Several Microsoft Windows 10 computers around the world are experiencing a glitch that is affecting millions of people. On social media, people are posting pictures of their computer screens after their systems have experienced a BSOD, with the classic blue screen appearing on the display. The glitch has apparently affected not only people who are currently working in several offices around the world, but also critical locations like airports where services have been affected. It is reported that the glitch is likely the result of an update released by CrowdStrike.

Users on social media are posting screens showing the recovery page with a message that says, “Windows did not load correctly”. Popular airlines in India, including Akasa Air and IndiGo, have faced issues with their check-in systems due to the CrowdStrike update, which has reportedly caused outages. Microsoft is yet to comment on the matter.

CrowdStrike acknowledged the issue in a support note to its customers. “We have had widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts, occurring on multiple sensor versions,” the company said. It hasn’t said anything more yet.

Ryanair, a European airline, said that “network-wide disruption is expected (Friday 19 July) due to a global third-party system glitch.” “We apologize for any inconvenience caused to passengers due to this third-party IT issue, which is outside Ryanair’s control and affects all airlines operating across the network,” the company wrote on its website.

Akasa Air in India has also released an update on its services that have been affected by the BSOD caused by the CrowdStrike update. “Due to infrastructure issues with our service provider, some of our online services, including booking, check-in and managing booking services, will be temporarily unavailable. We are currently following manual check-in and boarding processes at airports and therefore,” the website wrote on X.

According to a report by Guardian Australia – which is likely one of the first to report the glitch, as offices in Australia reopened earlier than others – the glitch has “affected businesses including banks, airlines, telecoms companies, TV and radio broadcasters and supermarkets” which “have been taken offline after Blue Screen of Death error screens appeared on Windows workstations around the world.”

While it is not yet clear what the issue is, initial information suggests that the Windows BSOD is caused by an update released by CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity company based in the US. The update is reportedly part of the Falcon suite of software, which manages cybersecurity defenses in computers. This is possibly why not all Windows 10 computers have been affected, but only those running Falcon. A cybersecurity expert on Twitter said, “CrowdStrike Falcon agents are exploding right now and causing Blue Screen of Death boot loops on every endpoint. Reports of massive outages globally.”

While IT teams, especially in critical places like airports, hospitals and government offices, are struggling to respond to the Windows 10 CrowdStrike BSOD, some people – especially office workers – are seeing a ray of hope in their blue computers. They are tweeting that it is an early weekend. “CrowdStrike has declared an early weekend by destroying half the world’s systems. Even ransomware is not this effective,” wrote Gabriel, an X user.