TOOLS & RECOMMENDATIONS
The tools I actually
use and recommend.
No paid placements, no vendor sponsorships influencing what's on this list. Every tool here is something I've used in a real production environment and would recommend to a colleague without hesitation.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This never influences which tools I recommend — if it's on this page, I'd recommend it either way.
Security & Endpoint Protection
1 tool
🔴
Bitdefender GravityZone
Affiliate
Enterprise-grade endpoint protection that punches well above its price point. GravityZone delivers layered security — AV, EDR, risk analytics, and patch management — from a single cloud console. Strong SMB and MSP story with centralized multi-tenant management and lightweight agents that don't tank device performance.
A solid Defender alternative for environments that need more reporting granularity or aren't fully in the M365 stack.
Try it →
Per-endpoint pricing
Networking & DNS
1 tool
🔵
NordVPN Teams
Affiliate
Business VPN with centralized management, dedicated IPs, and site-to-site connectivity. Useful for securing remote workers on unmanaged networks, accessing on-prem resources without a full IPSEC tunnel, and locking down traffic from field technicians. Works on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.
A practical pick for SMBs and MSPs that need remote access security without the overhead of standing up a full VPN server.
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Per-user pricing
Productivity & Admin
1 tool
🖥️
Parallels Desktop 26 for Mac
Affiliate
The best way to run Windows on a Mac, full stop. Parallels Desktop 26 runs Windows 11 natively on Apple Silicon with near-bare-metal performance. Essential for IT admins and engineers who live on a Mac but still need full Windows tooling — PowerShell ISE, RSAT, MMC snap-ins, and everything else that doesn't exist on macOS.
My go-to for running a full Windows admin environment on a MacBook. No dual-boot, no compromises.
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From $99.99/yr