Software & Apps - Page 16

UPDATE from CrowdStrike 7/24/2024 at 5:22pm CDT: "That claim is false. CrowdStrike did not send gift cards to customers or clients. We did send these to our teammates and partners who have been helping customers through this situation. Uber flagged it as fraud because of high usage rates."

CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company that was responsible for rolling out a faulty driver update to its software that caused 8.5 million Windows machines to enter endless blue screen of death boot loops is now offering customers partners $10 Uber Eats gift cards as a way of saying sorry for the inconvenience.

Reports indicate CrowdStrike is sending out emails to its partners offering a $10 Uber Eats gift card as an apology. Multiple sources have reported receiving these emails from the cybersecurity company, with one source speaking to Tech Crunch and saying CrowdStrike recognizes the "additional work that the July 19 incident has caused" and for that "your next cup of coffee or late night snack is on us!"

CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity company behind one of, if not the biggest IT outage in history, has explained where it went wrong after pushing out an update to its malware software that nuked a staggering 8.5 million Windows machines.

The update was released last Friday, and approximately 8.5 million Windows machines were thrown into infinite boot loops with blue screens of death, impacting many aspects of everyday society, such as airlines, supermarkets, telecommunications, emergency services, and more. Since then, CrowdStrike has been quiet on how it missed the faults within the driver throughout internal testing, which it has now explained in a new update.

Here's how it works. CrowdStrike's Falcon Sensor, the software that was updated and ultimately led to the global outage, uses what is called "Sensor Content," which is software that defines what Falcon Sensor is capable of. The software is updated with "Rapid Response Content" which is designed to enable the software to detect and collect information on any new threats.

Spotify first announced it was working on implementing a new "HiFi" or lossless audio quality into its product offering stack, providing consumers with an option of listening to high-quality music for a $5 increase in their monthly subscription.

Spotify announced its development on HiFi three years ago, and since then, there hasn't really been much talk about the new service, but the company's CEO Daniel Ek, recently touched on it during an earnings call where he said HiFi will likely be bundled with other Premium-level features, such as AI-powered playlists, additional control of the application, and other unannounced features.

The bundling of these features with HiFi is likely to provide more value to a buyer who will have to pay $20/month to access this deluxe version of the music-streaming platform. Ek said despite HiFi being announced three years ago it's still "in early days" of development. Reports previously estimated the new subscription tier, which would be above the current Premium tier, would be priced around $20 as Ek said this deluxe tier would be approximately "$5 above the current premium tier".

Google has a potential change inbound for Chrome to further help cure the browser of its reputation for resource hogging, whereby it'll detect websites that are draining resources and flag them up to you.

This change is only in testing for Chrome right now, in the Canary builds, as spotted by regular leaker Leopeva64 on X.

As you can see in the animated GIF in the above tweet, Chrome picks up on tabs that are consuming too much in the way of resources. These are brought to your attention in a pop-up panel, and to improve performance, you're offered the chance for Chrome to make them all inactive. You can do so simply by clicking the 'Fix now' button, or alternatively, you can dismiss the warning - or you can individually close some of the offenders, picking and choosing which sites are for the chop.

Microsoft has connected a deal struck in 2009 with the recent CrowdStrike meltdown that knocked 8.5 million Windows machines offline.

For those that don't know, CrowdStrike rolled out an update to its cybersecurity software that contained files that resulted in kernel-level failures on Windows machines. A kernel-level failure crashes the boot-up of the machine, causing a blue screen of death. Since CrowdStrike's software is marked as a "boot-start driver" machines were thrown into a blue screen of death boot loop.

CrowdStrike is definitely responsible for pushing out a faulty driver update to its customers, but Microsoft is also responsible for giving CrowdStrike, and seemingly third-party security vendors, access to kernel mode in Windows customers' machines. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, a Microsoft spokesperson placed the blame of the access at the feet of a deal struck in 2009 between the Redmond company and the European Union.

