imacman said:
Mary, most of those "surge power strips" that are sold at Staples, Office Depot, etc, are poor at best.
If those strips did protection, then manufacturer spec numbers will claim that protection. As imacman notes, they do not claim to protector from any destructive surges.
Take a $4 power strip. Add some ten cent protector parts. Those sell in Staples, Wal-Mart, etc. Also view spec numbers on a Tripplite or Belkin protector. Same near zero numbers. How does its hundreds of joules absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules? It doesn't. It claims to protect from surges too tiny to harm electronics.
Other, less expensive, and superior solutions are available. But first learn the scam. Take a $4 power strip with some ten cent protector parts. Sell it for good profit at $7. Or sell the same protector circuit in a more expensive looking Belkin or Tripplite for $45. Monster has a long history of identifying scams. Then selling an equivalent product for maybe $100. Because so many recommend a protector by ignoring the spec numbers. It does not even claim to provide that protection.