What is consider real surge protection? Is there anything that can protect against a direct hit or a near direct hit from lighting?

The best you could do would be a whole house surge suppresor (installed at the panel box), a lightning arrestor (installed at the meter, by the poser company), and then a UPS on you 'puter. Probably a lightnig rod system on the house would help too.

But all of that isn't enough to totally stop a lightning strike, just offer some added protection.

The lightning arrestors that the power company installs between the meter and the meter base are designed to protect resistance heating elements and electric motors. I know - I've worked for two power companies.

Some people look for a UL listing on a power strip and, when they see one, assume that they're getting good protection. Many of the inexpensive ($10-$15) power strips that you find in stores may say "surge protection" or something similar, and have a UL listing, but are not UL listed surge protectors. What gives? The UL listing is for a multi-outlet device - meaning you can plug multiple items into it and it won't catch on fire, explode, etc. - and says nothing about it's surge protection ability. In general, you get what you pay for.

Something important to remember when you're protecting your computer is that your phone line and/or your cable line are potential carriers of dangerous voltage just like your electric line. Get a good power strip that has phone protection or, if you use a cable modem, one that protects your coax.

An on-line UPS will condition the voltage better than any surge protector. As an added bonus, when the power goes out you have the opportunity to save your data and shut down Windows to avoid nasty messages when you start back up.

Thanks.

The way the power company here markets it is the combination of both the lightning arrestor and the whole house surge protector.

Just dont plug more devices into a UPS than it is meant to handle.

That happened during a some network modifications at the TAFE where i study. A teacher who had no clua at all about networks or UPS's plugged every device (three small servers several routers and switches) into the UPS at the end of a class. Apparently the next morning when the servers and switches were all started up again the UPS which had only two outlets, exploded.

Hmmm...:cool:

Another simple and inexpensive solution for a home pc is to completely power off and unplug your system from all electrical, phone and cable lines whenever possible. Especially in Florida during the summer. I've found that this practice has an added benefit........it allows me to more easily tear myself away from my computer! ;)

That's pretty much what I do whenever a thunder storm comes around. I'm inquiring for someone else who asked me. I didn't really now for sure if there was anything available that would protect from a direct hit or a very near hit of lighting.

I suspect that those bunkers they build for the government about a mile below the surface to survive nuclear attack would work. Beyond that, your equipment gets hit with a direct bolt of lightening and you can probably say bye-bye to your computer equipment...