Last Friday, CrowdStrike rolled out a driver update to its Falcon software that caused 8.5 million Windows machines to be thrown into infinite boot loops.

The outage of Windows machines affected many facets of society, such as airlines, telecommunications providers, supermarkets, payment systems, and more. Since then, when the fault was discovered, both Microsoft and CrowdStrike issued guidance on how to remedy affected systems and estimated the number of systems disrupted. According to Microsoft's blog post about the CrowdStrike outage, internal estimates put the total number of affected systems at 8.5 million, or less than 1% of total Windows machines.

CorwdStrike has recently taken to its official X account to share an update on the situation, writing it continues to focus on restoring all disrupted systems "as soon as possible" and that of the approximately 8.5 million Windows devices affected by the faulty driver "a significant number are back online and operational." CrowdStrike also stated it's working on "a new technique to accelerate impacted system remediation," and the cybersecurity is currently "in the process of operationalizing an opt-in to this technique."

The world is still recovering from one of the biggest IT outages in history, which can be traced back to cybersecurity software company CrowdStrike.

But what actually caused the outage that Microsoft is saying affected 8.5 million Windows machines? Dave Plummer, a retired software engineer from Microsoft, took to his YouTube channel to explain how the outage happened in a condensed, extremely informative video. Plummer explains that an operating system uses a Ring system to differentiate code into two distinct types, Ring 0 (Kernel) and Ring 1 (User). Kernel mode is for the operating system itself, and user mode is where system applications run.

Kernel mode consists of tasks such as communicating with hardware and devices, managing memory, scheduling processes, and other core functionalities. Kernel code has a higher privilege than user code, and user code will never run in kernel mode, while kernel code will never run in user mode. Another important distinction between application code and kernel code is when application code crashes, just the application crashes, while if kernel code crashes the entire system crashes.

Windows 11 has been shown running on an Apple iPhone 15 Pro, and it's a pretty cool - if pointless - feat, one that was achieved with Tiny11.

Those familiar with the world of Windows will doubtless recognize Tiny11, the stripped-down version of Microsoft's desktop OS. So, how does this get installed on an iPhone?

Well, via the magic of emulation, as it's all thanks to the release of a new PC emulator, which has only just been approved for the Apple App Store last week.

On Friday, independent cybersecurity company CrowdStrike rolled out a driver update that knocked millions of Windows PCs offline, resulting in airlines, telecommunications providers, banks, emergency services, and many other facets of society being disrupted.

The outage was truly global, affecting multiple countries and critical infrastructure in various regions. CrowdStrike promptly responded with a workaround for the faulty driver that caused Windows machines to enter infinite boot loops with dreaded blue screens of death (BSOD). Unfortunately, the workaround requires physical intervention with the machine, as a user must boot into Safe Mode or Windows Recovery to delete the faulty driver.

For companies that rely heavily on Windows machines for day-to-day operations, this manual remedy will prove extremely time-consuming. With so many Windows machines affected by the outage, it begs the question of exactly how many Microsoft-powered devices were affected. Microsoft recently took to its blog to reveal the first internally estimated number. Redmond said it estimates 1% of its total Windows machines were affected by the CrowdStrike update, or approximately 8.5 million machines.

The world experienced one of, if not the biggest IT outage in history over the weekend, as independent cybersecurity company CrowdStrike rolled out a faulty driver update that caused millions of Windows PCs to be hit with the dreaded blue screen of death.

The IT outage affected numerous facets of society, including emergency services, hospitals, airlines, supermarkets, payment systems, telecommunications companies, stock exchanges, and more. The problem was traced back to a faulty driver that was pushed out by CrowdStrike, and since the issue resulted in affected PCs entering boot loops the fix has to be performed manually, which poses a real issue to businesses and companies that heavily rely on multiple Windows PCs.

Microsoft has now taken to its blog to recognize the outage, writing that while it wasn't the outage isn't the company's fault, it's working with CrowdStrike to remedy the situation for affected customers.

