A combination of locks and alarms is an excellent theft prevention system for computer labs which must be publicly accessible, particularly at late hours. Computer hardware is protected from fire damage by smoke detectors and sprinkler systems just like any other equipment. Computers are unique in that the most costly damage is the loss of data which can be prevented by storing back up tapes in remote locations. Surge protectors and uninterruptable power supplies are a low cost investment that can save very costly equipment damage. These are particularly important if the computer must be used continuously or if your region is prone to severe thunder storms or frequent power outages.
Some surge protectors have the ability to protect the phone line going to a modem also.
The modem and mother board can be more readily damaged by lightning hitting a phone line than by lightning hitting the power lines because the computer power supply provides a minimal amount of protection. Data integrity Backing up data is the single most important step in preventing data loss. Entire companies have gone out of business due to losing valuable information. An enormous amount of man hours are spent every year reproducing information which was lost in some manner. Back ups can be on removable disks, tapes, paper printouts or other computer systems.