Users of Windows PCs reported their machines shutting down involuntarily, and during subsequent attempts to restart they became stuck on a blue screen — with Windows unable to load.
Watch the moment Sky News is pulled off air after 'tech issues' plague show
The firm is reportedly used by Microsoft to handle various updates to their systems.
An update released to CrowdStrike's Falcon software on Friday is believed to have caused the issue.
In response, the company wrote: "CrowdStrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows hosts related to the Falcon Sensor."
A Microsoft spokesperson released a statement saying: "We're aware of an issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform.
2
This graph from Downdetecter shows when outages were reported on the siteCredit: Downdetector
“We anticipate a resolution is forthcoming."
While CrowdStrike said in a statement: "Crowdstrike is actively working with customers impacted by a defect found in a single content update for Windows hosts.
“Mac and Linux hosts are not impacted. This is not a security incident or cyberattack. The issue has been identified, isolated and a fix has been deployed.”
When should Xbox users expect a fix?
Just before midnight on Thursday, July 18, almost 1,500 Xbox Live outages were reported on Downdetector.