<ul><li>A tech outage has impacted multiple critical services like banking and airlines across the world.</li><li>Users have reported facing a <keyword id="22469490" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="blue-screen-of-death" source="keywords">blue screen of death</keyword> (<keyword id="22471491" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="BSOD" source="keywords">BSOD</keyword>) on their computers.</li><li>Here’s everything you need to know about BSOD and how to solve it.</li></ul>Services across the world were affected on Friday after a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/microsoft-windows-outage-london-stock-exchange-banks-and-airlines-across-the-world-affected/articleshow/111856595.cms">tech outage</a> resulted in a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) issue. This cyber outage resulted in airlines grounding flights, news channels going off the air, disruption in banking services and more.<br /><br />You may have often heard about the infamous BSOD error. It is an issue that has haunted <keyword id="19900653" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Windows" source="keywords">Windows</keyword> users for decades. It is a critical system error that causes the operating system to crash abruptly, displaying a blue screen with information related to the error.<br /><br />        <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111856595" title="Microsoft outage – London Stock Exchange, banks and airlines across the world affected" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><br />In this article, we look into the causes, effects, and some of the solutions related to BSOD.<br /><br /><h2><keyword id="22472465" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="what-is-bsod" source="Orion">What is BSOD</keyword>?</h2>The BSOD is visible as a solid blue screen with white text and appears when the Windows operating system encounters a fatal error that it cannot recover from without restarting.<br /><br />This error results in the termination of all operations on the computer, making it impossible for users to continue working until the system is rebooted.<br /><br />Frequent BSOD occurrences can indicate underlying hardware or software problems that need to be addressed to prevent further issues.<br /><br /><h2>Why does BSOD occur?</h2>There are several causes a BSOD can occur.<br /><br /><h3>Hardware issues</h3>A BSOD can occur due to hardware issues such as faulty RAM, hard drive errors such as bad sectors or failing drives, or excessive heat that can cause components like the CPU or GPU to malfunction.<br /><br /><h3>Software issues</h3>Coming to software, a BSOD can be caused by damage to crucial system files required for Windows operation, viruses or malicious software or incompatible applications or utilities with Windows may cause system instability.<br /><br /><h3>Driver issues</h3>Incompatible or outdated device drivers, improper installation or corrupted drivers or conflicting drivers can also result in a BSOD.<br /><br /><h3>Operating system</h3>In some cases, updates or patches applied to Windows may introduce bugs that trigger BSODs.<br /><br /><h2><keyword id="22472466" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="how-to-solve-bsod" source="Orion">How to solve BSOD</keyword>?</h2><h3>Use error code</h3>The BSOD typically displays an error code that can provide clues about the cause of the crash. You can use this code to identify the cause of the BSOD.<br /><br /><h3>Hardware diagnostic</h3>Perform hardware diagnostics to check for issues with RAM, hard drives, and other components.<br /><br /><h3>Update drivers</h3>Ensure all device drivers are up to date. Use Device Manager or third-party software to check for updates or reinstall drivers if necessary.<br /><br /><h3>System Restore</h3>If the BSOD started occurring after a recent change or installation, use the System Restore function to revert the system to a previous stable state.<br /><br /><h3>Check for malware</h3>Run a thorough scan to detect and remove any malware that could be causing system instability.<br /><br /><h3>Windows update</h3>Ensure Windows is up to date with the latest patches and updates. An outdated version of Windows can also be responsible for BSOD.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/microsoft-windows-outage-london-stock-exchange-banks-and-airlines-across-the-world-affected/articleshow/111856595.cms">Microsoft outage – London Stock Exchange, banks and airlines across the world affected</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/global-cyber-outage-what-is-crowdstrike-how-is-it-linked-to-the-global-microsoft-outage/articleshow/111859241.cms">Global Cyber Outage: What is CrowdStrike? How is it linked to the global Microsoft outage?</a><br /><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-9-pro-fold-to-launch-in-india-on-august-14-alongside-the-pixel-9-series/articleshow/111855704.cms"><strong>Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold to launch in India on August 14 alongside the Pixel 9 series</strong></a><br />

BSOD: What's the error behind global cyber outage? How to fix it?

