>>>>Your best bet is probably not to go on line at all.

What? Heresy! <img src="images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

>>>>Further to my last post, my surge protector even has a special plug for my phone line...point proved?

Uhhh…not really. I’ve never seen a surge protector that *didn’t* have a phone line port. Unfortunately, in the US, almost every one of those cheaper protectors is just a souped-up extension cord. Your mileage may vary in Scotland.

Lightning can do nasty things to anything that’s plugged into the wall, or even individual parts of an appliance that is plugged in.

I do have a great surge protector – it’s a Newpoint (http://www.newpoint.com) that actually grounds all three wires and not just one. IIRC, in the US, most of the cheaper ones only ground one wire, but there are three going into your computer. The protector needs to have grounding to ALL THREE wires. These units are more expensive but well worth the money to ensure that your computer and house don’t burn down.

And BTW, I have a cable modem, so there are no phone lines involved. Point proved? <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />