Steve:
First, have you checked the documentation that came with your UPS? It
may well include surge protection. If it doesn't, then you've got some
decisions to make. Like a lot of other computer stuff (privacy, viruses,
backups), the measures that you take depend upon (1) your level of
paranoia, (2) your assessment of the risk, and (3) the possible cost of
a disaster. I've lived in eastern North Carolina since 1966. There are a
lot of lightning storms here -- in the summer, they can be a daily
occurence; but we sometimes get them in January. (On the other hand,
I've never been attacked by a herd of rabid penguins). Total losses to
lightning over 34 years: One strike, one modem, one phone, one answering
machine. My assessment of my situation is that a power failure will not
be catastrophic, since this beast is used for personal stuff only.
Therefore, I don't have a UPS. However, since lightning strike could
wipe out a substantial investment, there is a surge protector on both
the power and telephone inputs to the computer. If I was using my
computer for a business, I'd see if some sort of special insurance
coverage were available, and I'd certainly do a lot better job of making
backups of my data. One of the key points that has been made in this
thread is that lightning on the power line isn't the only threat --
phone lines are vulnerable. I don't know about cable -- given the high
value of the equipment that they hang on the pole, they may do a better
job than the Telco.
-- Carroll Grigsby
Steve and Dara Snyder wrote:
>
> Gee, just when I thought I was safe from power glitches/outages
> by getting an UPS....  Also, I just realized that I'm connected
> full time through my cable modem (which is always connected).
> And since I still have a 56K modem connected to the phone line
> (through my UPS), am I in double danger from a lightning strike?
>> snip

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