3TG Systems

In addition to the computer, networking, and home theater/automation services offered by 3TG, we also provide refurbished desktop computers at great prices.

There are several reasons why a refurbished system from 3TG might make sense for you. The computers we provide are not damaged systems that have been pieced back together again. The majority of these computers are corporate machines that were replaced when upgraded models came out. Because these are enterprise-level computers, they're better-built than most of the consumer models you'll find. This means they'll last longer before breaking down, so they'll probably outlast a brand new consumer unit off the shelf. Our favored systems are Dell Optiplex computers with Core i3 or i5 processors. These computers typically cost $700-800 brand new. We charge $399, so nearly half that amount. These computers will all come with Windows 7 Pro, which is still our preferred operating system.

Everyone still using a computer with Windows XP installed must consider purchasing a new computer, whether it's a 3TG System or anything else. Windows XP is not secure and grows less so every day.

If you mostly browse the web, email, and do word processing, these systems are designed for you (if you're a gamer, contact us for some recommendations). Visit the product page for pricing on various options and upgrades.

3TG Managed Services

In addition to repairing your computers when something goes wrong, 3TG can help keep your computers safe and running smoothly. Here is what you get with 3TG Managed Services:

Health Monitoring and Patch Updates

Throughout the day, our software keeps an eye on your computer's vitals to make sure it's operating properly. It looks to make sure all important services are running, no critical errors are occurring, your hard disks are reporting good health, and dozens of other checks, all in the background.

Additionally, all updates to Windows and other software programs are handled in the background, so you never have to deal with dozens of popups telling you your software needs to be updated. Are you tired of seeing that Java update window every other week? Never worry about those again!

Managed Antivirus

There are plenty of antivirus services out there, but none of them have someone keeping an eye on the scan results for you, getting reports of infections. Most importantly, 3TG will be informed the minute your antivirus stops working. For many viruses, the first order of business is the shut down the antivirus program running on the computer. The antivirus we use is top-notch, but on the off chance that a virus shuts it down, it won't go unnoticed and you'll be contacted so a fix can be made.

Web Protection

If you need to prevent computer users in your home or business from accidentally or purposefully visiting certain websites, our web protection service can help. We can keep all users safe from accidentally visiting known phishing, infected, and other malicious sites. From there, all sorts of sites can be blocked to keep kids safe and keep employees from doing anything that could get your business in legal trouble.

Pricing

The monthly cost of these services is as follows:

Health monitoring and patch updates: $7/computer
Managed antivirus: $5/computer
Web Protection: $5/computer

All three services: $15/computer

Managed antivirus subscribers get 30 free minutes a month to address any potential virus-related issues. Subscribers to all three services get 1 hour a month for virus-related issues.
 

Billing occurs every 1 or 3 months. Automatic billing is available. Free virus removal time applies to the account and not to every computer on the account.

Windows 7 vs 8

I like Windows 7.

In my opinion, Windows 7 is the best version of Windows that Microsoft has ever produced. From day one it was the most usable, most approachable, most get-out-of-your-way-so-you-can-get-things-done version they'd made to date.

Then they made Windows 8.

Windows 8 is largely a reaction to the iPad. Microsoft seemed so scared of the iOS ecosystem that they decided all of their own products should have a consistent user experience, from their phones to their tablets to their laptops and desktops. But that's extremely difficult to do, and doesn't always make sense for the user.

As a result, Windows 8 has been a bit of a mess from the beginning. Things that used to be simple (even shutting down the computer) are now buried and take several clicks to accomplish. The interface was simplified so much that it became more difficult to use because Microsoft hid commonly-used elements in unintuitive locations. For example, it's almost impossible to use WIndows 8 without using the "charms bar," which is a hidden menu on the right side of the screen. To get this menu you either have to swipe your finger in from the right side of the screen, or put your mouse cursor at the far top-right corner. Both of these methods require that you know they're available to you, because there's nothing to indicate them. In contrast, Windows 7 allows you to perform anything the charms bar can do, but it's all in the start button at the bottom left of the screen. It's a button that's almost always visible.

The Windows 8 tile interface.

