Electrical charges in the range of several thousand volts can be easily accumulated on ones person. These charges build and are retained on our persons until contact with an object or person, when at that time all of the voltage is transferred to that object or person. When this occurs with a computer, it can and will burn out sensitive circuits on the keyboard, mouse and or main board, permanently damaging the system or device. The best way to prevent static damage is to discharge excess static to something other than your computer. Generally a electrically grounded device (including the metal computer case) will work to shed off those pesky volts. Simply touching a grounded device will give you that ole' familiar zap and you know your are safe to grab the keyboard or mouse. Other effective methods of avoiding those volts is to avoid cotton clothing on nylon chairs, certain types of shoe soles, wearing nylon jackets or vests with certain types of fill while using the computer. As a rule, anytime you find yourself charged, find something other than the computer keyboard or mouse to discharge. Static discharge pads are available from most office supply stores.