New Delhi: Even as Microsoft has been dealing with a major global outage affecting millions of Windows users, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) on Friday issued an advisory asking the users to check the latest updates from the Crowdstrike portal.
Services across multiple sectors were severely affected globally due to a technical problem at the US tech giant Microsoft and American cyber security company Crowdstrike. Terming the issue critical, the CERT said, “It has been reported that Windows hosts related to crowd strike agent Falcon Sensor are facing outages and crashing due to recent updates received in the product. The windows concerned hosts are experiencing a Blue Screen of Death related to Falcon Sensor.”
How to stop Blue Screen error on Windows
The CERT said that to get rid of the Blue Screen error, Boot your Windows into Safe mode or Windows recovery environment.
It also suggested to the users to go to the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike directory. “Find the file with the name “C-00000291*.sys" and delete it and Boot your windows normally,” the CERT suggested.
Why The Blue Screen Error
According to an official Microsoft blog post, blue screen errors occur when there are serious problems that cause Windows to shut down or restart immediately. These errors can be caused by either software or hardware problems.
The Crowdstike in a statement said, “CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows hosts related to the Falcon Sensor. Symptoms include hosts experiencing a bugcheck\blue screen error related to the Falcon Sensor. Our engineering teams are actively working to resolve this issue and there is no need to open a support ticket.”
Cyber Expert’s Opinion
Speaking to ETV Bharat, renowned cyber security expert and founder of Cyber Peace Foundation, Major Vineet Kumar said that Blue Screen errors, also known as black screen errors or STOP code errors, can occur due to critical issues forcing Windows to shut down or restart.
“You may encounter messages like “Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.” These errors can be caused by hardware or software problems,” said Major Kumar. He said that some of the large US airlines such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines had to issue ground stops because of communication problems. Also, several airports on Friday suffered a massive technical issue in check-in kiosks for IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet and Air India Express.
“Blue Screen errors can stem from both hardware and software issues. If new hardware was added before the error, try removing it and restarting your PC. If restarting is difficult, start your PC in Safe Mode,” he said.
He suggested that to Start in Safe Mode From Settings it is advisable to Open Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.
“Under "Advanced startup," select Restart now. After your PC restarts to the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart. After your PC restarts, you'll see a list of options. Select 4 or press F4 to start in Safe Mode. If you need to use the internet, select 5 or press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking,” Major Kumar described.
Read more: Microsoft Outage Sparks Global Panic: Windows Users Hit by Blue Screen Chaos; Airlines Affected
