Storm Surfing

[Bigfishy]

In the old days when I was on 56k dial up, my phone line to modem connection was via a surge protector.

However since changing to broad band my modem/router is connected directly to my 'puter via the ethernet cable.

My question is quite simply IS THIS SAFE ?

I only ask as I'm sitting here happily bashing away at the keyboard in the middle of one hell of a thunderstorm

[UK-Fishing-Tackle.co.uk]

I am (was) a computer engineer and whilst (after thunderstorms) I used to get a great deal of modem replacements I now get very few indeed.

 

I have put this down to the fact that a lot of the ADSL modems on the market are probably a lot more resiliant than their older 56k counterparts. It might also be relevant that most ADSL modems are external (USB) and generally external 56k modems seemed to be more reliable in lightning than internals.

 

Simplified, the reason why modems blew up was because there was a little fuse that the current passed through on the modem right near where the phone line connector went in. This fuse was there to prevent any extreme voltages/current from the phone line entering the computer and blowing it up big style - i.e. worst case, the fuse blew and the modem was knackered.

 

I suppose there is no reason why the same shouldn't still apply - I would have thought the risk in this case is to your router (not the computer itself).

 

Given a wired (ethernet) router is under £20 at ebuyer and (at our offices) ours go through numerous thunderstorms without any trouble, it's probably not too much of a risk long term.

[Bigfishy]

Thanks for that Ian