We'll be updating this page periodically to keep up with currently recommended products for various categories. These are items we've tested ourselves or that customers have used and endorse.
Some links below are to sites with which we are participants in their affiliate marketing program. There is no additional charge to you the consumer.
Work From Home Audio (mic and headset) Upgrades
Sennheiser USB Mono Headset - Inexpensive option to hook up to your laptop or desktop for the next Zoom
Jabra PRO 9460 Mono - Wireless head set that can connect to your PC and your desk phone.
For the biggest upgrade in audio quality you can get a dedicated headset & a separate microphone. I recommend an Open Back headset so you can still hear the world(and you’re own voice) Sennheiser HD 599 Open Back and then a USB mic like the Audio-Technica AT2005USB. Ideally you’d put the mic on a NEEWER boom arm or the higher quality InnoGear boom arm to get it positioned 6-12” from your mouth.
Notebooks
HP OMEN 15.6" Gaming Laptop - If you're looking for a budget gaming machine, or really even a quality budget laptop this is a great combination. 1 TB of NVMe disk space is really great at this price point. AMD processor w/ Nvidia graphics is a great combination for value.
Lenovo ThinkPad T490s - This is a great budget friendly business grade laptop.
Mobile Devices
iOttie HLCRIO132 Easy One Touch Car Mount and Wireless Qi Charger - Great accessory for phones with wireless Qi charging. Qi is a wireless charging standard built into some phones. Most notably Samsung Note 5 and S7 or newer. Check your device specifications if you're unsure Qi is built-in.
Networking for Home
Synology DS216j NAS DiskStation - This budget friendly network attached storage device can handle the backup or file server needs of a small office. Its drive bay can hold 2 disks in a RAID1/mirror configuration. So, if you put two 1 TB disks in, then you'll have 1 TB (not 2) of disk space available. This gives you a fallback in case one of the disks fails. As for the type of disks, you'll want to get Western Digital Red drives. They are designed specifically for NAS scenarios and come in sizes from 1-8TB. So, the max this particular NAS can store is 8TB (with two 8 TB disks). Another great feature is that it can sync data to offsite cloud services like Amazon S3, Box, Dropbox, etc. Click here for more details
Amazon eero - A great option for a router/wifi “mesh” system for home use
Ubiquiti UniFi AC Lite AP - Ubiquiti has their own line of wireless products. You'll need to install/configure an on-site "controller" first before setting up the access points. The software is available for download, built into a couple of their routers (Unified Gateway), or you can install it to a device they call a Cloud Key that plugs directly into a switch on your network.
Hardware Upgrades
Western Digital Black 1TB NVMe - This is a great Prime Day deal for 2022. A great boot disk option, and the 2 TB version is also a steal for added program or data storage.
Samsung 970 EVO Plus M.2 NVMe - If you’re motherboard supports it, this is what you want to install Windows on. You can get away with the 250GB model, but it will fill up fast with just Windows. Prices are great in 2020, so I’d recommend just going 1TB.
Samsung 860 EVO 2TB - If you need extra space for games or media, this is a great extra drive to install/store them.
Crucial MX500 1 TB SSD - Comparable to the Samsung EVO slightly better price point.
Home Theater
Epson Home Cinema 2040 1080p 3D 3LCD - Picked this out for a customer. They wanted a projector for a basement theater, and they'll use it for movies and gaming. It's 3LCD setup eliminates rainbow effects common with DLP projectors. It also has decent response times for gaming. It comes in at a great price point competitive with DLP projectors.
Virus Prevention
Virus Prevention is all about layers. Here’s a few options to get you started. For small businesses we offer more options through our Technology Porter Secured/Managed plans.
Least Privilege Access - This is the #1 thing you can do to protect from malware. Do NOT login to your PC with an Administrator user. Make sure you are a Standard User, and that you have an Administrator account available to ‘elevate’ privileges when needed.
Don’t click that link - Seriously, if you get an email with a link…just don’t click it. It can either be malware, or phishing attempt (fake site looking to get your credentials). Verify with the sender either via phone or google their website to get to the info being sent.
Bitdefender- Having a good Anti-virus is a plus. Avoid McAfee or Norton. Windows’ free built in Defender is preferred over those.
Open DNS Family Shield - Another layer of protection is to block web access to known malicious sites. You are using their DNS (website lookup) service instead of your own Internet Service Provider. In some cases you'll even see faster lookup times than your ISP, so you're web browsing experience will be a bit faster.
Virus Removal
Hitman Pro - If you suspect you've already gotten a virus/adware/malware, this tool is well known for being able to track it down and remove it. It touts itself as a "forensics" tool and a go to for "second opinions". You can install it and remove the malware once for free.
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