I plan to purchase a new laptop. My uses are primarily Internet searching and email. I don’t play videogames. The salespeople are pushing me to buy a fast processor. Will buying a faster processor improve my slow DSL connection?

Compared to your old computer, any new PC, even one with a midrange modern processor and graphics system, plus more modern network components inside, may well be faster at using the Internet. That’s because things like rendering Web pages will likely speed up, and the computer may be better able to take advantage of whatever DSL speed you have entering your home. But even the fastest processor won’t make your DSL connection itself fundamentally speedier. To achieve that, you’d need to pay for faster service from either your current provider or a competitor.

Will my Quicken finances run on a Mac? And how do I transfer, from a Dell PC, my 2007 Quicken data?

There is a version of Quicken for the Mac, and there is a way to export your data from the Windows version and import it into this Mac version. But, because the two programs are actually very different under the hood, this process can be laborious and too often goes wrong. So, for people switching to the Mac who are devoted to Quicken, I suggest installing Windows on your Mac, and continuing to use the Windows version of Quicken. If you’d rather perform the export instead, you can find the instructions at quicken.intuit.com. Click on “Support,” then on “2007 for Mac,” then search for the keyword “convert.”

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Last week, when you wrote about the ChaCha cellphone search service, you didn’t say how they make money. Are they collecting phone numbers from customers so they can send spam text messages, or sell the numbers to others who will do so?

ChaCha allows you to ask any Web-searchable question, by speaking it or texting it over a mobile phone, and then it sends you the answer via text message. The company charges consumers nothing, but says it is hoping to make money by striking deals with cellphone carriers to incorporate the ChaCha service into their current 411 phone-number look-up services. Also, it hopes to eventually include ads in the text message answers it provides.

In addition to the message that includes the answer, ChaCha sends you a message saying it is working on your request and restating your question, so you can see if it understood you correctly. It also sends an introductory text message to first-time users and occasional tips on how to use the service. Scott Jones, ChaCha’s chief executive, asserts that “we do not spam” and “we never make phone numbers and/or email addresses available to others.” He said the company is updating its privacy policy to make that clearer.

We have DSL service. I use several Web-based applications, one of which is online backup, and my husband is concerned that they degrade his use of the Web, which includes creating Web sites. I contend that that is like saying turning on one light bulb is using too much electricity, that two people on one DSL line aren’t using up too much bandwidth. Who is right?

Every situation differs, depending on exactly which programs you are each using, how you have them set, whether you are using them simultaneously, and how fast your DSL connection is. However, in general, your husband is correct that it is possible for heavy Internet usage on one computer in a home to slow down Internet speeds on another.

This is especially true with something like online backup, because it relies on your DSL account’s upload speed, which is typically far slower than the download speed. If your online backup program is trying to push a bunch of files over a slow upload connection, while he is in another room trying to upload new versions of a Web site over the same narrow upload pipe, it could affect the speeds he gets. You might try coordinating or staggering those online activities that involve heavy uploading. Normal Web surfing or emailing shouldn’t require any such coordination.

I am thinking about purchasing a Dell (DELL) XPS One all-in-one desktop, but I have one question. Does the Dell’s built-in TV tuner require any extra attachments to watch TV right out of the box?

You can watch over-the-air stations and analog basic cable stations right out of the box, without added equipment. However, you may want to connect a small desktop antenna to improve reception, which is what I did when I tested this machine. To use the XPS One with digital or premium cable or satellite stations, you would have to connect it to a cable or satellite receiver, just as most people do with their TV sets. This requires the use of an adapter that comes with the machine.

• You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online for free at the new All Things Digital web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about software firewalls, purchasing a computer with Windows Vista and using the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

An IT director for a local bank told me I didn’t need ZoneAlarm since I was using a router which acted as a hardware firewall. What is your opinion?

Some routers — the boxes that direct Internet traffic on a network — do include hardware-based firewalls that can help protect computers from hackers and other intruders. But I believe that everyone should also use a software firewall like ZoneAlarm, because you can’t be too careful where security is concerned. You should at least turn on the free, built-in firewall that comes with Windows or with the Macintosh.

