Don't Get Zapped
 This time of year brings severe weather to Wisconsin, and 70% of power outages are caused by storms. In fact, one Tobin Solutions' customer loses utility power every few weeks on average. In addition to causing outages, lightning strikes (25 million occur in the US every year) can send power surges into computer systems through electrical, phone, and internet lines and damage or destroy servers, workstations, routers, and switches. Even if your hardware survives, you could lose data. Battery-powered devices called Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) are available to protect your equipment and data. If you experience a power outage, these devices have batteries that kick in and power equipment until it can be shut down safely. An alarm lets you know when the UPS has taken over. The surge protectors and power strips with surge suppression do not provide permanent protection. They can be damaged after a major power surge or repeated smaller surges and will no longer work. It is a good idea to periodically replace them. Don't forget about your home computers and entertainment systems. They, too, are vulnerable and need protection. |