 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
Lee Koo
Community manager |
|
|
|
|
Do surge protectors merely give us a false sense of security?
Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday! This week's topic is "Do surge protectors merely give us a
false sense of security?" My answer is yes! And it's always good to be
reminded of how powerful lightning is. Luckily for me, I live
in an area where crazy lightning storms only happen once or
twice a year, if that. The ground moving beneath me (earthquakes) is
more of my concern. But for those who live in an area that is much
more susceptible to frequent lightning storms, this is a good time to
read up on this topic. A simple $20 or even a higher-priced surge
protector is probably not going to save you from a lightning strike
and more than likely will take out not only your computer, but all
other electrical appliances in your house unless the proper precautions
are taken. But even with precautions such as high-quality surge protectors
or whole house surge protectors as many members suggested, there
are no guarantees. The only way to guarantee protection is to unplug
the appliance during a harsh lightning storm. And that is to unplug
anything attached by cable, which includes telephone lines, cable
to your TV or modem, and any electrical outlet that will be affected
by lightning if it hits close to home.
This past week many of your fellow members have chimed in on this
topic to explain what surge protectors do, what type of protection
they really offer, and a few ways you can protect your equipment
from lightning storms and power surges. If you have any additional
advice on the topic or have experienced a loss of equipment due to
lightning storms and have since then protected yourself against them,
we'd love to hear about it. Come on in and share your thoughts and
techniques to help others prevent these costly disasters. Thanks,
everyone, for your time and contributions; you guys are the best! Take
care and have a great weekend!
(Note: I will be on vacation for a week and half so there will be no
community newsletter until the following week. Talk to you then!)
Cheers!
-Lee
|
|
| |
|
Got suggestions? Send me an e-mail: messageboards@cnet.com |
|
 |
TOPIC OF THE WEEK |
 |
|
|
|
| |
Q: Do surge protectors merely give us a false sense of security?
Here's why I ask this question. I live in upstate South Carolina, a
region prone to severe thunderstorms in the spring and summer. So
naturally I purchased and faithfully use surge protectors for all of
my sensitive electronic equipment. Several weeks ago we had a doozy of
a thunderstorm with multiple nearby lightning strikes and power
surges. I sat confidently at my computer and continued to work,
basking in the false security of a UPS and multiple surge protectors.
Zap-crackle, zap-crackle, Zap! "Wow, that was close" I thought. I even
thought I heard the surge protector "kick in." What I heard was my
cable modem arcing to ground! Yep. Fried it. And the phone modem. But
the big loss was my multi-function printer/scanner/copier/fax system.
D-E-A-D dead. But wait! Don't these surge protectors come with... Read more
-- Submitted by: Jeff H.
|
|
| |
 A: Featured member solutions |
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Thanks to all who contributed! |
|
 |
PREVIOUS COMMUNITY NEWSLETTERS |
 |
|
|
COMMUNITY BUZZ |
|
|
|
MAC NUGGET |
|
|
|
SECURITY ALERTS AND UPDATES |
|
|
|
 |
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
Q: Am I only the one who has concerns over those "security questions" on
Web sites?
Hello everyone. As I'm doing more and more things online, the one
thing that I've come to really hate are those "security questions."
The idea that there could be questions that are easy for me to
remember but impossible for others to research in itself is absurd,
but many Web sites insist that I must answer these questions. This is a
big problem for me:
- The questions themselves are an invasion of privacy.
- If I were to answer honestly, that would be a huge security risk,
since it is not so hard to find out the answers with a little bit of
research.
- If I make up bogus answers, I have to write them down somewhere,
which is a huge inconvenience and also a security risk in itself.
For awhile I have attempted to boycott sites that use security
questions, but this practice has become so pervasive that it seems
no longer possible to do so. How do other members deal with this?
What's the legal status? These questions are such a big security risk,
I feel certain that there must already be cases where accounts have
been compromised. Have companies been held accountable? Are there
any signs that this practice will soon come to an end? Best regards.
-- Submitted by: Gernot G.
If you have an answer to this question, click here and click the "reply" to submit your advice, suggestions, opinions, or tips.
|
|
|
| Have a tech-related question? |
|
|
Click here to e-mail us on one of these topics:
|
· PC troubleshooting
· PC upgrading
· Digital music
· Consumer electronics
|
· Multimedia
· Internet security
· Digital cameras
· Home audio & video
|
|
Need help tech right away? Don't wait for us, post your questions in the CNET Forums for all the tech help and how-tos. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
CNET CRAVE GIVEAWAY |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
