Tips from
the Techie
Timely
how-to advice for keeping your systems running
Late summer rain
storms are here along with them come some intense lightning
that seems pretty harmless from a distance, but is a serious
threat to you and your electronic equipment. Things that run
on electricity do not exactly like large doses of it. You
could compare a lightning strike to filling the fifteen gallon
gas tank of your car with enough gas to fill up Lake Conroe.
That's what happens to your PC
when lightning strikes near your home. The chances of
lightning strikes happening are quite rare, but what about the
little jolts of power that you don't see or hear? Yes that
affects your PC just as much, but instead of Lake Conroe, you
get a pond or two. Any kind of power surge, large or small,
can cost you a lot of money if you are not protected. Let's
take a look of some of the things that you can do to prevent
damages due to a power surge.
First of all, DO NOT plug
any of your expensive electronic devices directly into the
wall outlets. This includes power strips, which many people
mistake for SURGE PROTECTORS, because they look alike.
A power strip just provides you with extra outlets for many
devices, while a surge protector will keep large spikes of
electricity from damaging your equipment. The surge protector
absorbs the "overflow" of electricity, similar to the shock
absorbers on your car. You will be able to spot a surge
protector by the "reset" button, commonly used to flip the
circuit breaker.
Secondly, just by having your
power cords plugged into a surge protector does not guarantee
that your devices are safe. Any usage of dial up, DSL or cable
modems, that are directly connected to a PC can be a route for
electrical damage. You can find reasonably priced surge
protectors with built-in connections for phone and/or coaxial
cable at most retail centers. Take inventory of your items
using electricity and make sure they are protected today.
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