wondered how to do that yourself – or wondered why people would bother – you’re in luck. You can root your Android in just a few minutes.

How to Sync Your iPod With Another PC Without Losing Your Music

As all iPod owners might know, it isn’t possible to sync your iPod with more than one computer. But what if this computer (with which you sync the iPod) dies? All the content on your iPod is at stake, because syncing it with another computer will erase everything. Ah, poor lonely iPod. Fortunately, there’s a way out. So keep reading to see how you can sync your iPod with a new computer without the risk of losing data.

How To Boot Into Safe Mode On Windows 8 (The Easy Way)

Once of the most common steps when troubleshooting a PC is to boot into safe mode. For a long time this has been achieved by pressing the F8 key, this all changes with Windows 8 and its Automatic Repair mode. But what if we want Safe Mode?

How to Install Android Apps to the SD Card by Default & Move Almost Any App to the SD Card

Android apps install to the internal storage by default, but you can also set the SD card as your default install location. This trick allows you to move almost any app to the SD card – no root access required.

Browser Slow? How to Make Google Chrome Fast Again

Have you noticed your usually speedy Google Chrome browser slowing down, or even crashing on you? Unnecessary plugins, extensions, and even browsing data can slow your browser down to a crawl, or make it crash. Here’s how to fix it.

How to Create a Password Protected Folder without any Extra Software

It’s important to note that this will not actually conceal your data from somebody that knows what they are doing.

Build a $35 Media Center with Raspbmc and Raspberry Pi

If you’ve been holding off on setting up a media center computer because they’re loud, expensive, don’t fit in your media rack, or all of the above, read on to see how you can build a $35 XBMC-based media center with plug-and-play ease.

How to Batch Rename Files in Windows: 4 Ways to Rename Multiple Files

Windows comes with a variety of ways to rename multiples files at once from Windows Explorer, the Command Prompt, or PowerShell. Whether you’re looking for an easy-to-use graphical interface or a powerful command-line method, you’ll find it here.

How to Set a Custom Logon Screen Background on Windows 7

Windows 7 makes it possible to change the welcome screen that appears when you start your computer without any third-party software, but this setting is well hidden. You can set any image you like as your background.

How to Connect Your Android to Your PC’s Internet Connection Over USB

People often “tether” their computers to their smartphones, sending their computer’s network traffic over the device’s cellular data connection. “Reverse tethering” is the opposite – tethering your Android smartphone or tablet to your PC to use your PC’s Internet connection.

How to Install Flash on the Nexus 7 and Other Jelly Bean Devices

Flash may not be important in the future – but a lot of websites want it today. If you’re not ready to give up Flash just yet, you can install Flash on your Nexus 7, even if Adobe doesn’t approve.

47 Keyboard Shortcuts That Work in All Web Browsers

Each major web browser shares a large number of keyboard shortcuts in common. Whether you’re using Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, or Opera – these keyboard shortcuts will work in your browser.

How to Sync Your Media Across Your Entire House with XBMC

XBMC is an awesome media center solution but when you’re using it all over your house your library updates and watched-media lists get out of sync. Read on as we show how to keep all your media centers on the same page.

Sync Your iOS Device with a New Computer Without Losing Data

Syncing your existing iOS device with a new computer can be a daunting task, especially when you don’t want to lose any data that’s already on the device. Making the new computer accept your iOS device can be difficult, but certainly not impossible. So let’s go ahead and see how you can sync your existing iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad with a new computer, without losing any existing content on the device.

The Best Free Portable Apps for Your Flash Drive Toolkit

Large capacity, small-sized, affordable USB flash drives provide us with the ability to easily carry around gigs of data in our pockets. Why not take our favorite programs with us as well so we can work on any computer?

How to Get the Classic Start Menu Back in Windows 8

Both the Start button and classic Start menu are gone in Windows 8. If you don’t like the full-screen, Metro-style “Start screen,” there are a few ways to get a classic-style Start menu back.

How to Use an Xbox 360 Controller On Your Windows PC

The keyboard and mouse might be a good fit for many native computer games, but it feels downright weird to play emulated games that way. Whether you want to play Super Mario with a proper gamepad or try out a new PC title like Diablo III in comfort, we’ve got you covered.

3 Simple Ways to Improve Low Resolution Images (and Typography)

At How-To Geek, we’ve written extensively about how it’s impossible to “enhance” images and reclaim detail that is lost or isn’t there to begin with. Are we changing our tune? Nope, there’s nothing magical about these tips, except for the improved results you’ll get when you improve your own low resolution images. Keep reading and give it a shot!

How To Backup Your Text Messages to Your Gmail Account

Backing up your text messages from your Android phone to your Gmail account is so simple there’s no reason to not back them up and make them search-friendly in the process. Read on to see how you can turn your Gmail account into an SMS vault.

How to Use Wireshark to Capture, Filter and Inspect Packets

Wireshark, a network analysis tool formerly known as Ethereal, captures packets in real time and display them in human-readable format. Wireshark includes filters, color-coding and other features that let you dig deep into network traffic and inspect individual packets.

Last year Google added the ability to plot graphs, which allows you to plot mathematical functions right on the Google search result page. Here’s how to make the Batman logo.

How-To Decrypt DVDs with HandBrake (So You Can Rip Them)

Ripping DVDs is a great way to keep a backup and stream videos over your network. The process typically takes 2-3 different programs to accomplish the task. Here’s how you can skip a step and decrypt DVDs using HandBrake.

How to Use CCleaner Like a Pro: 9 Tips & Tricks

There’s more to CCleaner than clicking a single button. This popular application for wiping temporary files and clearing private data hides a variety of features, from fine-grained options for tweaking the cleaning process to full drive-wiping tools.

Happy New Year!