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 choosing a photo-sharing Web site, syncing laptops and desktops and printing photos.

I’m unhappy with the photo-sharing Web sites that I’ve found and I wanted to ask if you’ve found any better ones. One problem I’ve run into is that they require you to sign in (create an account) to view your friends’ photos. They also don’t make it easy to download photos and they don’t allow much privacy.

You might try Smugmug at smugmug.com. It costs $40 a year, but offers unlimited storage, password protection, retrieval of photos in high-resolution format and it doesn’t require your friends to register or to receive spam. It is also a handsome site that allows you to customize the way your photos are presented and to tweak the photos themselves, to a limited extent.

What do you recommend for remotely syncing laptops and desktops?

I use a free product called FolderShare, which is now owned by Microsoft, and can be downloaded at www.foldershare.com. You install the FolderShare software on each computer, and it runs in the background, silently synchronizing all the files in folders that you designate on each computer. If you add or alter a file on one computer, the software matches that change on the others.

For instance, you might set it up to synchronize the files in the My Documents folders on multiple Windows machines. It also works on the Macintosh, and can synchronize files between Macs, or mixed groups of Windows and Mac computers. For instance, you can set it up to keep the My Pictures folder on a Dell synchronized with the Pictures folder on a Mac.

While on vacation I uploaded many photos to my Dell laptop. I also have a Dell desktop at home hooked up to a H-P Photosmart printer. When I get home, how can I print these photos? Do I have to transfer them to the desktop or can I just print them from the notebook? If so, how do I go about it?

Assuming the printer isn’t on a home network, and isn’t accessible from any PC on the network, you have two choices. The simplest method would be to transfer the pictures to the desktop computer, by copying them to a thumb-sized USB drive or burning them to a CD, from the laptop, and then copying them from the thumb drive or CD onto the desktop.

The other approach would be to install the printer’s software onto the laptop, assuming you still have the disk that came with it, and then unplug the printer from the desktop and plug it into the laptop.

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Because of the volume of email I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by email, 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 keeping multiple computers in sync, waiting for Microsoft Vista and installing multiple security programs.

I travel among three locations and I currently lug an eight-pound Dell laptop. I would like to change this to having “permanent” PCs (either Windows or Mac) at each of the three locations. What software can I use to keep them in sync?

I recommend a product called FolderShare (www.foldershare.com), which is now owned by Microsoft, or a competing product called BeInSync (www.beinsync.com). Both do the job, though they differ. FolderShare can synchronize selected folders among groups of computers, including mixed groups of Windows and Macintosh computers. For instance, all the files in your My Documents folder on a Dell can be synchronized with all the files in the My Documents folder on an HP, or with all the files in the Documents folder on a Mac. But it doesn’t synchronize contacts and calendar items in Microsoft Outlook. BeInSync doesn’t work with Macs, but it does synchronize Outlook items, in a limited fashion.

I was considering buying a new PC now but was wondering if I need to wait until Microsoft Vista is released. I understand Vista only works on certain PCs. What is your advice?

My advice depends on your needs. PCs preloaded with Vista won’t be available until January, 2007, and possibly later, if Vista’s release date slips again. So if your current machine is essential in your life or work, and is on its last legs, or is seriously failing to meet your needs, you shouldn’t wait. But if you can go another six to nine months with your PC, I’d suggest waiting until you can buy a machine with Vista preloaded.

It is certainly possible to get a computer now that can be upgraded to Vista. But with any major new Windows release, there can be surprises and quirks in the upgrade process. Preloaded factory machines can also exhibit problems with a brand-new operating system, but they are likely to be fewer than what an upgraded PC would experience. A factory-loaded Vista PC may also be cheaper, because you will very likely have to add more memory to a current PC in order to run Vista well.

I have just installed a new security program that has both antivirus and firewall protection. To install it, I had to remove AdAware, Spybot and Microsoft Firewall. My question: Is one program enough, or should you install multiple programs to insure safety?

First of all, two of the programs you removed, AdAware and Spybot, perform a function your new software probably doesn’t — they detect and remove spyware and adware. Antivirus and firewall programs don’t typically do this. So I would re-install them and use them.

However, I don’t recommend using multiple antivirus or firewall programs, and neither does Microsoft or the major security-software vendors. Redundant programs can get in each other’s way and cause conflicts and confusion. The result may be that some malicious software sneaks through or that some innocent files are blocked. So pick one antivirus package and one software firewall and stick with them.

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Because of the volume of email I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by email, 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 converting video clips for use with the new iPod, different DVD formats and finding the FolderShare program for a Mac.

If you have a question, send it to me at recommended a program called FolderShare, which can automatically synchronize files among multiple Windows and Macintosh computers. Now the company has been bought by Microsoft, and the Mac version of the software has disappeared from its Web site. Do you know if they are abandoning the Mac?

FolderShare removed its Macintosh version for a couple of weeks to rework it, but now has restored it. Not only that, but Microsoft has converted FolderShare to a free, instead of a paid, service. However, one advanced feature has been removed, and the number of files you can synchronize has been lowered, though at 100,000 files, it’s still a lot. It is available, for both Windows and Mac users, at www.foldershare.com. I should note that, in addition to working in mixed groups of Windows and Mac computers, FolderShare will work in groups with only Windows, or only Macintosh, machines. I use it daily, and find that it works well.

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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