What’s the Easiest Way to Back Up Data?
Over the Internet—since that approach gives you both a constant, background backup and physical separation.

The easiest Internet backup service I know of is MozyHome (mozy.com/home). Once you set it up, it quietly backs up your files in the background as you work. The first, full backup can take days (you didn’t ask me for the fastest way to back up data, did you?), but you’ll barely notice it after that. Unlimited backup (for one PC) costs just $5 a month.

Should I Scan From a Print or From the Negative?
In theory, you should use the negative. It’s the best version of the picture.

In reality, however, not all scanners support transparencies (negatives and slides). And some that do—my Epson 2480, for instance—don’t produce a satisfactory image that way.

Also, if you’re scanning only a few shots, rather than an entire roll, you’ll find it easier to identify the ones you want from prints than from negatives.

If you do scan from negatives, use a resolution of 2000 dots per inch or greater. A negative contains more information than a print does, but packs the information into a much smaller space.

What Is the Best Way to Create Strong Passwords?
No encryption is secure if the password you use is easy to guess, and these days any word in the dictionary falls into that category—as do your kids’ names.

So use a long string of seemingly random letters and numbers. Make up an easy-to-remember but impossible-to-figure-out formula using family names, birthdays, and memorable words. For instance, you might use your kids’ name spelled backward, with every third letter capitalized, followed by your birthday squared— except that a formula printed in PC World might not be safe either. Come up with your own formula.

For more on the subject, read our forum topic, “How to Create a Strong Password” (find.pcworld.com/59719).

You shouldn’t depend on a single password everywhere you go. Use different ones for various Web sites and bank accounts. Write the passwords—or better yet, the formulas for coding them—on a business card, and carry it in your wallet in case you forget.

Or download Password Safe, a free, open-source password manager, from find. pcworld.com/59831. Then you’ll need to remember only the password for Password Safe itself.

How Can I Get My Wi-Fi Signal to the Far End of My House?
I have plenty of potential solutions to this problem, but no guarantees.

First, try moving the router. The higher you put it, the better. Keep it away from wireless phones, microwave ovens, washers, dryers, and large CD collections.

If that approach doesn’t help, consider buying one of the following items:

A large external antenna. These are very easy to set up and put to work.

A range booster. These tend to be a pain to set up. You have to plug them directly into a PC so you can optimize all of those pesky Wi-Fi settings, and then you have to find a good location for them on the outskirts of your router’s range and near an AC outlet.

An 802.11n router. Installing one solved my range problem—and without a single 802.11n-equipped PC in the house.

Do I Need a 64-Bit PC—And If So, Why?
No, you don’t. Not yet, anyway. And probably not for a long time.

A 64-bit CPU has two strengths: It can run 64-bit apps, and it can handle more than 4GB of RAM. Of course, a 64-bit system won’t run unless you have a 64-bit operating system (like Vista 64-bit).

In the indefinite future 64-bit applications will probably run faster than their 32-bit counterparts, at least for CPU-heavy jobs like video editing. But as yet almost no 64-bit Windows apps exist. Luckily, the 64-bit versions of XP and Vista support 32-bit programs, too.

More RAM improves performance, but we’re not yet at a point where we need more than 4GB. Undoubtedly, you will eventually need more, but you’ll want a whole new computer by then.

Finally, Vista 64-bit has even more compatibility problems than Vista 32-bit has, starting with the fact that it won’t run 16-bit Windows or DOS programs. And since it comes with a 64-bit version of Windows Explorer, standard Explorer extensions won’t work.

Wait a few years. Eventually, 64-bit will become an intelligent choice.

Why Should I Buy a Desktop Instead of Laptop?
If you don’t need a laptop’s portability, a number of factors favor a desktop.

Better price-to-power ratio: You can buy a cheap laptop, and you can buy a cheap desktop, but a cheap desktop has the power of an expensive laptop.

Cheaper ownership costs: Because they are made from off-the-shelf components, desktops are cheaper to upgrade and to repair. They’re less likely to need repairs, too. No one ever drove away after putting a desktop PC on the roof of their car and forgetting it was there.

Less likely to be stolen: Desktops don’t disappear during a bathroom break in a café or a nap at the airport.

Ergonomically friendlier: You can’t have good posture if your keyboard and your monitor are just inches apart, although you can get around this problem by plugging a full keyboard and a mouse into your laptop whenever practical.

On the other hand, laptops use less electricity, and you can take them places.

How Can I Get My PC to Boot at a Scheduled Time?
If you can arrange for your computer to boot at a scheduled time, you can shut it down at the end of the workday and then come back to a freshly booted PC the next morning—or even to a freshly booted PC that has just completed a virus scan.

Your PC’s setup program may let you schedule a boot. To find out, start your computer and watch the screen. Before Windows loads, a message will tell you which key to press to enter Setup. Once the program has loaded, search its menus for an appropriately named option.

If the option isn’t there, consider using Windows’ Scheduled Tasks tool to establish a regular wake-up call for your system. This call will rouse your PC from hibernation or standby mode (called sleep in Vista), but not if the machine is fully shut down.

You’ll find the Task Scheduler inside the Start menu’s System Tools submenu; to get there, select All Programs•Accessories•System Tools. Creating a new task is easy and obvious.

To make any task a wake-up task, check the Wake the computer to run this task option. In XP, that option resides in the Settings tab of the task’s Properties dialog box. In Vista, it’s on the Conditions tab. Scheduled Tasks won’t work in XP unless you have a log-on password.

What Features Are Most Impor-tant in a Digital Camera?
Assuming that you aren’t a professional photographer, consider these essentials:

Resolution: More is better, but don’t get hung up on it. A 4-megapixel picture makes great prints, though it doesn’t leave much flexibility for producing outstanding prints after cropping.

Optical Zoom: Digital zoom is essentially a fancy term for “no zoom.”

Short lag time: You see the perfect shot and press the button; 2 seconds later, your subject has left the frame and your camera clicks. The shorter the lag time, the less often this will happen.

SD Card slot: Since they’re the industry standard, SD Cards are inexpensive and widely available, and you won’t have trouble finding readers for them.

Right size: Does it fit comfortably in your hand and in your pocket? Are the dials large enough that you can set them easily? Is the LCD large enough?

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Part 3