On Thursday evening, a significant <keyword id="22471557" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-cyber-outage" source="keywords">global cyber outage</keyword> began, causing a massive disruption to Microsoft Windows users around the world. This event impacted users in countries including India, Australia, Germany, the United States, and the UK, with affected systems displaying the dreaded <keyword id="22469490" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Blue-Screen-of-Death" source="keywords">Blue Screen of Death</keyword> (BSOD).<br /><br />This malfunction led to automatic system restarts or shutdowns, severely hampering productivity and operations across various sectors. The root cause, as identified by companies like Dell Technologies, was linked to a recent update from the <keyword id="19906883" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cybersecurity" source="keywords">cybersecurity</keyword> firm <keyword id="20424191" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CrowdStrike" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="CrowdStrike" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="CrowdStrike">CrowdStrike</keyword>.<br /><br />The outage had far-reaching consequences, particularly for essential systems used by several airlines. In the US, carriers such as American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Allegiant, and Sun Country experienced operational disruptions. Similarly, in India, IndiGo and other airlines were affected. Beyond the aviation industry, the outage also disrupted banks, supermarkets, media outlets, and other businesses who are extensively reliant on Microsoft's cloud services.<br /><h2>What is CrowdStrike?</h2>CrowdStrike is a leading cybersecurity company known for its advanced security solutions designed to protect against <keyword id="19973480" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="data-breaches" source="keywords">data breaches</keyword>, <keyword id="19955190" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ransomware" source="keywords">ransomware</keyword>, and <keyword id="19945689" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyber-attacks" source="keywords">cyber attacks</keyword>. Founded in 2012 by former McAfee employee George Kurtz, CrowdStrike has become a critical player in the cybersecurity landscape, serving a diverse clientele that includes global investment banks, universities, and major corporations.<br />  <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111858142" title="Global cyber outage: Microsoft users report &amp;#39;blue screen of death&amp;#39;; flights cancelled" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>At the heart of CrowdStrike's offerings is the <keyword id="21411329" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Falcon-platform" source="keywords">Falcon platform</keyword>. This comprehensive cybersecurity solution uses a single sensor and a unified threat interface to provide real-time indicators of attacks, hyper-accurate detection, and automated protection. The platform is designed to correlate attacks across endpoints, workloads, and identities, effectively stopping identity-driven breaches in real time.<br /><br />The recent issues stemmed from an update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor. This update reportedly caused the sensor to malfunction, leading to conflicts with Windows systems and resulting in the widespread blue screen errors. CrowdStrike acknowledged the error and has since been actively working on a resolution. The company assured users that there was no need to open a support ticket and promised to provide updates as they become available.<br /><h2>CrowdStrike, Sony, and <keyword id="19910206" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="North-Korea" source="keywords">North Korea</keyword></h2>CrowdStrike is no stranger to the spotlight, having been involved in several high-profile cyber investigations. One notable case is the 2014 Sony Pictures hack, where a group called the Guardians of Peace, believed to be affiliated with North Korea, hacked into Sony Pictures Entertainment.<br />  <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111856595" title="Microsoft outage – London Stock Exchange, banks and airlines across the world affected" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>GoP stole vast amounts of information and threatened acts of terrorism against movie theatres unless Sony cancelled the release of "<em>The Interview</em>," a comedy about the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In this investigation, CrowdStrike discovered evidence that seemed to definitively connect North Korean players to the Sony hacking.<br /><h2>The “Blue Screen of Death” explained</h2>The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is a critical error screen displayed on Windows operating systems when a severe system issue occurs, preventing safe operation. This error forces the computer to restart unexpectedly, often resulting in data loss. In the recent incident, the BSOD error message indicated that the PC ran into a problem and needed to restart, leaving users frustrated and businesses scrambling for solutions.<br /><br />While Microsoft has confirmed that the Azure outage has been resolved, the incident has brought a spotlight to the potential risks associated with heavy reliance on cloud services. Meanwhile, CrowdStrike has offered solutions on its members-only platform and continues to address the fallout from the outage.<br />

Global Cyber Outage: What is CrowdStrike? How is it linked to the global Microsoft outage?

