A global computer outage, linked to Microsoft, is affecting a large number of services this Friday. Several sectors are heavily affected and it is not known when the bug will be fixed…
11:16 – Kaspersky reportedly found a way to fix the global outage
Kaspersky is a reference in cyber security and IT solutions. The company recently announced that it has found a solution to bypass the “Blue screen” problem when starting your computer. This manipulation consists of deleting a particular driver called “csagent.sys” or “C-00000291*.sys”.
To do this, when starting your Windows computer, you must go through the “safe” mode by pressing 4 or F4 when it is starting to launch the “safe mode without networking”. Then navigate through the drivers present on your machine to find one of the drivers previously mentioned and delete them.
Be careful though, if your machine depends on a corporate network, you will need special access from your system administrator.
11:06 – How long will the global blackout last?
Microsoft and CrowdStrike are currently working together to resolve the current outage. Microsoft is in the process of migrating data from the affected servers to new ones that would be safe from the global outage. Unfortunately, such a process is long and tedious. On its official blog, the company announces that “Migrations continue […] We see several improvements regarding Microsoft 365 applications and services.” The outage could therefore last several more hours.
10:54 – A bad night for Microsoft
In addition to the current outage affecting its equipment, Microsoft is not having a very good day. In just a few hours, the company has been under fire from critics and attacks for multiple reasons, including:
- The outage knocked out Xbox Live, its online gaming network.
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has declared Microsoft’s new Xbox Game Pass anti-competitive and is facing legal action.
- The cancellation of the Halo series, acclaimed and approved by Microsoft.
10:48 – CrowdStrike confirms working on resolving global outage
Following the botched update of its cyber security solution, the company CrowdStrike announces that it is aware of the problems that are currently affecting many users around the world. The company’s engineers are currently working to resolve the problem.
10:42 – Can the global blackout be bypassed?
At this time, it appears that many services and machines are affected by the Microsoft and CrowdStrike outage. We strongly advise you to switch to other machines and/or applications that are not affected by the problem. Computers running MacOS and Linux in particular appear to be intact. Alternative solutions to Office 365 can also be used during the outage and then migrated to your main software once it is resolved.
10:29 – Microsoft continues to investigate the outage
Microsoft didn’t wait long to communicate about the global outage that is currently affecting its servers. On the social network X (formerly Twitter), the company announced that it is investigating the problems that are currently affecting its solutions. Microsoft is in the process of migrating the affected solutions to new functional servers. According to the latest news, several programs and servers are starting to return to normal.
We’re investigating an issue impacting users ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services. More info posted in the admin center under MO821132 and on https://t.co/W5Y8dAkjMk
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 18, 2024
10:23 – What is CrowdStrike, the solution behind the global blackout?
According to several media outlets and experts, the global outage currently affecting Microsoft tools is linked to the CrowdStrike solution. This is a cybersecurity platform connected to the cloud that records data exchanged on different servers to ensure the security of the machines it equips. Everything suggests that multiple Microsoft servers are connected to CrowdStrike, and that the outage of this solution subsequently affects Microsoft machines.
10:19 – Multiple Windows computers restart with error message
Several users report an unexpected restart of their Windows computer. This coincides with the failure affecting the CrowdStrike software, which is the cause of the problem currently affecting Microsoft devices and solutions. However, this error does not come from your machine directly, but from Microsoft’s servers, and you will therefore have to be patient until the situation is resolved on the company’s side.
10:13 – Paris airports appear to be avoiding breakdown
France’s airports seem to have largely avoided the global Microsoft outage. Air France is only announcing that some operations may be disrupted, but that the Paris region’s airports are not affected by the outage.
10:08 – Microsoft 365 services are also cut
Several Internet users report that Microsoft Office 365 solutions are also affected by the outage affecting the company’s servers. However, the company has still not communicated on a future return to normal, and we will therefore have to be patient before being able to restart PowerPoint or Word for some users.
10:02 – London Stock Exchange also affected by outage
Also affected by the outage affecting Microsoft servers, the London Stock Exchange is showing several services that are now down on the morning of Friday, July 19.
09:54 – Several airports are at a standstill in India
Microsoft’s IT outage seems to be particularly affecting airports, where solutions are relying on the IT giant’s servers. In India, several airports currently appear to be without IT systems and are even forced to print tickets “the old-fashioned way.”
The Microsoft / CrowdStrike outage has taken down most airports in India. I got my first hand-written boarding pass today ???? pic.twitter.com/xsdnq1Pgjr
— Akshay Kothari (@akothari) July 19, 2024
09:53 – The failure would come from a critical error within an antivirus
According to several experts and media, this outage would come from a problem concerning an update deployed during the night on the CrowStrike solution. The latter is an anti-virus solution widely used around the world to ensure the security of Microsoft terminals and servers. The deployed update would include a critical error that would crash many devices dependent on Windows.
09:48 – Computer failure even interrupts several television channels
Jacquie Beltrao, a presenter for the American TV channel Sky News, has also just revealed that it is currently impossible for several channels to broadcast their content on television. This outage from Microsoft therefore seems to have multiple repercussions, but the company does not know when the problems will be fixed.
09:44 – Global outage affects Microsoft
Microsoft has just spoken out about a global outage affecting its servers on Friday, July 19. The outage is affecting the networks of many companies, including airlines such as Delta Airlines, American Airlines and United, whose flights are currently severely disrupted.