So Your Computer’s Still Working?
The widespread outage on 19th July 2024 impacted many Windows systems across the world but it wasn’t a Microsoft problem and didn’t affect all Windows computers. The nature of the issue was such that some systems had to be booted in “safe mode” and use “Bitlocker Keys” to restore them. While your computer was not likely directly affected there are lessons to learn from this issue.
What do you have on your device that is important? Whether it’s computer, phone, laptop or tablet, do you know what is stored on your device that you would want to keep in the event that the device is lost or irretrievably damaged? With documents, spreadsheets, email, contacts, photographs it’s best that you synchronise all of these across different devices, typically using “the cloud” is the simplest way to do so. Exact details on how to set up synchronisation will vary from device to device and would take individual articles depending on your systems. You need to be aware of where your files are and whether or not they are stored just on a single device.
Is your device encrypted? While encryption can assist with your privacy it can also mean that information cannot be recovered from your device in the event that it stops working. If your device is encrypted do you know how to unlock it?
Who can you reach out to for help? When the problem occurred on Friday many people could not open their work laptop. If your work laptop is unusable do you know how to raise a support ticket through work? Does your company have a support page accessible from a non-corporate device? Does your company have a telephone support line? You should have your work support line saved into both your work phone (if you have one) and your personal phone in the event that the problem impacts access to all your work systems.
Finally, scam artists will take advantage of issues like this, make sure that you’re only getting support from valid and trustworthy sources. IT support and vendors such as Microsoft will not call you out of the blue offering to fix issues. Always verify that the support team you’re working with are who they claim to be.
Tags:CloudStrike, Windows, IT Support
This update was first written by Darren Wall
on Monday 22nd Jul 2024.
Privacy : public