<ul><li>A global <keyword id="1571551" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Microsoft-outage" source="Orion">Microsoft outage</keyword> has impacted airlines, banks and other services.</li><li>The outage has resulted in disruption of flights from Indigo, SpiceJet and other airlines.</li><li>Here’s everything we know so far about the <keyword id="10387" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="microsoft" source="Orion">Microsoft</keyword> outage.</li></ul> In what is emerging as one of the biggest tech outages, Microsoft’s services across the world have been impacted by Blue Screen of Death<br /> (BSOD) errors.<br /><br />This has impacted the London Stock Exchange, halted banking services, and grounded several airlines such as Indigo, SpiceJet, and more. The global outage has affected various Microsoft services such as Azure, Microsoft 365 and more. Amazon Web Services has also recorded some reports of outages.<br /><br />“We're investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services,” Microsoft said in a statement.<br /><br />"Crowdstrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts. Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed,” said George Kurtz, CEO, Crowdstrike.<br /><br /><div type="twitter" handle="IndiGo6E" handlename="IndiGo6E" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1814200437756641734"></div><br /><div type="twitter" handle="flyspicejet" handlename="flyspicejet" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1814194223052144749"></div><br />Air India has issued an advisory on X, saying “Our digital systems have been impacted temporarily due to the current Microsoft outage resulting in delays. We regret the inconvenience caused and request our guests to plan their travel accordingly.”<br /><br />The London Stock Exchange on Friday said that its news services were experiencing a global technical issue which prevented news from being published on its platform. The stock exchange was also experiencing technical problems publishing its spot and forward prices for currencies.<br /><br />A traveller in Hyderabad, flying through Indio posted on X that he had received a hand-written boarding pass.<br /><br /><div type="twitter" handle="akothari" handlename="akothari" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="181420206853155266"></div><br /><br />Delhi Airport, in a post on X, said that some of the services at the airport were impacted due to the outage.<br /><br /><div type="twitter" handle="DelhiAirport" handlename="DelhiAirport" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1814203660186120407"></div><br />According to reports, a faulty update from CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity provider is forcing affected PCs and servers offline, resulting in a recovery boot loop. “We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions,” CrowdStrike said in a support page.<br /><br />"We are aware of issue affecting a subset of customers. We acknowledge the impact this can have on customers, and we are working to restore services for those still experiencing disruptions as quickly as possible,” Mic<br /><br />UK broadcaster Sky News was unable to broadcast, forcing it off the air.<br /><br />American low-cost airline Frontier has cancelled some flights in the US due to the outage. Ryanair, a major European airline reported “third-party” IT issues, which were impacting its flight departures.<br /><br />Microsoft revealed that the outage started around 6 pm ET on Thursday, with some of its customers experiencing issues with Azure services in the Central US. Frontier on Thursday cancelled 147 flights and delayed 212 flights.<br /><br />Berlin airport has warned users of travel delays due to “technical issues.” <br /><br />It’s not just business, several 911 emergency call centres in Alaska have also reported an outage.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/wazirx-suspends-withdrawals-after-230-million-worth-of-cryptos-stolen-in-a-hack/articleshow/111853401.cms">WazirX suspends withdrawals after $230 million worth of cryptos stolen in a hack</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/honor-200-and-honor-200-pro-launched-in-india-starting-at-34999/articleshow/111830855.cms">Honor 200 and Honor 200 Pro launched in India starting at ₹34,999</a><br /><br /></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/amazon-prime-day-2024-to-begin-on-july-20-in-india-everything-you-need-to-know-about-amazons-biggest-sale/articleshow/111838068.cms"><strong>Amazon Prime Day 2024 to begin on July 20 in India – everything you need to know about Amazon’s biggest sale</strong></a><br />

Microsoft outage – London Stock Exchange, banks and airlines across the world affected

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A mass IT outage is disrupting operations at banks, retailers, airports, and other organizations.</li><li>Microsoft said some people rebooted their devices up to 15 times to troubleshoot the issue.</li></ul><p>Microsoft has a solution for its <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mass-it-outage-911-lines-down-parts-of-us-havoc-2024-7">mass IT outage</a>: lots and lots of reboots.</p><p>The outage began disrupting industries on Thursday and continued into Friday morning, according to a post by <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://azure.status.microsoft/en-gb/status">Microsoft's cloud platform Azure</a>.</p><p>"We have been made aware of an issue impacting Virtual Machines running Windows Client and Windows Server, running the CrowdStrike Falcon agent, which may encounter a bug check (BSOD) and get stuck in a restarting state," the company said.</p><p>To fix this problem, Microsoft said customers may need to reboot their devices more than a dozen times.