Are surge protectors worth it & Internet Parental Controls

Are surge protectors worth it & Internet Parental Controls

Jesse Mullighan (00:00):

Hey, it's time for Tech Tuesday. I'm joined by Daniel Watson of Vertek IT Services. Hi Daniel. Sure. Jesse. Hey, here's something we haven't discussed before. Surge protectors. What are they and why are they on your mind today?

Daniel Watson (00:15):

Well, there was a news article from a few days ago where there was a big power outage in one of the suburbs in Auckland where somebody had vandalized a transformer, which then released a surge of over voltage into the local area, which fried a whole bunch of people's electronics. And then I was thinking the last time I went into no lemmings and went to buy something, and they always try and upsell you on a surge protector of some kind, which I normally say, no, I don't need it. And then I started thinking, well, actually, aside from that one event, how often has this happened? Now it's not unheard of, it's not common, but it does happen, and it is a concern, especially if you've got some expensive kit plugged into the end of it. You have massive 70 inch TV that you've spent three grand on. If that gets fried, then you're going to be pretty sad faced and you hope you've got insurance to cover it. So the whole question that came about into my mind was, is it actually worth it to have the search protectors? And how do you know if it's a good one?

Jesse Mullighan (01:24):

Yeah. Does the search protector protect your TV from the network or does it protect your system, electrical system from the tv?

Daniel Watson (01:36):

No. Yeah, it's the first. So the idea being is that, now, just to be clear, none of this is going to save you if you've had a lightning strike to the house. If the house doesn't burst into flames, great. Okay. Everything

(01:54):

Beyond that would be a bonus. But we are all connected into a grid. Well, most of us are connected into a grid where there can be lightning strikes that either hit the power lines. It could be that a strike 10 kilometers away might actually do some damage to everything in that area. Really? Yeah. A little story time way back when I was still in the Army, I was doing, we were doing some root clearance drills with mine detectors out in Waro, and we just coincidentally happened to be next to one of those big pylons you see marching across the landscape

Jesse Mullighan (02:33):

There.

Daniel Watson (02:34):

And a thunderstorm opened up in the middle of summer, and it was pretty heavy all around us. There were lightning strikes, the power lines were crackling with, I think it's what's called a St. Elmo's fire. They were glowing and crackling all over the lines. It was pretty spooky. And although we were a hundred meters away from those lines, our mine detectors fried just from the total amount of current and the electrical fields that were passing through the areas,

(03:08):

Which was fairly expensive. Bits of kit. Now, so nearby lightning strokes, no way. But in the area, you might get a surge of current coming down the line of voltage, which could fry the internal power supplies of your devices, multiple layers of safety in there, because if the surge comes through and actually causes a fire inside the electrical appliance, it's generally pretty bad for most brand names. So there'll be non-repairable electronic component in there that will fry itself and within the power supply, and you have to take it away to get repaired maybe. But ideally, if you can put something in line with your devices that is either that sacrificial device, then you're just going to save a bit of hassle. What? Spend 40 bucks on a decent surge protector, and then you don't have to make an insurance claiming you don't have to throw away a tv. Yeah.

Jesse Mullighan (04:08):

Well, the question is that's the thing. You're protected from likelihood of it happening versus whether this is a worthwhile investment or not, I suppose. And what side do you come down

Daniel Watson (04:17):

On? Well, if you don't have insurance, I'd be definitely investing in it because, well, yeah, yeah, because it's worth it for the average person who maybe doesn't have a few grand sitting around to spend on replacing a dozen electrical appliances in the house.

Jesse Mullighan (04:39):

Well, are you suggesting we are going to buy a dozen of these surge protectors?

Daniel Watson (04:45):

No, I'd use it for your highest value items

Jesse Mullighan (04:48):

Right

Daniel Watson (04:49):

Within the house.

Jesse Mullighan (04:50):

Interesting.

Daniel Watson (04:52):

I wouldn't be too bothered about the toothbrush charger for, but if you've got a Hi-Fi system that you really are proud

Jesse Mullighan (04:59):

Of, Hey, don't get me started on check. How many of those toothbrush chargers have we got? Now? They insist on selling you one every time you get a toothbrush.

Daniel Watson (05:08):

I don't see the point in them. I can just shake my hand really bad.

Jesse Mullighan (05:12):

Yeah. Well, for a while, their dentists were all recommending them, and now I'm not sure if it's universal. Anyway, we're getting distracted. Thank you. Maybe you'll inspire. Some can go out and get surge protectors today. Hey, quick note on parental controls for internet use. I actually emailed you in a private capacity this week and said, Dan, I'm pretty sure you recommended something for the router that you can stop harmful content being accidentally viewed by your children. And you sent me a couple of links.

Daniel Watson (05:43):

Yes. Now, I would recommend that people, if they've got this kind of question in mind, recommend they stop in at keep it real online dot govt nz, and then drill down into parents controls and settings, because there's various things you can do. I mean, this is besides having decent conversations with your tweenies and teenagers about internet usage, but there are things that you can do, which are technical controls, either around the network controls inside your router or the modem you get from the ISP. You could be device controls such as in the laptop, iPad and your smartphone, or it's going to be on the actual application itself, like in YouTube and Google switching on Safe Search and things like that. Now, one of the ones that will, Hey, if you just kind of want to do a one and done Easy fix, is have a look at Switch on Safety co nz.

(06:52):

And what there you'll find is instructions on how to utilize the free filters that are available provided by Network for Learning and NetSafe in the Ministry of Education. So they're providing this as a free service, which by default blocks a bunch of stuff, which you probably don't want your kids going for any particular reason. Now, how do you do that? Technology is based on, is it's looking at anything out on the internet is a website name, which resolves to its internet protocol address, which is a string of numbers. So by having a library of the website's names and categorizing them switch on safety can provide the service by saying, if you refer all your name to IP address conversions, the lookups for what does this IP address relate to for this website? It can block the traffic right there and send the kids' tablet website request to a black hole, and it just pops up with a page saying, this page is blocked.

Jesse Mullighan (08:25):

Thank you.

Daniel Watson (08:26):

And that would work for all the devices on that network, so you don't have to, and it makes it hard for 'em to go around it. Not impossible,

Jesse Mullighan (08:37):

But hard combined with, as you say, conversations and open chat as part of the holistic approach. That's switch on safety.co.nz. And I just wanted to mention that I spoke to Holly, Jean Brooker, who's part of the media project, and she devotes her life to this stuff. And she's keen on a company they've actually interviewed on the show before called Safe Surfer, and they're out of New Zealand, and they've designed a system where you control it from home, it attaches to every device, and not only does it block unwanted content, it also gives you a report on what your kids are accessing all the websites. And so you can kind of feel like you've got some oversight on that. You've got to pay for that one. I think it's $7 a month or something. So safe surfer. And then I presume that switch on safety as a free service, Dan.

Daniel Watson (09:26):

It is. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. In some instances just might be worth paying for that extra level of service where you can have greater control and visibility.

Jesse Mullighan (09:37):

Hey, good to chat to you. Thank you for your insight as always, and be interested to see whether there's any search protectors left at the local hardware store after work today. People might be running out and buying them on your advice, Dan,

Daniel Watson (09:49):

If only I had that level of influence.

Jesse Mullighan (09:51):

Jesse, thanks mate. Dan Watson Vertech IT Services for Tech Tuesday.

Daniel Watson (09:57):

Tiana.