Don’t let bad weather kill your plans and your computer!
Here are some tips you can follow to protect your computer
hardware and the important data stored on your computer during a thunderstorm:
1. Unplug
everything: We mean everything including the power cord from the wall for
your computer and monitor and any network cables. Power surges can occur through cable lines,
telephone lines, and network lines so it’s a good thing to unplug those as
well.
2. Use a
surge protector: Get a good surge protector and make sure that it has
coverage for lightning strikes. We know
it’s now always practical to unplug all your equipment so having a good surge
protector is the next best thing. Good
surge protectors will be able to protect your computer equipment and can also
have ports to protect your cable and network lines as well. (You need to use a
surge protector for your laptop too!!!)
3. Use a
Battery Backup/UPS: Getting a good UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is a
great way to protect your hardware and data.
The battery backups have built in surge protection and provide power to
your hardware during an electrical outage.
These devices are relatively cheap and because they keep your computer
running when the power goes out you have time to safely shut down your computer
which will help prevent data loss.
4. Backup
your data: While having a good data backup system in place won’t protect
your hardware from damage, it will protect your data from being lost
forever. Data backups are essential and
offer protection from hardware failures, viruses, ransomware, and several other
disasters that can strike.
