Power strips and surge protectors are portable blocks of electrical sockets used to provide power to multiple devices at the same time from one power outlet. Also called outlet strips, power strips are commonly used when many devices are in proximity to one another, such as computers and printers in office environments, medical equipment in hospitals, and power tools and equipment in industrial settings. Power strips with surge protectors protect the connected devices from damage due to unexpected voltage increases, which can be produced by power outages, lightning, and other causes. They are typically used with computers, TVs, and other sensitive electronic equipment to help prevent system crashes, corrupted data files, and hardware failure.