Last Week’s 10 Biggest Posts

We discussed BitTorrent safety, why clever passwords aren’t so clever anymore, Kim Williams’ piracy speech and the health benefits of manscaping. Kick off your Monday by checking out the 10 most popular posts from Lifehacker Australia last week.

1. Ask LH: How Do I Torrent Safely Now That Demonoid Is Down?
   Dear Lifehacker, My favourite private BitTorrent tracker, Demonoid, has apparently gone down for good. I was so dependent on it for its quality, security from viruses and protection from prying eyes. Where can I torrent safely now that Demonoid is gone?
2. Your Clever Password Tricks Aren’t Protecting You From Today’s Hackers
   Security breaches happen so often nowadays, chances are you’re sick of hearing about them and all the ways you should beef up your accounts. Even if you feel you’ve heard it all already, today’s password-cracking tools are more advanced and cut through the clever password tricks many of us use. Here’s what has changed and what you should do about it.
3. Ask LH: Can I Set Up Long Range Wi-Fi?
   Dear Lifehacker, I’ve read your article on Wi-Fi boosting and was wondering if you can touch on ‘long range Wi-Fi? I have a business about 2km away from my rental house. Because I’m at work for most of the time, I don’t see it as logical to pay for an additional plan; which is why I’d like to connect to my business network instead. One big problem I have is that even though my house is just 2km away, there are other tall buildings in front of it (not a clear line of sight). Any suggestions?
4. What Manscaping Does For Your Health
   Ahem. If you want to trim or remove your pubic hair, that’s up to you. There are even some potential health benefits — but there are also risks.
5. Coconut Water Is Not That Good For You
   Coconut water is becoming increasingly visible as an alternative to sports drinks. However, an analysis by CHOICE suggests that the claimed benefits for coconut water are greatly exaggerated.
6. Memo To Kim Williams: No-One Needs To Pay For BitTorrent Software
   News Limited CEO Kim Williams gave a speech to the Australian International Movie Convention this week discussing the rising prevalence of piracy online. I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the argument that blithely downloading content through BitTorrent is a hugely damaging activity for content creators, but there’s a crucial element of Williams’ speech that’s deeply deceptive and fundamentally ignorant.
7. McDonald’s Serious Lamb Burger Will Fatten You Even Faster Than A Big Mac
   Today McDonald’s starts selling its first ever lamb burger, the creatively-titled Serious Lamb Burger. I’m as keen on the notion of tomato, beetroot, aioli, ketchup, egg and onion as the next burger addict, but be warned: this is quite the kilojoule-packed meal.
8. How Do You Store Your Nespresso Capsules?
   We know lots of Lifehacker readers use the Nespresso pod coffee maker (or the cheaper options like the ALDI clone). If you’re a coffee capsule user, you’ll soon run into the question: how are you going to store your pods?
9. Use The FORD Technique To Make Small Talk A Little Easier
   Starting a conversation with a complete stranger can be a little intimidating, and sometimes you don’t know what to say. Use the FORD technique the next time you meet someone to avoid those awkward silences.
10. Five Best VPN Service Providers
    Whether you’re killing time at a cafe or travelling for work, keeping your data out of the wrong hands will usually necessitate a virtual private network (VPN). Most VPN service providers encrypt your online traffic in the same way, but they’re not all created equal. Here are five VPN service providers that stand out for their reliability, features, security and affordability.