During a natural disaster, the last thing on your mind will be your computer. However, you’ll be upset to have lost such valuable photos and financial documents when the storm is over. That’s why you need to spend time protecting your computer and documents now. The following are just a few tips on how to protect your computer from a natural disaster.
Keep Warranty Information in a Safe Place
If your computer is under warranty, you want to have the warranty information in your security box with other important documents. This allows you to grab the information when you get ready to evacuate. In some cases, companies will replace a computer that is damaged due to a natural disaster. You can also purchase replacement warranties that will replace the computer no matter what happens to it.
Backup Important Files
While you may not plan on losing your computer, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. You need to backup your important photos and financial files to a cloud storage system. This will allow you to access the files no matter where you are or whether or not your computer still works. This can save you a lot of time and heartache.
Use a Surge Protector and Backup Battery
A surge protector can help prevent power surges from damaging your computer, while a backup battery can give you enough time to shutdown your computer should the power go out. It can be hard on a system to be powered off without being properly shutdown. It will also help prevent you from losing important documents you may be working on.
Unplug During Storms
You never want to leave your computer plugged up during a storm. A surge protector will not protect your system from lightning. If lightning runs in on your computer it will be fried and anything attached to may also be damaged. On the flip side, this means that you also need to unplug anything that is attached to the computer, such as printers and modems. You also want to unplug the internet connection.
A natural disaster can ruin your computer. The best thing you can do is be prepared the best you can. This means storing important warranty paperwork where it’s easy to grab and backing up all your important files through off-site storage. You also need to make sure your computer has a surge protector and backup battery in case the storm starts sooner than you thought it would. Once you know the storm is coming, unplug your computer, internet, and all the peripherals that are connected to the computer. This ensures your computer doesn’t get toasted by lightning.