I was wondering if you know when and where I can purchase a Windows Vista computer?

You can’t — yet. Vista, the new version of Windows coming out this year, won’t be available on new PCs until around October. When it launches, it will be available everywhere Windows PCs are sold. At roughly the same time, you’ll be able to buy Windows Vista software in a box and upgrade existing PCs, if they are beefy enough to handle Vista’s new features.

I am switching from dialup to Verizon DSL next Saturday. Can I continue to use the Firefox browser and Thunderbird email?

Sure. Changing the way the Internet comes into your home shouldn’t change the software you use. Even if Verizon provides you with different software, you can still use your favorites. You may have to change some settings and set up Thunderbird for your new Verizon email address, but the software will work. In the past few years, I have used several different Internet services at my home and used the same software with each.

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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about Internet security fears, red-eye elimination in photos and software availability for Macs.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

Are there any possible security dangers when a DSL modem is left on while the computer is turned off?

No, as long as it’s the only computer connected to the modem. The modem only fetches data from the Internet when a computer program, like a Web browser or email software, requests it to do so. If the computer is off, no such requests can be made, so no data, safe or unsafe, is being received. Similarly, if the computer is on but the modem is off, the computer isn’t connected to the Internet, and can’t receive any data, normal or malicious.

However, I feel compelled to note that, if you allow your Internet usage to be totally ruled by security fears, you may miss out on a lot. One of the great benefits of always-on broadband services like DSL is that your email flows in continuously; upgrades (including security upgrades) can be downloaded automatically, day or night; and you can take advantage of remote backup and file-synchronization services that work in the middle of the night.

I have a new Sony camera and need help editing my photos to eliminate red eye. I have small grandchildren who always have red eyes in my pictures. What software can I use to get rid of it?

Almost every photo software program I have tested has a red-eye elimination feature, and most are adequate. You just have to get the hang of it. If you have a Windows PC, try Google’s free Picasa program, or Adobe Photoshop Elements. On a Mac, you can use the built-in iPhoto software, or the Mac version of Photoshop Elements. You could also use a professional program like Photoshop, though that might be overkill.

I am thinking seriously that my next computer purchase will be an Apple. My question is: How prolific is the software that is written for Macs? I’m thinking of financial software like Quicken, but also the basic Office suite of products.

There are Mac versions of both Quicken and Microsoft Office. The latter can directly read and write to the same file formats as its Windows counterpart; the former cannot. Apple claims there are now thousands of software programs that run on the current Macs. So is there is a decent selection of software for general consumers.

However, there is vastly more software available for Windows, especially in certain categories like games, business software, databases and niche products for specific professions and hobbies. If you are likely to be satisfied with the main types of software — like office programs, Web browsers, email programs and multimedia players — you’ll be fine with the Mac. But if you are interested in any of these other categories, or in generally having the greatest selection, stick with Windows.

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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about finding low-cost DSL service, choosing video-editing software and transferring files from a Windows PC to a Mac.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

Last week, you mentioned that DSL Internet service is available in the U.S. for $15 a month. I can’t find anything nearly that low. Can you elaborate?

Verizon, which is an Internet service provider operating in 28 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, has an entry-level DSL plan for $14.95 a month. According to the Verizon Web site, this plan requires a one-year agreement, but it isn’t a teaser price that lasts for only a few months. You also get the first month free and they throw in the DSL modem. For this price, you get a DSL line that operates at speeds up to 768 kilobits per second for downloads and 128 kilobits per second for uploads. That’s more than 13 times the maximum download speed of a dial-up connection.

More info is at: www22.verizon.com/forhomedsl/channels/dsl/packages/.

I realize that this plan, or any Verizon plan, isn’t available in the other 22 states. And, I realize that, even where it is available, it may not be possible to get it at your house because of the technical limitations of DSL, which works well only within a certain distance from a phone company office. I also know that such service, at any price, is often unavailable in rural areas.

