Data recovery is a mystical and varied art that shares much with archaeology. Depending on where you dig for data you may or may not find what you are looking for, and the longer you leave going after your lost data the greater the chance it will be worn away by age and reduced to fragments of its former self.

You've been raising some big questions in the forums about 64-bit. Here's our FAQ to 64-bit Vista vs XP, and whether it's worth the hassle if you're not a workstation user, but a gamer or power user.

What will $50 a month (and under) get you on pre-paid mobile these days? We compare the best prices and deals for pre-paid mobile plans from the big telcos and one little guy.

Time to push security up the IT agenda.

Unless you keep your computer disconnected from a network and under secure lock and key there will always be the potential for prying eyes to access the data on your hard disk.

Climb the steps all the way to Windows guru status with our invaluable selection of tips and shortcuts for XP and Vista.

Protect your PC from itself and yourself

Protect your personal data with these essential downloads that offer spyware protection, data encryption and more

So to the big question: why upgrade to 64-bit at all? Simply put, a 64-bit operating system offers three inherent benefits.

More DSL flavours than colours of the rainbow. Tim Dean breaks some of the acronyms apart.

Our full guide to saving cash-saving secrets is here, from how to get discounts on PCs, to SIM only phone contracts, the best DSLR cameras deals, and discount licensing from Adobe, Microsoft and others.

Vastly faster servers needed to power "mega data centres".

What will you be buying, using and drooling over this year? Tim Dean looks at the astounding products and technologies due to hit in the next 12 months.

Although the mobile marketplace has been changing in the face of Centrino and the slow but gradual tablet PC adoption rate, large form factored (greater than single spindle) notebooks are still the order of the day.

A lot has been made of the coming introduction of 3G, a network that will provide broadband-like speeds to mobile phones. The introduction of the service will, if the pundits are to be believed, creat

PC Authority takes a trip down computer memory lane and discovers just how PC technology has evolved... and how Microsoft and IBM nearly destroyed each other.

Chance or coincidence? AMD releases the Athlon 64, specifically targeted at the consumer performance market, and only days later Intel announces a secret processor aimed squarely at the same MHz-hungry community: the Pentium 4 Extreme Edition (P4EE).

Impressive and free antivirus and antispyware package

The appearance of affordable DVD burners has given cause to celebration among the world's digital video makers – from hobbyists to professionals. The potential of DVD Video for corporate and wedding video makers is clear, but even the ability to present holiday videos in bite-sized, episodic and easily accessible chunks can't be sniffed at.

In many ways Itanium represents a change for Intel. Having dominated the desktop PC processor market, the company hopes that its 64-bit silicon will become the de facto choice in the next generation o