■ Most popular blog posts in 2012

I started this blog back in January 2007 (6 years and running!). I don't write as much as I used to. It could be writer's block or the enlarged family. Still you people are reading the older stuff I wrote.

The other day I was examining my website's raw access logs with AWStats. (this isn't the easiest tool to use as it requires Perl and some bugfixes but it is industrial strength). Below is a list of the top blog articles for approximately one third of 2012.

rank	title	hits	published
1	xplorer² revives column handlers	837	7 Feb 2010
2	LZW compression source code	689	24 Jan 2010
3	64 bit windows	462	11 Apr 2010
4	OpenSSL/RSA license key generator	431	27 Jun 2010
5	Send emails using CDOSYS	385	25 Mar 2012
6	Windows 7 explorer vs xplorer²	365	7 Jun 2009
7	Amateur anti-hacking guide	343	30 Jul 2011
8	Hack sony W995 phone	301	13 Jun 2010
9	Subfolder size	255	23 Aug 2009
10	Protect your favorite settings	227	13 Apr 2008
11	Email contact form safety	226	28 Nov 2010
12	Default directory association	220	11 Jan 2009
13	Add a DVD drive to your netbook	219	24 May 2009
14	UAC survival guide	215	14 Feb 2010
15	Plain text files and searches	214	25 Mar 2007

Why are these articles popular? Obviously people found these interesting, and most likely google also liked the keywords used, so the URLs rank high in the organic search results. As you can see many are related to programming. The top article shows how many people are missing the old column handlers — which xplorer² revived.