Protecting Your Home Office
At home, a power bar use to be a place where you served drinks, and a dedicated line was the phone the teenagers used. With the rise in use of home offices, these terms have taken on a whole new meaning and importance.
To safeguard your computer, a power bar (also known as a power strip or a multi-outlet strip) is a good idea. It protects you against power line surges that can damage your equipment and scramble your files.
Make sure you get a power bar with a circuit breaker (which shuts off the power in the event of a surge) and a "re-set" button (which you press afterwards). Without those two features, the power bar is nothing more than a fancy extension cord.