This time of year, the thunderstorms come rolling through. As a result, we often run across a handful of computers that have sustained damages from lightning strikes and power surges. Here's some advice so you can avoid losing valuable files and productivity.

Unplug Your Electronics and Anything Connected
Electricity follows the path of least resistance and any physical connection to your computer should be disconnected. That is, it's best to unplug both your computer’s power cord as well as all the other cables and cords, including Internet cable, printers, external hard drives, monitors, etc. Don’t forget to unplug your modem or router as well. If your computer uses a wired Internet connection, and the modem is still plugged in, a surge can travel along that path.

Use a Surge Protector
An easy way to unplug things efficiently is to have everything plugged in to the same surge protector or power strip. Then simply shutdown your computer and unplug the power strip as storms approach. In addition, if a surge protector has been left connected during a power surge or lightning strike, it should be replaced even if it still works as it may be damaged. You should also be careful not to overload a circuit by having too many devices plugged in to one outlet.

Surge Protector vs Power Strip
Note that a power strip is not the same as a surge protector. A power strip is just a short extension cord with a bunch of outlets. In a surge protector, when the voltage rises above the accepted level, the surge protector suppresses the excess voltage to prevent it from causing harm. Specifically, internal components called metal oxide varistors (MOVs) absorb the excess voltage and divert it safely to the ground wire, preventing it from reaching the connected equipment. In order for surge protectors to work correctly however, your electrical system needs to be grounded properly. Generally speaking, if you have a three-prong outlet, it should be grounded. You can use an inexpensive outlet tester to verify that the circuit is grounded. If it is not, call an electrician.

Surge Protectors Won’t Save You From Lightning
Surge protectors offer protection in amounts called joules. Think of this like a reservoir of protection. If a product has 1,000 joules of protection, that means it can take ten 100 joule hits, or a single 1,000 joule hit. Generally, the more joules the better. Thus, surge protectors are designed to take relatively minor surges, but they don’t last forever, and a large enough strike can power through them altogether. It is important to note, that no surge protector can save your devices from a direct or near miss lightning strike. At least, not one that would fit inside your house, as the average lightning bolt contains one to ten BILLION joules.
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If You Have a "Zapped" Computer
Some of the symptoms of a zapped computer are a failure to power on, failure to boot, strange buzzing or high-pitched noises and random loss of power during use. If your computer has been struck by lightning, your home or rental insurance policy may cover the cost of replacement. Some insurance companies will require an estimate and/or a statement outlining the damages. We can provide an assessment, estimate and replacement, if you should need one. In the case of a lightning strike it is usually recommended to replace the computer, as there is no reliable way to determine the full extent of the damage and some problems appear in the days or weeks following the strike.

“That will never happen to me.” We get through our lives telling ourselves the worst won’t happen to us. It’s the same with business: “We won’t need this data backup.” Yet, whatever your industry, secure, reliable backup ensures business as usual. So, what’s the best way to backup? Here’s help.

Why You Need to Backup

1. Business disruptions of any kind can be costly. The disaster might take one of several shapes:
2. Natural (e.g. wildfires, floods, earthquakes, or hurricanes)
3. On-site (e.g. hardware/software failure, power outage, inability to access building)
4. Employee driven (e.g. damaging mistakes or intentional sabotage by a disgruntled employee)
5. Cyber-attack (e.g. data breach, ransomware, or distributed denial of service attack).  

Regardless, the best backup solution can help reduce downtime and damage. 

Plan B: Approaches to Backup
There are several off-the-shelf backup options your business can use. Let’s consider the pros and cons of the most popular ones.  

USB Thumb Drives — Also known as “flash drives,” “pen drives,” or “memory sticks,” these thumb-sized devices are compact and portable, but they can have size limitations compared to hard drives. Also, the mobility makes them easy to lose (which can actually set the disaster scenario in motion).   
Additionally, a USB thumb drive is robust when not plugged in, but more vulnerable when attached. If someone inadvertently snaps the drive or employs too much force, they can put the data on that backup at risk. The cheap ones also tend to be slow, which can make backing up sluggish. 