</p><div type="image" title="Screenshot of post from Microsoft Azure website" height="362" width="1254" msid="111868565" hostid="261" sizebytes="38404"></div><p>"We've received feedback from customers that several reboots (as many as 15 have been reported) may be required, but overall feedback is that reboots are an effective troubleshooting step at this stage," Microsoft said.</p><p>The company also said some customers reported successful recoveries after completing "multiple Virtual Machine restart operations" on their devices. There are options to troubleshoot with the Azure Portal, Azure CLI, or Azure Shell.</p><p>The CEO of CrowdStrike, a third-party cybersecurity giant used by Microsoft, said in an <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://twitter.com/George_Kurtz/status/1814235001745027317">X post</a> that the issue originated from a "defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts."</p><p>"This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed," George Kurtz wrote.</p><p>Kurtz later apologized to customers during an NBC News interview, saying it "could take some time" for the systems to rebound.</p><p>Meanwhile, everything from <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-disruptions-airline-bank-london-stock-exchange-microsoft-outage-2024-7">air travel to banks has been impacted by the CrowdStrike issue</a>.</p><p>Cybersecurity expert James Bore told BI that the <a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fix-windows-computer-blue-screen-death-what-to-try-2024-7">outages were caused by CrowdStrike's Falcon tool</a>. He said Falcon has a corrupted file that's "knocking out computers, putting them into what's known as the 'blue screen of death."</p><p>Bore said that fixing the issue would require manually rebooting a device in "safe mode" and deleting the specific file.</p><p><a target="_blank" class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fix-windows-computer-blue-screen-death-what-to-try-2024-7">Learn how to fix the problem here</a>.</p>

Did you turn it off and on? Microsoft says some users solved the CrowdStrike problem after rebooting up to 15 times.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>CrowdStrike explained in a memo how a faulty update caused a global Microsoft IT outage on Friday.</li><li>CrowdStrike said on Wednesday that its Rapid Response Content update contained an undetected error.</li></ul><p>Many of the world's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-disruptions-airline-bank-london-stock-exchange-microsoft-outage-2024-7">airlines, banks, and retailers came to a grinding halt last Friday</a> after a faulty update caused a global Microsoft IT outage. Now the cybersecurity firm behind the update, CrowdStrike, is explaining what happened.</p><p>In a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.crowdstrike.com/falcon-content-update-remediation-and-guidance-hub/">memo released Wednesday</a>, CrowdStrike said an update to its Rapid Response Content, which is "designed to respond to the changing threat landscape at operational speed," contained an "undetected error."</p><p>That error — explained in CrowdStrike's full memo, included below — caused <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crowdstrike-global-it-outage-one-defective-it-update-sparked-chaos-2024-7">chaos around the world</a>. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/united-american-warn-pilots-of-communication-issues-amid-grounding-2024-7">Thousands of flights were canceled</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mass-it-outage-911-lines-down-parts-of-us-havoc-2024-7">emergency 911 services went down</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supermarkets-fast-food-chains-retailers-disrupted-global-it-outage-2024-7">retailers closed stores or accepted only cash payments</a>, and some <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mass-it-outage-companies-operations-airlines-affected-microsoft-crowdstrike-2024-7">hospital operations were delayed or disrupted</a>.</p><p>CrowdStrike quickly deployed a fix, but <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crowdstrike-outage-why-taking-time-companies-recover-2024-7">it took time to go into effect</a>, with some systems <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fix-windows-computer-blue-screen-death-what-to-try-2024-7">requiring a manual reboot</a>.</p><p>It amounted to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/global-it-outage-y2k-24-years-later-crowdstrike-cyber-expert-2024-7">largest IT outage in history</a>, and some companies, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/delta-flight-cancellations-delays-worst-hit-airline-it-outage-2024-7">such as Delta Air Lines</a>, are still recovering from the fallout.</p><p>Read CrowdStrike's memo below:</p><blockquote class="blockquote"><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><strong>Preliminary Post Incident Review (PIR): Content Configuration Update Impacting the Falcon Sensor and the Windows Operating System (BSOD)</strong></section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">This is CrowdStrike's preliminary Post Incident Review (PIR). We will be detailing our full investigation in the forthcoming Root Cause Analysis that will be released publicly. Throughout this PIR, we have used generalized terminology to describe the Falcon platform for improved readability. Terminology in other documentation may be more specific and technical.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><strong><u>What Happened?</u></strong><br />On Friday, July 19, 2024 at 04:09 UTC, as part of regular operations, CrowdStrike released a content configuration update for the Windows sensor to gather telemetry on possible novel threat techniques.