Surge Protector, how to choose?

Well girlmidgard, the primary number is the number of joules and the higher the number the better. However the disconnect speed is also very important. A surge protector with 4850 joules is far less valuable if the disconnect speed is 3.5 nanoseconds versus a protector with only 3600 joules and a disconnect speed of one or less nanoseconds. Keep in mind that in most cases the disconnect speed is usually fairly quick and the protector with 4850 joules will be sufficient and the 3.5 nanosecond disconnect was just a random number I picked, but it is something to consider when making your choice. The next item to consider is the clamping voltage or the maximum voltage that the protector will allow before cutting off the electrical flow. A clamping voltage of 500 is barely passable, a 400v is better and the best is a clamping voltage of 330 volts.

Because your computer is valuable to you and many files are irreplaceable you should get a surge protector that only has one outlet for it. For all the peripherals you can get a 4 or 6 outlet strip to plug the modem, printer, monitor, external speakers, etc into. Keeping in mind that your computer has many irreplaceable files you should always do a back up of your files on a regular basis of no longer than a once a month.

Good Luck, keep a smile on your face and may the sun always shine upon your day.