If you search the web for images of 'laptop battery fire' you'll find dozens of pictures of computers that have burned out because their batteries have burst into flame.
It's a problem that has affected portable computers from lots of different manufacturers, including Dell, Apple, Toshiba and HP.
After the first photographs and videos of exploding machines started appearing on the internet it turned out that all the affected batteries were made by Sony.
They make batteries for their own laptops, but also supply them to lots of other manufacturers.
Some airlines banned laptops from affected companies in aircraft cabins.
And millions of batteries have been replaced free of charge by the companies affected.
I have an Apple PowerBook laptop, and it turned out that it's battery needed replacing.
Unfortunately not everyone with a dangerous battery is aware that they need to check their computer.
There have been lots of news stories, and anyone who bothered to register their computer will have received an e-mail.
But not everyone registers their new laptop, so there are still going to be lots of people out there who don't realise they have a problem.
Over the last couple of years we've all become a lot more aware of computer security.
Nearly everyone has anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Most broadband users now have a firewall to protect their home computer.
And the vast majority of computer users remember to update their operating system – Windows or Mac – when patches and security updates are released.
But few of us imagine that there could be product recalls for the computer hardware too.
Cars, washing machines and TVs may have problems, but we don't think of our laptops in the same way. So we're not tuned in to the news or press announcements, and may easily miss them.
A couple of years ago Microsoft found a possible fault in the power supply on the Xbox video game console.
They took out adverts and wrote to everyone who had registered as a purchaser, but I'm sure there are still people out there using the old power supply.
It's one thing to have a computer that gets infected with malicious spyware and starts running slow.
It's a lot more serious when you could be sitting at a table in your favourite café and have your laptop burst into flames.
Of course, this sort of thing is very rare, but it should make us all think more carefully about the computers in our lives.
It's also a good reason to remember to return the product registration card, or sign up on the website. That way you can be told at once if something goes wrong.
Find out more at BBC News.
Is your computer affected? Search for 'battery recall' and the name of your manufacturer to see.
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