But, for tens of millions of people, this is a very inexpensive way to get broadband. It’s less than America Online charges for dial-up service.

A friend of mine is looking for some video-editing software to be used on a PC running Windows. What software would you recommend for this application?

I haven’t tested this category of software in a while, but any of the leading software packages should do. They include Pinnacle Studio Plus, Adobe Premiere Elements and Roxio Easy Media Creator. The first two are video-editing programs. The last includes a video-editing program, but it is a suite that also handles things like music and photos. Of the two video-only programs, Pinnacle’s is probably best for a novice user. It costs about $90.

I know the Macintosh can handle most common types of files used on Windows computers. But my question is more basic: if I switch to a Mac from Windows, how do I physically transfer my files?

If you buy your new Mac at an Apple store, Apple will do this job, or part of it, free. According to the Apple Web site, you can just bring the two computers to the store, and a “Genius” — Apple’s name for a tech support person in its stores — will move all the files in any folder you choose on your Windows machine onto your new Mac. Presumably, this would include the My Documents folder, which contains most of the data files on most Windows PCs. The “Genius” will also do this for $50 for people who bought their Macs elsewhere. There is some fine print to this deal. For details, see: www.apple.com/switch/howto/genius.html.

There are also numerous ways to do this yourself, depending on the capabilities of your Windows machine. You can copy the files from the old computer onto an external hard disk, or a USB thumb drive. You can burn them onto CDs or DVDs. You can copy them to the hard disk of an iPod, if you haven’t filled it up with music, and if you configure it for use as a disk drive.

Because the Mac can read Windows-formatted disk drives, you should be able to plug any of these devices into your new Mac, or insert the CDs or DVDs, and they should show up on the Mac’s desktop. Then, you can simply copy the files to folders of your choice on the Mac’s hard disk. You can also email files to yourself, or transfer them over a local network.

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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about switching to DSL from dial-up, browser hijacking and whether to wait for Windows Vista.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

We are satisfied users of dial-up Internet access. Our only complaint is the very slow transfer rate of four kilobits per second when we download updates for our security software. Would a 768 kbps DSL line really download these files almost 200 times faster than dial-up? It costs only slightly more than we pay for dial-up.

Most Internet services don’t actually function at the advertised speed, due to network congestion and other factors. So, DSL isn’t going to operate at 768 kbps. But it will probably run at 600 kbps or more, which is still vastly faster than dial-up. And, since file transfers tend to be the speediest online activity on DSL or cable modem services, you should see a dramatic reduction in the time it takes to update your security software. With DSL now starting at around $15 a month, the same or less than dial-up typically costs, I can’t see any reason why anyone who uses the Internet regularly should stick with dial-up access.

When I click on my browser in Windows XP, I get a page saying spyware is detected, and my computer is under the control of a remote computer. This screen tells me that I can solve this issue by downloading various security programs I’ve never heard of. I’ve tried to get rid of this page by deleting temporary files, cookies, files, programs — anything else I can think of — but it keeps appearing. Neither Norton anti-virus nor Spybot gets rid of it.

Sounds like you have a nasty case of browser hijacking, a type of spyware that seizes control of a browser to try and peddle dubious products that may themselves install more spyware, even though they are posing as security software. The people who invade computers and browsers in this manner deserve to be locked up.

You can’t get rid of pernicious spyware like this by madly deleting files or changing browser settings. Only a strong anti-spyware program can kill it and prevent it from reappearing. But sometimes you have to try multiple anti-spyware programs to get the job done. You’ve already tried one good one, Spybot, which failed. I suggest you go to Webroot.com and download my favorite anti-spyware program, Spy Sweeper. If that doesn’t work, try Ad-Aware or Counterspy.

I am considering buying a PC with the Windows Media Center operating system. But I am wondering if Media Center will be updated when the new Windows Vista comes out. Should I buy now or wait?

The Media Center flavor of Windows is scheduled to be retired in the fall of 2006, when the new Windows Vista is set to be released. Instead, the key functions of Media Center — including the across-the-room remote control of music, TV, photos and videos — will be folded into some versions of Vista.

