Storms happen everywhere, some places more than others.  Here I sit on the east coast of Virginia today after getting some lovely gifts from Tropical Storm Hannah and residents preparing for Hurricane Ike to head this way soon as well.  These are the things that made me think of today’s topic, surge protectors for your computers and electronics.

Powering down is not enough, lightning can still come through your powerlines and zap your precious technology to bits.   Paying a few extra dollars for a good surge protector is vital to protecting your computer, your television and just about anything you have plugged in on an ongoing basis.

If the power goes out your line can become vulnerable, some surge protectors have backup protection, but if the power in your home is out I recommend unplugging the computer.   You don’t want lightning coming through for a visit.  I’ve actually seen this happe.  A few years back my brother in law was sitting in his living room during a storm, the dogs were laying on the floor, and his daughter was playing quietly on the other side of the room.

The computer was powered down, but lightning came rushing through the lines and into the computer and it literally blew up.  Not just fried it quietly, it literally madea loud bang, caught on fire briefly, and shook the whole desk, nearly shook the entire house actually.  It was like something you’d see in a cheesy movie, but it was definitely no movie set.

He tried to see if any parts could be salvaged, but the computer was toast.  The hard drive was irrepairable and all the data lost.  (Should I reming everyone about data backups?)  The only solution was to get a completely new computer.  The whole shebang, monitor, PC, keyboard, it was all literally fried.

My computer isn’t the only thing I have on a surge protector.  I have computer specified power protection strips for my desktop, one that I keep in my bag for my laptop, one behind the chair I use at home with the laptop, one for television/cable box/DVD player, and one for my cordless phone.  If it runs on electricity it gets protected.

So, how protected is your technology?  If you’re running your computer without any power protection right now, I encourage you to take care of that today.  Spend a few dollars now rather than have to replace your computer system later.  You won’t be sorry.