Millions of Windows users worldwide are experiencing the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error, causing their systems to unexpectedly shut down or restart. Microsoft identified a recent CrowdStrike update as the cause. This bug has affected various sectors, including companies, banks, and government offices globally.

In response, many Indian airlines have informed their customers on X (formerly Twitter) about the issue, which has led to manual check-in and boarding processes at airports. Social media is flooded with images of screens stuck on recovery pages, displaying messages like "It looks like Windows didn't load correctly. If you'd like to restart and try again, choose Restart my PC below."

Australia's National Cyber Security Coordinator confirmed the large-scale technical outage affecting multiple companies and services in Australia, attributing it to a third-party software platform issue. Similar problems are reported in New Zealand, Japan, India, and other countries.

BSOD errors, also known as black screen errors or STOP code errors, occur when a critical issue forces Windows to shut down or restart to prevent damage to the system. Users may see messages such as "Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer." These errors can arise from hardware or software problems. For hardware-related issues, removing the new hardware and restarting the PC might help. If restarting is problematic, users can initiate their PCs in safe mode. Updating Windows with the latest patches, seeking assistance from other sources, or restoring Windows to a previous restore point are also recommended solutions. The Blue Screen Troubleshooter in the Get Help app can guide users through resolving these errors.

CrowdStrike, a major cybersecurity platform, is down, affecting users in India, Japan, Canada, Australia, and beyond. The company has acknowledged the issue, stating that engineers are actively working on a fix and will provide updates when the issue is resolved. CrowdStrike Falcon, their main product, offers endpoint protection, detection and response, threat intelligence, incident response, and security updates and patches for Windows systems.