5 ms·

I have never heard of crowdstrike. Is that some kind of antivirus? How is that related to PCs not booting? And why does it affect so many PCs if I've never hear

I have never heard of crowdstrike. Is that some kind of antivirus? How is that related to PCs not booting? And why does it affect so many PCs if I've never heard of it? I'm so confused

shadow28 2y ago
They make security software that is really popular in various industries.
- davidmurdoch 2y ago
  They make malware that steals funds from corporations (willingly!) so these corps can tick a security checkbox for some certification investors have been told is paramount; it's just disguised as security software.
  - account42 2y ago
    So in other words, they make "security" software just like any other security software company.
- moogly 2y ago
  Baffling name. Sounds more apt for a DDoS service.
shrikant 2y ago
It's enterprise anti-malware that [in addition to other bits] has a client component installed on all PCs in the corporate network. An update to that client component (called an "endpoint") is causing those Windows machines to BSOD. It's unlikely you'd have heard of it unless you've worked at a large enterprise that runs primarily Microsoft IT. Crowdstrike does have Mac/Linux "endpoints" also (IIRC) but I'm unsure if they're affected as well.
- bun_terminator 2y ago
  I've never seen a non-Windows machine tbh. But our IT just send out an update that we don't use crowdstrike. Strange that I never heard of it if it's so widespread. But thanks
  - bravetraveler 2y ago
    You'll see this software more in highly regulated areas. Think Government, finance, travel. It exists mainly to check a compliance box. The Windows claim is a little misleading. We used Linux where I last encountered this. I expect Windows is where problems are manifesting this time; BSOD and kernel panics with this aren't new! CrowdStrike seemingly came out of nowhere but has existed for a while... I think it's suspicious. Have we not learned from SolarWinds and company? The vendors become part of your posture. Consolidating far too much
- jachee 2y ago
  My company MacBook with the falcon client does not seem to be affected by this.
  - Klonoar 2y ago
    The problem is seemingly specifically in the Windows driver, you're unlikely to see an issue if you're not running Windows.
  - jurmous 2y ago
    MacOS does not allow kernel extensions anymore so these kinds of crashes cannot happen. The falcon client on Mac hooks into another layer
- vladvasiliu 2y ago
  >Crowdstrike does have Mac/Linux "endpoints" also (IIRC) but I'm unsure if they're affected as well. We have this crap running on our computers, and only Windows boxes seem affected. On Linux this isn't running in kernel mode (our kernels are too up-to-date) and we don't seem to have any issue there. Haven't heard anything about macs though.

I have never heard of crowdstrike. Is that some kind of antivirus? How is that related to PCs not booting? And why does it affect so many PCs if I've never heard of it? I'm so confused

shadow28 2y ago

They make security software that is really popular in various industries.

davidmurdoch 2y ago
They make malware that steals funds from corporations (willingly!) so these corps can tick a security checkbox for some certification investors have been told is paramount; it's just disguised as security software.
- account42 2y ago
  So in other words, they make "security" software just like any other security software company.
moogly 2y ago
Baffling name. Sounds more apt for a DDoS service.

shrikant 2y ago

It's enterprise anti-malware that [in addition to other bits] has a client component installed on all PCs in the corporate network. An update to that client component (called an "endpoint") is causing those Windows machines to BSOD. It's unlikely you'd have heard of it unless you've worked at a large enterprise that runs primarily Microsoft IT. Crowdstrike does have Mac/Linux "endpoints" also (IIRC) but I'm unsure if they're affected as well.

bun_terminator 2y ago
I've never seen a non-Windows machine tbh. But our IT just send out an update that we don't use crowdstrike. Strange that I never heard of it if it's so widespread. But thanks
- bravetraveler 2y ago
  You'll see this software more in highly regulated areas. Think Government, finance, travel. It exists mainly to check a compliance box. The Windows claim is a little misleading. We used Linux where I last encountered this. I expect Windows is where problems are manifesting this time; BSOD and kernel panics with this aren't new! CrowdStrike seemingly came out of nowhere but has existed for a while... I think it's suspicious. Have we not learned from SolarWinds and company? The vendors become part of your posture. Consolidating far too much
jachee 2y ago
My company MacBook with the falcon client does not seem to be affected by this.
- Klonoar 2y ago
  The problem is seemingly specifically in the Windows driver, you're unlikely to see an issue if you're not running Windows.
- jurmous 2y ago
  MacOS does not allow kernel extensions anymore so these kinds of crashes cannot happen. The falcon client on Mac hooks into another layer
vladvasiliu 2y ago
>Crowdstrike does have Mac/Linux "endpoints" also (IIRC) but I'm unsure if they're affected as well. We have this crap running on our computers, and only Windows boxes seem affected. On Linux this isn't running in kernel mode (our kernels are too up-to-date) and we don't seem to have any issue there. Haven't heard anything about macs though.