If you buy now, and your new machine is hefty enough to run Vista, you should be able to upgrade to the appropriate version of Vista and retain all your Media Center functionality, with some improvements. But you’ll have to pay for the new software.

If you wait 10 months or so, you can buy a new PC pre-loaded with a version of Vista that includes these functions. But you’ll have lost nearly a year of use of the very good Media Center functionality available today. My advice is: If you really need a new PC now, and really want the Media Center functionality now, buy now, and plan to upgrade to Vista later. But, just be sure you get hardware capable of running Vista. For my column on Vista-capable hardware, see: ptech.wsj.com/guide-pc.html.

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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about getting viruses from file-swapping services, other options beyond dial-up Internet access, and buying a Mac desktop computer.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

Are there problems with using file-swapping sites like Kazaa, as long as you have a good antivirus protection program? I don’t mind paying for individual songs, but other sites like iTunes or Rhapsody often don’t have the songs I want.

Yes, there are problems. The first are the ethical and legal issues arising from obtaining somebody else’s copyrighted intellectual property without paying for it, from a person who isn’t licensed or authorized to distribute it. The other sites you mention, iTunes and Rhapsody, are legally licensed to distribute music. Kazaa and its ilk aren’t, nor are the people who make music available through them. Your argument is like rationalizing buying stolen TVs because your local Best Buy didn’t have the model you wanted.

If your conscience can get past that, there are practical issues. These sites are major transmitters not only of viruses, but of spyware, which your antivirus program can’t stop. Even if your PC has a full, up-to-date security suite, with antispyware software, you are asking for trouble by downloading from “file swapping” sites. Many of the people I hear from who have had to take drastic, costly steps to save heavily infected PCs attribute their problems to the fact that their kids were frequenting file-sharing sites.

I currently have dial-up access to the Internet, which is slow. I pay a total of $35-$40 a month for the Internet service itself, plus a dedicated phone line. I see ads that claim I can give up this dial-up service and the extra phone line and somehow get higher-speed Internet access for less. Is this true? I do not have a cellphone or wireless service into my house, though I do have cable TV.

You can definitely save a lot of money on your Internet service, and drastically increase speed at the same time. And you don’t need cellphone or wireless service at all. They are irrelevant. Your choices are DSL from your phone company, or cable-modem service from your cable TV provider. Either will give you a high-speed broadband connection that is much, much faster than your current dial-up service — without tying up your phone line. You can go down to a single phone line for making voice calls.

DSL tends to be a lot cheaper, so I recommend DSL if you want to save money. And, while the low-priced DSL service is a lot slower than a cable modem, it is much cheaper and still is roughly 15 times as fast as your current connection.

Verizon offers a low-end DSL service for $14.95 a month, with the first month free. It’s much faster than what you have now, and you wouldn’t need the second phone line. Other companies may have similar offers. But you should go to your phone company’s DSL Web site first to see if your house qualifies for DSL. Not all homes do; it depends on how far you live from the nearest phone company facility.

I am a Windows user who wants to switch to Mac, and I have found two options suitable for me. The first option is to buy the $1,299 iMac G5. And the second option is to buy the Mac mini with the 1.42 GHz processor, 1 GB of memory and a 100 GB hard drive.

It all depends on what you do on your computer and on what your plans are. The mini, configured as you specify, will cost you $500 less than the iMac. But it is less powerful and less full-featured than the iMac. And it lacks a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers, all of which come with the iMac. If you have all of these on your Windows PC, and like them, and don’t plan to keep the Windows PC, you can switch them over to the mini. But you’ll still have to buy a peripheral called a USB hub, because the mini has too few ports. If you want to preserve your Windows machine, you’ll have to buy new peripherals, or a gadget called a KVM that allows the mini and your Windows machine to share the peripherals.

The iMac G5, in my view, is the best consumer desktop on the market, and the $1,299 model has just been upgraded, without a price increase. So, if your computing needs are modest, your budget is limited and you’re ready and willing to switch over your Windows peripherals, the mini would be a better bargain. But the iMac is the better computer.