The biggest change in Windows 8 is clearly the "tile interface" (formerly called "Metro" - pictured here). The tile interface is what Microsoft would like Windows to be going forward, but they kept the desktop because they knew they couldn't make such a drastic change all at once. Businesses in particular would have a nightmare of a time training employees on the new interface. While the tile interface is attractive and has some interesting ideas, there are a lot of problems with it. My biggest issue is that quite often you don't know whether you're going to end up in the tile interface or the desktop interface. If you launch an application in one, you may end up in the other. Or not. Then, if you use Internet Explorer in the tile interface, not only is it a terrible user experience, but when you go to Internet Explorer in the desktop interface, you won't have the same bookmarks. They're two completely separate programs, which makes no sense. Even when you're in the tile interface, the experience isn't great. Most applications that have been written for the tile UI are extremely simplistic, with options buried in the charms bar where you forget about them. If you have a very large monitor, the tile UI is often far less efficient because you can only have two things open on the screen at a time.

I could go on, but those are my biggest pet peeves about Windows 8. Recently, the operating system has improved. Microsoft has slowly addressed some of the concerns people like me have had about the OS, but the operating system is still quite confused about what it wants to be.

With all that said, at the end of the day if you want to be a Windows user, eventually Windows 7 isn't going to be a viable option anymore. The question then becomes whether you give Windows 8 a chance, or if you wait for the next version (possibly released in 2015). There's a common joke among the tech people that every other version of Windows is terrible. Windows 8, Vista, ME, and 95 were all seen as the lesser operating systems compared to 7, XP, and 98. Recent history, in the form of Windows Vista, has shown that even the bad versions can get pretty good by the end of their life cycle. In fact, Most of Windows 7 was built on work started in Vista.

So in the end, Windows 8 might get good enough just in time for Windows 9 to be released.

(ps- if you're looking for a desktop running Windows 7, 3TG offers some really great refurbished computers here, but if you want Windows 8 we can still recommend some fantastic new computers)

Password Management

Passwords are one of the necessary annoyances of the web. The problem with security, though, is that the stronger it is the hard it is to use. The more complex a password is, the more secure, but the harder it is to remember. This leads to using the same password for all your web accounts.

The reason that using the same password everywhere is dangerous is that web sites have occasional security breaches. Hackers will break into insignificant sites and steal their list of usernames and passwords. Then, they'll use this list to test out more important sites (like banks and shopping sites) to see if the same username and password was used anywhere else. This is the most common way, for example, that hackers get into email accounts and send spam to all your contacts. The solution is to use a different, complex password for every site that you visit. The challenge is remembering those passwords.

That brings us to services like LastPass, my preferred password management service. Here's how it works:

1. Create an account with LastPass, choosing a single, memorable password
2. Install the plugin on your web browser (it works on all of them)
3. LastPass will import any sites you've saved in your browser, and hen you log into a site it will prompt you to store it in their system
4. When you sign up for a new account, LastPass will help you choose a complex password, then store the new site in their system

This is all the easy part. The only challenge is that LastPass can't go through and change all your passwords for you. You have to do that on your own, but LastPass will at least assist you by making up the passwords and storing them for you.

Once you're done getting all your sites into LastPass, when you open your browser, you log into the service once, and now any time you need to log into one of your sites LastPass will automatically do it for you. You only need to remember one password, but each site you use will have a different password.

LastPass also works on mobile devices, which is the only time you have to pay them anything. They charge $12/year for mobile access, which is well worth it. On Android, LastPass can even log into your apps for you.

Some other features of LastPass:

• Form filling function: I never have to type my name and address into a form because the service does it for me.
• Security audits: the service will create an assessment of all the logins you import into it, and show you where you're using the same login in multiple places, and assess how strong your overall security is.
• Heartbleed: LastPass will keep track of which of your accounts are affected by the Heartbleed bug. They'll update their site to let you know when you should change your login info on those sites.
• Two-factor authentication: in a future post I'll discuss two-factor authentication, but LastPass supports it, which is good.

All of the data stored on their servers is encrypted, and security experts have determined the service to be highly secure. As an added bonus, they're a local company founded in Vienna, VA and currently operating out of Fairfax. I've been using LastPass for almost 5 years now, and I I consider it completely safe to use. I find it invaluable. If you need any assistance setting this service up, contact 3TG for help.