For Mac OS X and general Linux users (all distributions), we recommend no anti-virus or anti-spyware packages be purchased or installed. Although several packages are available and heavily advertised for OS X, we do not consider the threat significant enough to justify the expense or time to install.

Clamwin anti-virus and WinPooch Watchdog are our recommended products for Windows small business environments. Both products are free, easy to install, and entirely adequate in most environments.

e-Trust is our preferred solution for Microsoft's Windows operating systems in larger business environments.

Firefox is our recommended web browser on all platforms.

Dell computers are our recommended solution for laptop, desktop, and server machines for Windows and Linux operating systems.

Netgear switches, hubs, and other network devices are our preferred solution in the small-business segment. Note that "home" or "residential" models should be avoided, but otherwise most products will function as advertised. An exception is wireless devices, addressed below.

Cisco hardware continues to be the gold standard in the mid-sized market sector.

For wireless networking, we have yet to find the perfect manufacturer. Different solutions apply for different environments. Netgear has been adequate in small, interior office deployments. Cisco offers many excellent tools for security and multiple access-point deployments. Many small businesses select Linksys (now a division of Cisco--but without any real design or construction relationship thus far) wireless devices, but those should be considered a disposable temporary solution at best.

Your storage configuration and the importance of information to your business has a large part in shaping the products you should look at for your backup solution, and this is not an area in which most businesses should scrimp. Backup systems are frequently purchased, installed, then left to gather dust as no one ever checks their function or tests their restore capability. Consequently, particularly for companies without IT staff, IMS focuses on outsourcing as much of this requirement as possible. To date, our favorite solution for businesses with low daily file delta and centralized file storage is iBackup, an online storage provider. They support any operating system, provide methods for easy automatic notification, and allow easy access to the stored files from any web-enabled computer. This combination of factors makes them an excellent choice for small businesses who do not have the time to devote toward developing a complete disaster recovery plan and do not have anyone on staff who can regularly monitor other types of backup solutions.