The CrowdStrike update that knocked millions of Windows PCs into boot loop cycles and blue screen of death error (BSOD) messages is truly a historic time for IT chaos, and with chaos comes people wanting to take advantage of the vulnerable.

An update containing a faulty driver was mistakenly verified and added to CrowdStrike's production line, which was then pushed out to millions of Windows computers around the globe. The millions of Windows PCs stuck blue screening have disrupted an exponential list of industries and critical infrastructure. For example, airlines were grounded, hospitals were knocked offline, and payment systems have fallen. The outage has disrupted banks, stock exchanges, supermarkets, and more.

Unfortunately, the fix for this problem must be done manually. A user must reboot the affected machine as many as fifteen times to enter Windows Recovery or boot to Safe Mode. From there, the user must locate a file and delete the broken driver. Then, simply reboot. With millions of PCs affected around the world and people searching for a workaround to fix their affected system or systems, users must be careful not to fall for scams claiming to have solutions.

The world's largest IT outage is currently being felt across the globe as millions of Windows PCs are stuck with the dreaded blue screen of death.

The IT outage has brought down critical infrastructure across the planet. An update issued by CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity software company that provides Microsoft with security solutions for Windows, contained a faulty driver that caused all affected systems to boot Windows incorrectly, resulting in the now rampant blue screen of death (BSOD).

Millions of systems were disrupted, including banks, airlines, emergency services, supermarkets, payment systems, telecommunications, businesses, hospitals, stock exchanges, and more. Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella took to X to comment on the recent outage, saying Microsoft is aware of this issue that is occurring globally and is working with CrowdStrike to provide "customers technical guidance and support to safely bring their systems back online."

The world's most significant IT outage is happening right now, and numerous countries and critical infrastructures are still recovering from or suffering from the dreaded Windows Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).

Millions of Windows PCs across the planet are being hit with the BSOD, with the affected systems disrupting banks, airlines, emergency services, supermarkets, payment systems, telecommunications, businesses, hospitals, stock exchanges, and more. The problem was traced back to CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity software company that issues solutions to Microsoft for its Windows operating system. CrowdStrike issued an update on Friday to its security platform, Falcon, which caused the "Falcon Sensor" component critically failing.

More specifically, a faulty driver update identified as "C-00000291.sys" is the culprit behind the outage. This driver addressed invalid memory space, causing Windows to boot incorrectly and, ultimately, the BSOD. Luckily, there is already a fix for the issue, but it appears it will have to be done manually, as it involves booting the affected PC in Windows Safe Mode or Windows Recovery.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) isn't happy with Microsoft's decision to increase the price of the Xbox Game Pass subscription.

The FTC filed a document with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, claiming the decision to increase the price of Game Pass was a move by a company "exercising market power" after its acquisition with Activision-Blizzard. The FTC filing states that Microsoft's price increases and "product degradation," combined with its "reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs," are hallmarks for it exerting its power on the market.

Notably, the filing is part of a larger appeal lodged by the FTC regarding Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which was finalized in October last year. While the $68.7 billion deal is completed, it still has an appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has yet to receive a ruling. The FTC calls the new Game Pass subscription tier a "degraded product" and explains its reasoning below.

Millions of Windows systems around the world are experiencing the blue screen of death or are stuck in repetitive boot loops after an update was rolled out by the cybersecurity software platform CrowdStrike, which provides cybersecurity solutions to Microsoft.

The outage is truly global, with reports indicating severe outages across Australia, India, and various other locations. Critical infrastructure has been affected across Australia, with banks, airlines, payment systems, telecommunications providers, and emergency services being knocked offline. Supermarkets and other retailers across Australia are closing their doors as they are unable to access their point-of-sale systems.

So, how do you fix a Windows blue screen of death (BSOD)? Microsoft states in its blogpost that a BSOD presents itself when a serious issue is detected in Windows. That issue can be either hardware or software-related. To bypass the blue screen of death a user will need to boot the computer in Safe Mode or Windows recovery environment. The steps for that process can be found below.