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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about badly scratched up iPod nanos, using Slingbox to beam a cable signal, and video chat on Windows.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

You and other writers gave the Apple iPod nano a rave review. But my nano is badly scratched up after only a couple of weeks of careful use, and there are lots of similar reports online. What’s going on?

Based on my own experience of about a month with the product, and emails I’ve received from readers, I believe the tiny, thin iPod nano is much more prone to scratching than earlier iPods, even though they, too, picked up scratches.

If I were reviewing the nano today, I would still call it “the best combination of beauty and functionality of any music player I’ve tested,” as I did in my review. But I would include a strong, prominent, warning that it scratches too easily in normal usage. This is a real downside to an otherwise excellent product.

My review of the nano ran on Sept. 8, and was based on four days of tests with an evaluation unit lent me by Apple. I bought my own nano the next day. The test nano, a new production model delivered in the box, picked up some scratches in testing, like any iPod, but nothing out of the ordinary or which impacted functionality.

But, after just under a month of daily use, my own nano is badly scratched, and looks beat up when viewed at an angle. Worse, there are several large scratches across the screen that impede functionality by making text and photos slightly harder to see. I have never tested or owned any portable electronic device that picked up as many scratches as quickly as the iPod nano.

Like the previous iPods I’ve owned, my nano has never been sheathed in a case. Like the others, I carry the nano — by itself — in my pants or jacket or shirt pockets; or loosely in a briefcase or carry-on travel bag, in a pocket containing no other hard objects. This is also how I carry my Treo smart phone, whose screen is free of scratches after much longer and harder use than the nano’s. My nano hasn’t been dropped or scraped. Yet it is badly scratched.

My recommendation now is that nano owners must buy and use a case for the device. That’s a shame with a product as beautiful and sleek like this, because it ruins the look and feel of the thing and adds to the cost. But I don’t consider it optional.

Apple says it uses exactly the same clear coating on the nano as on some earlier iPods, and that its engineers have conducted tests that show the nano isn’t any more vulnerable to scratches than other current iPods. Apple also says it hasn’t had a large number of complaints about scratching on the nano.

Company officials speculate that, because cases for the nano aren’t being sold in volume yet, early buyers who would normally protect an iPod with a case haven’t been able to do so with the nano. They also suggest that, because of its small size, some users may have carried it in places and ways that differ from how they carried larger iPods, and which increased the possibility of scratching.

I can’t dispute any of that, but I believe that something about the size and weight of the nano, and therefore the way it is used and behaves when carried, is making the coating Apple applies far less effective than it is with larger iPods.

I believe Apple should include a strong, thin case with every nano, starting as soon as possible. And Apple should research some sort of tougher coating for future nano models.

I would like to have the ability to watch TV at my office from my cable at home. We have Comcast cable-modem service at the house, but Verizon DSL in the office. Will the Slingbox work between two different Internet providers?

Yes. The Slingbox, a $250 gadget that beams TV from your home to a distant laptop via the Internet, works just fine with mixed groups of broadband services and providers. All you need is broadband on both ends. In fact, when I tested it, I used different types of broadband with no problem. More information is at www.slingmedia.com.

Is there a Windows equivalent to the video chat feature in Apple’s iChat instant-messaging program that comes with the Macintosh?

Yes and no. Both Yahoo and MSN, and possibly others, allow video chats to be conducted using Windows PCs over their instant messaging services, if both parties have a camera installed. But unlike with Apple’s iChat, these are one-to-one chats. The Apple program allows as many as four people in a video chat, each in its own large window, provided the person initiating the video chat has a powerful Mac model and all four people have cameras.

There is a lesser-known IM service called Paltalk (www.paltalk.com) that allows group video chats. I haven’t tested or reviewed Paltalk, but I have seen it work. It allows many more participants than Apple’s product does, but only one person can be speaking at a time. With Apple’s iChat, everyone can speak at any time, just as if they were in the same room. Paltalk plans to add the multiple-speaker feature next year.

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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com