Eh, should have spent some more green OP. UPS with cable or ethernet jacks, and grounded outlets. Possibly a protector on the breaker box itself. And a PC enthusiast doesn't use wireless, since we'd prefer reliability and higher speeds.

noob.

this is WHY i unplug all my shit during a thunder storm, again it doesn't help if a bigass tree near you gets struck by lightning, then your house would be screwed AND on fire

luckily i discovered this 10 years ago with a dialup modem. sorry to hear you lost so much equipment.

Idiot! YDI. Always get a GOOD surge protector with a warranty. I usually spend about $50 on mine, and get the warranty that covers anything plugged in. I've never had to use it, but I'm not stupid enough not to be prepared, I'm a boy scout :D

One word: "DUH!"

Surge protectors are not lightning arresters. Lighting doesn't travel though cables, it travels over them, so a surge protector is going to be useless, and I doubt anyone would recommend installing lighting arresters in every home. Also, any computer enthusiast will be using cables, but if you're area is prone to lightning, it would be an idea to look into a wireless router, and always unplug during a storm. FYL for losing your stuff, FYL for not knowing how to prevent it in the future.

YDI for not having a mac! :)

Dumbass idiot for leaving your pcs plugged during a lightning storm!!!!!

OP here. First thing first, the code that determines location by IP address is wrong, because I live in Cape Town, Western Province (where thunderstorms are rare) and not Gauteng (where thunderstorms are an almost-daily occurence). Secondly, I am on DSL not dialup. And no, we don't have anything faster than 4Mbps DSL here. Thirdly, many of the commenters fail at reading comprehension. I clearly stated that the lightning came through my *telephone* line (which was not protected) as opposed to the power lines, which all have surge suppression devices on them. As ndawgg noted, that was the one minor thing I neglected to protect... Bonus FML: the telephone pole that got struck is right outside my house. Most of my neighbours have also lost modems/routers/telephones, but no-one was unlucky as me. :/ @mephistopheles2u: a lot of people in SA use 3G/wireless Internet instead of DSL for the same reason that many use cellphones instead of landlines - wireless is much cheaper here. However, as a gamer I like a stable ping and minimal connection drops - something that wireless can't provide, hence I have DSL. And yes, I use Eskom power, even though the quality of their power sucks and they want to hike our electricity tariffs by 45% per year for the next 3 years.