IT security firm CrowdStrike has experienced an outage that has resulted in millions of Windows PCs around the world being knocked offline.

The outage hasn't just affected PCs at home, but also critical infrastructure across multiple countries. CrowdStrike, which provides cybersecurity solutions to Microsoft for its Windows operating system, issued an update on Friday, which is suspected to be the cause of millions of Windows PCs getting hit blue screens of death (BSOD) error messages. Some reports indicate Windows PCs are being thrown in repetitive boot cycles.

What has this affected? Airlines across multiple countries have been grounded, 911 services in various states in the US are down, news outlets have been knocked offline in Australia, and some Point-of-Sale (POS) systems have been disrupted. Australia is seemingly experiencing the worst of the problem, as universities, POS systems, banks, telecommunications providers, and more have been knocked offline.

An outage due to a failure of CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity platform that provides cybersecurity solutions for Microsoft, has caused the 911 service to be unusable in multiple US states.

A major IT outage began unfolding globally only a matter of hours ago as the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which provides cybersecurity solutions to Microsoft for its Windows operating system, confirmed it experienced an issue that has resulted in many systems becoming unusable, including critical infrastructure such health services and emergency services.

The outage at CrowdStrike has affected many IT systems worldwide, including multiple countries such as India, Australia, Germany, and US emergency 911 services, along with select US airlines. The outage has seemingly hit Australia the hardest, as reports indicate some digital payments systems are now down, planes have been grounded, Sky News was knocked off the air, banks, telecommunications companies, and more.

On Sunday, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) said it was struggling to gain access to the phone owned by the man identified as Donald Trump's shooter.

The phone owned by Thomas Matthew Crooks, the man who shot and wounded former US President Donald Trump on July 13, had his phone seized by the FBI, who attempted to gain access to it in hopes of establishing a clear motivation for the attempted assassination. However, the FBI was unable to it themselves and contacted Israeli digital intelligence company Cellebrite, which specializes in providing data management tools for federal, state, and local law enforcement, along with enterprise companies.

The information comes from Bloomberg, who was in contact with people close to the investigation who requested anonymity to be able to speak freely. The local FBI bureau in Pittsburgh uses the Cellebrite software, but that software couldn't bypass the security on Crooks' Android-powered Samsung smartphone. The FBI contacted the Cellebrite team and then was transferred to the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, to provide technical support while it was developing new cracking software.

Apple has rolled out the latest version of iOS to the public and it comes with a bunch of new changes that are worth knowing about.

The public beta for iOS 18 has been unveiled, and it covers Apple's range of products with different operating system versions. For example, watchOS18, macOS Sequia, tvOS 18, and of course iPhone's iOS 18, are all available to download now. Users can do this by heading to Settings > Update and then opting into the public beta for the upgraded operating system.

iOS 18 is the operating system version slated to implemented Apple's version of artificial intelligence called Apple Intelligence, but unfortunately many of those main features have been left out of this public beta. Additionally, this article will be covering the top non-AI features currently available in the iOS 18 beta, which should help you decide if you want to upgrade to it or not.

The world's most popular operating system, Windows 10, is slowly losing market share to Microsoft's latest OS, Windows 11, according to the latest figures from Statcounter.

The newly released data sheds some light on Microsoft's market share issue ahead of the company's announced end-of-support date for Windows 10. As you can imagine, Microsoft wants all of its Windows 10 users to make the jump from Windows 10 to Windows 11, but it appears that isn't happening as fast as Redmond would like, as it was only earlier this year that Windows 11 became the first Microsoft OS to lose users to its previous generation. However, the recent data indicates those numbers are turning around.

While Microsoft doesn't reveal official market share numbers for its operating systems, Statcounter does give us an approximate insight into the current situation. The latest numbers state Windows 10 still doubles the market share of Windows 11, with the previous OS commanding 66% and the latest OS inching close to 30%.