How can mains-borne interference corrupt computer data, and what precautions can I take against it?
It’s theoretically possible that severe mains interference could actually corrupt data being written to your hard drive, but the majority of computer power supplies already include built-in filtering that will prevent this in most cases. A far more likely problem is that such interference will cause clicks on your soundcard audio recordings. If this interference is caused by switches elsewhere in the building (central heating thermostats are a common cause), then they are nearly always better dealt with at source, by suppressing the switch contacts. There are plenty of cheap distribution boards available with on-board mains filtering, and these should get rid of, or at least reduce, the majority of audio clicks and pops. However, you should be wary of plugging the rest of your gear into these, as they often increase the impedance of the mains supply, degrading audio quality slightly in the process.