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">These updates are a regular part of the dynamic protection mechanisms of the Falcon platform. The problematic Rapid Response Content configuration update resulted in a Windows system crash.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Systems in scope include Windows hosts running sensor version 7.11 and above that were online between Friday, July 19, 2024 04:09 UTC and Friday, July 19, 2024 05:27 UTC and received the update. Mac and Linux hosts were not impacted.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">The defect in the content update was reverted on Friday, July 19, 2024 at 05:27 UTC. Systems coming online after this time, or that did not connect during the window, were not impacted.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><strong><u>What Went Wrong and Why?</u></strong><br />CrowdStrike delivers security content configuration updates to our sensors in two ways: <em>Sensor Content</em> that is shipped with our sensor directly, and <em>Rapid Response Content</em> that is designed to respond to the changing threat landscape at operational speed.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">The issue on Friday involved a Rapid Response Content update with an undetected error.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><em><u>Sensor Content</u></em><br />Sensor Content provides a wide range of capabilities to assist in adversary response. It is always part of a sensor release and not dynamically updated from the cloud. Sensor Content includes on-sensor AI and machine learning models, and comprises code written expressly to deliver longer-term, reusable capabilities for CrowdStrike's threat detection engineers.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">These capabilities include Template Types, which have pre-defined fields for threat detection engineers to leverage in Rapid Response Content. Template Types are expressed in code. All Sensor Content, including Template Types, go through an extensive QA process, which includes automated testing, manual testing, validation and rollout steps.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">The sensor release process begins with automated testing, both prior to and after merging into our code base. This includes unit testing, integration testing, performance testing and stress testing. This culminates in a staged sensor rollout process that starts with dogfooding internally at CrowdStrike, followed by early adopters. It is then made generally available to customers. Customers then have the option of selecting which parts of their fleet should install the latest sensor release ('N'), or one version older ('N-1') or two versions older ('N-2') through Sensor Update Policies.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">The event of Friday, July 19, 2024 was not triggered by Sensor Content, which is only delivered with the release of an updated Falcon sensor. Customers have complete control over the deployment of the sensor — which includes Sensor Content and Template Types.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><em><u>Rapid Response Content</u></em><br />Rapid Response Content is used to perform a variety of behavioral pattern-matching operations on the sensor using a highly optimized engine. Rapid Response Content is a representation of fields and values, with associated filtering. This Rapid Response Content is stored in a proprietary binary file that contains configuration data. It is not code or a kernel driver.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Rapid Response Content is delivered as "Template Instances," which are instantiations of a given Template Type. Each Template Instance maps to specific behaviors for the sensor to observe, detect or prevent. Template Instances have a set of fields that can be configured to match the desired behavior.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">In other words, Template Types represent a sensor capability that enables new telemetry and detection, and their runtime behavior is configured dynamically by the Template Instance (i.e., Rapid Response Content).</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Rapid Response Content provides visibility and detections on the sensor without requiring sensor code changes. This capability is used by threat detection engineers to gather telemetry, identify indicators of adversary behavior and perform detections and preventions. Rapid Response Content is behavioral heuristics, separate and distinct from CrowdStrike's on-sensor AI prevention and detection capabilities.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><em><u>Rapid Response Content Testing and Deployment</u></em><br />Rapid Response Content is delivered as content configuration updates to the Falcon sensor. There are three primary systems: the Content Configuration System, the Content Interpreter and the Sensor Detection Engine.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">The Content Configuration System is part of the Falcon platform in the cloud, while the Content Interpreter and Sensor Detection Engine are components of the Falcon sensor. The Content Configuration System is used to create Template Instances, which are validated and deployed to the sensor through a mechanism called Channel Files. The sensor stores and updates its content configuration data through Channel Files, which are written to disk on the host.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">The Content Interpreter on the sensor reads the Channel File and interprets the Rapid Response Content, enabling the Sensor Detection Engine to observe, detect or prevent malicious activity, depending on the customer's policy configuration. The Content Interpreter is designed to gracefully handle exceptions from potentially problematic content.