USB Hard Drives — Portable hard drives increase the data storage available, often at a decent price. They are designed to be compact and mobile. You can prioritize durability, processing speed, storage volumes and more. Hard drives are less likely to get damaged than a thumb drive. If knocked or jostled, the cables are flexible. Still, a hard drive can be prone to physical failure. Selecting an external solid slate drive (SSD) can help since it has no moving parts. Information is stored instead in microchips. 

Cloud Storage — Backing up to the cloud stores data on an external, secure server. If thieves take your computers and USB backup, you can still access your data on the cloud. Cloud storage providers build in redundancy to ensure your backup remains safe.  
Most cloud storage services back up to secure centers with thousands of servers storing data. Oh, and they’ll have their own server backups too, just in case they’re the ones hit by a disaster. The providers also encrypt data during transit to further ensure compliance and security. 
Migrating to a third-party cloud storage service also cuts the clutter at your premises. You can count on expert help to ensure security and compliance. Plus, you can cut operational costs by offloading in-house storage or external hard drive expenses. 
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OK, What’s the Best Answer? 
Don’t think disaster won’t strike your business. Research has found data loss and downtime are most often caused by:

• Hardware failures (45% of total unplanned downtime)
• Loss of power (35%)
• Software failure (34%)
• Data corruption (24%)
• External security breaches (23%)
• Accidental user error (20%). 

We recommend the 3-2-1 backup strategy. This means having 3 copies of your data. Two (2) of these would be located on different devices (e.g. on your computer and on a backup drive). The other remaining backup copy (1) would be secured offsite, in the cloud. 

Are you prompting Siri, Google, or Alexa? When you talk a home assistant, you join a growing number of smart homes. Smart home assistants search online, start phone calls, order groceries, play music, turn lights on. All with a single spoken command.

Research into how people use Google or Alexa demonstrates the core features. Listening to music ranked first. Checking weather and asking for general information rounded out the top three. Setting timers and reminders, asking for the news or jokes (perhaps to make up for the news?) are also common.  
Yet, the question remains, just how safe are these virtual assistants? After all, having a smart speaker in your home means there is always an open microphone in your house.

Smart Speaker and Home Assistant Safety Concerns
The convenience of the speaker demands that it always be on, ready and waiting for you to say, “Hey Siri” or “OK Google.” Once triggered the device records the command, sends the data to servers for processing, and figures out its response. Smart speaker users can log in to view the history of queries on their accounts. This prompts some concerns that these mega-companies will use the information for financial gain. For example, those talking about an overseas holiday might start seeing related ads on their computers. Someone hacking into the home assistant to gain access to your personal information is another concern. Those who set smart speakers as a hub for many devices also create more points of vulnerability. It’s difficult to anticipate all the ways the assistant could prove too good a listener. In one case, a voice assistant recorded a private conversation and sent it to the couple’s contacts list.

Steps to Stay Secure with a Smart Speaker
That candid conversation share aside, few big privacy flubs or personal data breaches have been reported. Nevertheless, if taking advantage of Alexa, Siri, or Google, keep these strategies in mind.

1. Clear your history. Don’t leave everything you’ve ever asked it stored on the company server. The assistant will relearn your commands quickly.
2. Connect with caution. It’s great to be able to turn on the TV and dim the lights without leaving the comfort of your sofa. Be wary of connecting security or surveillance devices to your home assistant.
3. Mute the microphone. It undermines your ability to call from the closet “OK, Google, what’s the weather like today?” But, turning off the mic when it’s not in use stops recording without you knowing about it.
4. Secure your network. Home assistants do their work by connecting to the Internet using your network. Ensure they are accessing a password protected network. They should use devices (e.g. modems/routers) changed from the default password settings.
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With a little effort you can gain convenience without worry.