It's that alert on your desktop—the "upgrades available" indicator when you check your computer. Or when your smartphone tells you that it's going to update later while you're sleeping, and you defer it to another time. What if you miss an email or a text? You think to yourself; you don't need to do that update; your phone is working fine. Well, unfortunately, that thought is incorrect. You very much need that update.

Being on guard can be exhausting in any situation. Learning behaviors that can offset the risk of danger can help, but it isn’t always a failsafe solution.  Such is the case with ransomware. You need to know the signs to look for when it comes to dangerous links in phishing emails, attachments that seem like they could be legitimate, or scams that direct you to a fraudulent webpage so that you can avoid potential catastrophe. This can be done via ongoing training programs and keep you constantly learning new approaches and tactics as they change (which is constantly!)

We, as humans, were built innately to worry. Fears have inevitably changed over the centuries, although that does not mean that our worries have become less. In fact, in a year that we have experienced extreme change and fear, we can testify anxiety and fear are not a thing of the past. With such extreme uncertainty in our world, Pendello President, Mike Jackson, found it to be no better time to read Yuval Noah Harari's most recent book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century.

It is accurate that 2020 changed the way we work. Many believe that we will never go back to thinking about work as a location but instead a culture. Microsoft is doubling down on this theory and has created a platform to truly connect employees in a virtual setting. As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said, “As the world recovers, there is no going back. Flexibility in when, where, and how we work will be key.” Micirosoft's solution, is newly released Microsoft Viva. Like the “Intranet” of old, Microsoft Viva is a platform that connects essential aspects of a your business in one central location. 

It is 2021, and many of us vowed to be a better version of ourselves as soon as that New Year's Eve ball dropped. I hope you have followed through with your resolutions, but even if you have not, how about if you strive to be a better Microsoft Teams user. With over 75 million active daily users, no matter where you work, there is a good chance that you are using Microsoft Teams. While you're trying to be the best you can be, why not be the best you can be at Teams as well? To be the best, you need to know the trade's real tricks to save you time and energy. Let's take a look at the top keyboard shortcuts to make your use of Teams even more useful.

We all could use a little help in remembering our tasks from time to time. In the busy world we live in, it can be challenging to keep up with our day-to-day duties, and many times, emails and tasks out of the ordinary get lost. In a perfect world, we would all have an assistant that briefs us on our day and reminds us of tasks that may have been forgotten. Fortunately, Microsoft understands that most of us are not privileged enough to have a personal assistant, and instead, they created a virtual assistant for all of us. Introducing, Cortana Briefing Emails. 

In March of 2020, work as we knew it instantly changed. We were used to an office environment where physical office space was the norm. Virtual meetings were the exception and were primarily used when clients were distant and travel was impossible. Although more and more companies had made working virtually more acceptable, the trend was merely beginning. The global pandemic of COVID-19 changed all of this. Many will look back on this year and remember it as a disaster. However, because of the challenging world pandemic, technology quickly evolved and was adopted faster than would have ever happened.