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Newly released Template Types are stress tested across many aspects, such as resource utilization, system performance impact and event volume. For each Template Type, a specific Template Instance is used to stress test the Template Type by matching against any possible value of the associated data fields to identify adverse system interactions.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Template Instances are created and configured through the use of the Content Configuration System, which includes the Content Validator that performs validation checks on the content before it is published.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><em><u>Timeline of Events: Testing and Rollout of the InterProcessCommunication (IPC) Template Type</u></em><br />Sensor Content Release: On February 28, 2024, sensor 7.11 was made generally available to customers, introducing a new IPC Template Type to detect novel attack techniques that abuse Named Pipes. This release followed all Sensor Content testing procedures outlined above in the Sensor Content section.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Template Type Stress Testing: On March 05, 2024, a stress test of the IPC Template Type was executed in our staging environment, which consists of a variety of operating systems and workloads. The IPC Template Type passed the stress test and was validated for use.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Template Instance Release via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crowdstrike.com/blog/falcon-update-for-windows-hosts-technical-details/">Channel File 291</a>: On March 05, 2024, following the successful stress test, an IPC Template Instance was released to production as part of a content configuration update. Subsequently, three additional IPC Template Instances were deployed between April 8, 2024 and April 24, 2024. These Template Instances performed as expected in production.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><em><u>What Happened on July 19, 2024?</u></em><br />On July 19, 2024, two additional IPC Template Instances were deployed. Due to a bug in the Content Validator, one of the two Template Instances passed validation despite containing problematic content data.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Based on the testing performed before the initial deployment of the Template Type (on March 05, 2024), trust in the checks performed in the Content Validator, and previous successful IPC Template Instance deployments, these instances were deployed into production.</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper">When received by the sensor and loaded into the Content Interpreter, problematic content in Channel File 291 resulted in an out-of-bounds memory read triggering an exception. This unexpected exception could not be gracefully handled, resulting in a Windows operating system crash (BSOD).</section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><strong><u>How Do We Prevent This From Happening Again?</u></strong></section><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><strong>Software Resiliency and Testing</strong></section><ul><li><section class="blockquote-wrapper">Improve Rapid Response Content testing by using testing types such as:</section><ul><li>Local developer testing</li><li>Content update and rollback testing</li><li>Stress testing, fuzzing and fault injection</li><li>Stability testing</li><li>Content interface testing</li></ul></li><li>Add additional validation checks to the Content Validator for Rapid Response Content. A new check is in process to guard against this type of problematic content from being deployed in the future.</li><li>Enhance existing error handling in the Content Interpreter.</li></ul><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><strong>Rapid Response Content Deployment</strong></section><ul><li>Implement a staggered deployment strategy for Rapid Response Content in which updates are gradually deployed to larger portions of the sensor base, starting with a canary deployment.</li><li>Improve monitoring for both sensor and system performance, collecting feedback during Rapid Response Content deployment to guide a phased rollout.</li><li>Provide customers with greater control over the delivery of Rapid Response Content updates by allowing granular selection of when and where these updates are deployed.</li><li>Provide content update details via release notes, which customers can subscribe to.</li></ul><section class="blockquote-wrapper"><em>In addition to this preliminary Post Incident Review, CrowdStrike is committed to publicly releasing the full Root Cause Analysis once the investigation is complete.</em></section></blockquote>

Read the memo from CrowdStrike explaining how its update broke the world's computers

<ul class="summary-list"><li>You can try to fix the <keyword id="1659959" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Blue-Screen-of-Death">Blue Screen of Death</keyword> on your <keyword id="6354717" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Windows">Windows</keyword> computer with a number of troubleshooting methods; below are the most common steps you can take.</li><li>The Blue Screen of Death on Windows indicates a critical fault and forces your computer to restart. On a properly functioning computer, Blue Screen errors should be rare or nonexistent.   </li><li>Blue Screen errors are generally unintelligible and can have many causes, so the details of the error code are unlikely to tell you what the problem is. </li></ul><p>The "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/blue-screen-of-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blue Screen of Death</a>," often abbreviated as BSOD or just called a Blue Screen, is the name that's been given to a generic set of error messages <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/windows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Windows</a> computers display when a critical fault has occurred. A Blue Screen means that Windows can't proceed, so after displaying the error message, Windows will perform some behind-the-scenes housecleaning and restart. Unfortunately, there's no opportunity to save your work, so a Blue Screen often involves losing data.  </p><p>Blue Screen errors should be rare – if it happens to you frequently, you have a serious problem with your computer and should get the issue resolved professionally or replace the PC entirely. Even a very rare Blue Screen can be frustrating and costly (in terms of lost data or wasted time), though. </p><p>Unfortunately, these error messages are unintelligible to ordinary users (and rarely tell even experienced programmers or developers enough to make meaningful recommendations), and there can be so many potential causes that they are very difficult to troubleshoot. </p><h2><strong>How to fix a Blue Screen of Death on a Windows PC</strong></h2><p>These seven tips provide some general guidance for dealing with Blue Screen of Death error in Windows. </p><div type="image" title="How to fix the Blue Screen of Death in Windows 1" height="1080" width="1920" msid="78916548" hostid="261"></div><h3><strong>Uninstall incompatible software</strong></h3><p>Because there are so many potential causes, it's helpful to start with the simplest possible fixes and work your way towards more complex or difficult troubleshooting steps. </p><p>Your BSOD won't definitively identify the cause, but if you get the error more than once while running a particular program, that app might be to blame. If there's an updated version available, be sure to upgrade. If not, try uninstalling that app to see if the problem goes away. You can follow the instructions in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-uninstall-programs-on-windows-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our article on uninstalling programs</a> on <keyword id="6423476" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="windows-10">Windows 10</keyword>. </p><div type="image" title="How_to_fix_the_Blue_Screen_of_Death_in_Windows 2" height="1215" width="1524" msid="78916550" hostid="261"></div><p>Because the problem might not be the program you were actively using when the BSOD occurred, you should also consider any other programs that were running in the background or that are currently idle, minimized to the taskbar, or running on a virtual desktop. Uninstall any software that seems to be running every time a Blue Screen occurs. </p><h3><strong>Run a memory checker</strong></h3><p>Defective memory – specifically, Random Access Memory, or RAM, could be causing a BSOD, and it's one of several possible culprits if you get frequent, rather than only occasional, Blue Screens. Thankfully, there's a memory-checking tool built into Windows. </p><p>In the Start search box, type "Memory" and then click "Windows Memory Diagnostic" when it appears in the search results. Click "Check for problems the next time I start my computer" and restart your computer to run the test. </p><p>After your computer restarts, you'll need to find the test result. In the Start search box, type "Event Viewer" and then click "Event Viewer" when it appears in the search results. </p><p>In the pane on the left, click "Windows Logs" and then click "System." In the pane on the right, click "Find" and search for "Memory Diagnostic." You should see the test results – if there were any problems reported, defective memory could be causing a BSOD.</p><div type="image" title="How_to_fix_the_Blue_Screen_of_Death_in_Windows 3" height="1043" width="1618" msid="78916553" hostid="261"></div><h3><strong>Check for hard drive errors</strong></h3><p>Similarly, a problematic hard drive could be causing a BSOD. To check it for errors, type "this PC" in the Start search box and click it when you see it appear in the search results. Right-click your "C" drive and choose "Properties." Then click the "Tools" tab in the hard drive's Properties window. In the "Error checking" section, click "Check" and follow the instructions to manually check the hard drive. </p><h3><strong>Remove non-essential peripherals</strong></h3><p>Blue Screen of Death is often caused by hardware issues rather than software problems – hence checking your memory and hard drive in the above troubleshooting steps. A fast and easy way to troubleshoot a recurring BSOD issue is to uninstall any external peripherals, such as printers, scanners, external storage, and so on. If these devices have special software installed, uninstall those as well. </p><h3><strong>Replace defective or incompatible expansion cards</strong></h3><p>It can be time-consuming and cumbersome to remove hardware from inside your PC, but if you have a recurring BSOD, this is sometimes the culprit. In particular, premium <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/graphics-card" target="_blank" rel="noopener">graphics cards</a> and audio cards can be the root of the problem. For the graphics card in particular, try removing it and plugging your monitor into the motherboard's built-in graphics; you should see a separate <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/hdmi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HDMI</a> port on the back of your PC for this. You should also uninstall the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/nvidia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nvidia</a> or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AMD</a> graphics card driver software. </p><h3><strong>Run SetupDiag after a failed Windows update</strong></h3><p>If you are having problems with a BSOD specifically when trying to update your PC's Windows software, then a Windows tool called SetupDiag can help. This is a program that analyzes issues with your PC and can suggest why you are seeing a Blue Screen of Death when trying to update Windows. </p><p>To get started, go to <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/upgrade/setupdiag" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Microsoft's SetupDiag webpage</a> and click "Download SetupDiag." </p><p>After the download is complete, install the program and then run it. The program will display any issues it encountered, which might help you resolve your BSOD issue.  </p><div type="image" title="How_to_fix_the_Blue_Screen_of_Death_in_Windows 4" height="1491" width="1910" msid="78916559" hostid="261"></div><h3><strong>Perform a clean install</strong></h3><p>If none of these troubleshooting tips have resolved your recurring BSOD, there are still some other root causes, but you're generally faced with one of two primary possibilities: You have a software issue you haven't yet isolated, or you have a critical hardware problem with your computer that can't be easily repaired or replaced. </p><p>To eliminate the possibility of a software problem, you can perform a clean install of Windows. This erases all the content from your hard drive, which means you will need to reinstall all your programs. </p><p>To do this, click the Start search box and type "reset." Click "Reset this PC" in the search results. In the "Reset this PC" section, click "Get started." Follow the directions to reinstall Windows, keeping your files if you desire. When it's done, you'll have a clean, fresh new version of Windows without any of the software or drivers that might be causing the BSOD. If possible, use the computer in this state – installing only the most absolutely essential software – until you determine if the problem is resolved. </p><div type="image" title="How_to_fix_the_Blue_Screen_of_Death_in_Windows 5" height="1139" width="1773" msid="78916561" hostid="261"></div><iframe src="https://produktor.businessinsider.com/productCardService?id=5da085684af90912b812c413&amp;type=small&amp;live=true" width="100%" height="150%" frameborder="0" style="position:absolute; top:0; left: 0"></iframe><h2><strong>Related coverage from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-reference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech Reference</a>:</strong></h2><ul><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cant-update-windows-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">6 things to try if you can't update your Windows 10 computer, from restarting the PC to updating your drivers<br /></a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-uninstall-programs-on-windows-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to properly uninstall programs on Windows 10, to protect your computer and free up space</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-update-drivers-in-windows-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to update or reinstall your drivers in Windows 10 to keep your computer running smoothly</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-download-nvidia-drivers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How to download Nvidia drivers to keep your computer's graphics running smoothly and vibrantly</a></h3></li><li><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-are-drivers-on-windows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Your Windows computer runs using 'Drivers' — here's what they are, and how to find them</a></h3></li></ul>

How to fix a 'Blue Screen of Death' on your Windows computer with 7 troubleshooting tips

<p><img class="float_right" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/a337544b09a69449b2136000-400-300/steve-ballmer-windows-7-ces.jpg" border="0" alt="steve ballmer windows 7 ces" />As we <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-works-on-windows-blue-2013-2">previously reported</a>, <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> is gearing up to release a new version of Windows, possibly this summer.</p>
<p>It's codenamed Microsoft Blue and more details about it are emerging.</p>
<p>Redmond is rumored to be halfway done with its development, <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/microsofts-windows-blue-may-have-just-hit-milestone-1-7000011514/">reports Mary Jo Foley</a>.</p>
<p><keyword id="1611523" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Windows-blue">Windows Blue</keyword> is some kind of update to <keyword id="656949" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Windows-8">Windows 8</keyword> and it is expected to be free to all Windows 8 users, <a href="http://www.win8china.com/html/4189.html" target="_blank">win8china</a>, reports. They will get to test it and offer feedback to Microsoft before Microsoft makes it available to everybody.</p>
<p>It sounds like it will be an upgrade to Windows 8, not a new operating system that will be sold in addition to Windows 8.</p>
<p style="overflow: hidden; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">One big change will be to the "search charm." It's being improved all the way around, and will do a better job of finding and previewing more kinds of content, like movies and apps, <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/24/4023724/windows-blue-public-preview-search-improvements">The Verge reports.</a></p>
<p>Windows Blue is also expected to include the new Internet Explorer 11, run faster and work better on 7- and 8-inch devices.</p>
<p>We do wonder about choosing the code-name "Windows Blue" though, given that blue has never been a very good sign for Windows. The "blue screen of death" (BSOD) is the name for that awful error message indicating Windows had crashed.</p>

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