PETALING JAYA: In a widespread disruption, companies and users globally are experiencing crashes on their Windows laptops and desktop computers, and Malaysia is no exception.
The issue is reportedly affecting banking institutions, airlines, telecommunications providers and supermarkets globally, according to a report from the UK news daily The Guardian.
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According to various reports, Australian telecommunications company Telstra, the Sydney airport, and airlines Delta, United and American Airlines are affected.
The report further states that the crashes may be due to a software update pushed by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike to its digital security platform.
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CrowdStrike has since issued an alert, stating that the issues are due to “content deployment” that has since been reverted and advising a workaround fix via its customer forum.
Affected users have taken to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share photos of their frozen computer screens displaying the notorious “blue screen of death”, which suggests a potential system failure.
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Kuala Lumpur-based user @wallawaniey shared a photo of her laptop, asking, “Are you okay Microsoft?”. She also said that she tried restarting the device but “it doesn’t work at all”.
Another Malaysian user, @belleyangcerdik, wrote that her entire office is dealing with the blue screens, while @izzat_repeat questioned why this was happening.
Other users have also responded to the issue with memes as they rejoiced over the chance to leave work early on a Friday, with some Malaysians saying that this is a chance to “balik awal”.
LifestyleTech has reached out to Microsoft for comments.