Sunday 8th April at 5.03 pm
(repeated Wednesday 11th April at 6.03pm)

e-Repression

The internet has become an increasingly important tool for dissent, free speech and political debate. In the UK and other western democracies that's something that governments have learned to live with. But there are many countries where criticising the ruling regime on the internet can land you in serious trouble. In Viet Nam a 60 year old Catholic priest, Father Ly, has just been sentenced to eight years' imprisonment because he set up an internet petition calling for democratic change and there have been many other examples in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Adam speaks to Sarah Green from Amnesty International about the Irrepressible campaign they've launched to draw the world's attention to 'e-repression'.

Phone Call from Everest

British climber Rod Baber has embarked on an attempt to make the world's highest mobile phone call. In a few weeks' time he hopes to be standing at the summit of Mount Everest clutching his mobile phone and saying "Guess where I am!" Although climbers have been using satellite phones for several years, a mobile call is now possible because of a new transmitting station which has line-of-sight with the top of Everest. Adam puts in a phone call to Rod in Kathmandu where he's making preparations for the climb. He says that if he gets a signal and his batteries don't freeze he'll use the fifteen minutes he'll have at the summit to speak to his family and send a text.

Lifecasting

Whatever happened to everybody's private lives? Once upon a time people only shared their secrets with close friends. But now, thanks to the internet, everybody seems to want to tell everybody else the most intimate details of their lives. Currently the most bizarre example is Justin.tv, a website where you can monitor the life of Justin Kan from San Francisco 24 hours a day. David Smith, the Observer's Technology Correspondent joins Adam on this week's programme to discuss the phenomenon of 'lifecasting'.

Microsoft Security Patch

A security problem has been revealed in the way that Microsoft Windows handles cursor, animated cursor, and icon formats. By creating a malicious cursor or icon file within a malicious Web site or e-mail an attacker could take control of an affected PC.

All Windows users have been advised to visit Windows Update to download the patch and also to check that their Automatic Update settings are on and set to run at a time when their PC is likely to be switched on.

Q & A

Part One: The first question for PC Doctor Simon Zerafa comes from Norman Jewell:

Q: "Could the PC Doctor tell me what would be the effect of a power cut on a PC? I realise that any unsaved data would be lost, but if the hard drive were in the middle of writing or reading data would the head smash into the disc and damage it? Are floppy disc drives and optical disc drives similarly susceptible? Is it worth buying an uninterruptible power supply?"

Simon Says: Power cuts clearly are not good for many electrical devices including PCs. In the very worst cases the PC may not be able to boot correctly after this occurs and the issues may need to be resolved by a competent PC technician or engineer. Moving laptops (or desktop PCs) when they are switched on is NOT recommended as this can cause problems for the hard drive. If you are in an area prone to unexpected power cuts,'brown outs' or dips in the voltage it may be a good idea to invest in a "uninterruptible power supply" for critical PC equipment but for most home users this probably isn't necessary.

However, one thing everybody should have is surge protection for their PC, peripherals and telephone line (for the modem or broadband connection) as surges can be very damaging. This sort of protection can be relatively inexpensive (from around £10) and can be a real bargain when lightning hits the power or phone lines in your area.

Part Two: The second question comes from Elwyn Morgan in Resolven who's having a template problem:

Q: "I created a letter in Word 2000 now I am unable to delete it. Each time I go to New Blank Document it's there. I've tried Delete key, also Edit-Select All-Delete, Edit-Select-Clear. No luck. It will delete but each time I return to Word it's there again"

Simon Says: I suspect the listener has altered their NORMAL.DOT file which is the master template for all new Word documents. The solution would be to open NORMAL.DOT and edit it to remove all of the items not required and then save it again (as a template). More information here.

Any problems for PC Doctor Simon Zerafa can be e-mailed to mousemat@bbc.co.uk

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites