CrowdStrike Anti-Virus Causes Worldwide Outage

[Littlesister]

themartinchick, I think that was what I meant but didn't say that right. He really shouldn't have been running again to start with. His health is greatly declining. And now he has Covid.

[Ambergris]

Is anyone but me getting constant requests to update Google?  I looked it up and couldn't find any warnings so I let it update once, but the very next day it was doing the same thing again.  This is new and doesn't seem normal.  It's been going on for a few weeks now.  Seems like this is how a virus would spread.

[Littlesister]

I haven't had that issue but now my cell phone is telling me to change my password, so I did do that. But it keeps telling me to change it. Might call T-Mobil to see what is going on as it wants me to reset my voicemail. 

[themartianchick]

I had an issue a few days ago that seemed to indicate a (possible) problem with an update. I couldn't get my computer to load when I turned it on and I had to use a Microsoft security key (can't remember the actual name for it) to get in. I finally accessed the security key with another device and then had an issue when the computer went to sleep. I had to do it again and then a third time before the "fix" finally took. That happened on either Thursday or Friday. I love technology, but I am not a techie. Fortunately, I have a lot of devices and was able to Google how to find what was needed and then actually access the security key. The whole experience was odd.

 

I suspect that a whole lot of companies are asking folks to change their passwords as a security precaution. I haven't done anything sensitive today, so I haven't been asked to make any changes.

 

Edited to add: I almost forgot... I was asked to change the password that I use to access my computer once I used the security key. It is a bit of a pain... I keep trying to use the old one!

Edited July 21 by themartianchick

[Ambergris]

My computer has forgotten that I have a version of Office that I own, and keeps trying to get me to use 365, a leased program.  Apparently I need to re-download my version, but the question is how.

 

 

This is the thing I keep getting for Google:  C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\GoogleUpdater\128.0.6537.0\updater.exe

[Jeepers]

As for gold coins, most people don't buy an ounce at a time. They buy either 1/4 ounce or 1/10 ounce coins. 

 

We used our charge cards in Greece, Turkey and in Germany. There was a small transaction fee but it was just a few dollars. In all of the tourist places that we went, everyone wanted US dollars. 

 

I rarely use checks any more except to pay service people who charge me a fee to use my card. I will pay cash if I'm available at the time of service. And I do leave checks for my DIL to use to pay for our lawn service. But that's about it. Oh, and to transfer money from my Ohio bank to my Indy bank about 3 times a year and I go inside the bank to do that. 

 

I almost have to have auto bill paying in Indy now. But I drug my feet until I bought a house over there. By the time I got a bill mailed to me, and I sent it back, it would probably end up over due every month. Plus I needed someplace for my SS check to be deposited. I do have to admit that I really like the convenience of having everything auto deducted each month. I think I'm going to keep it that way. Never thought I'd do that but I probably will. SS check goes in and the bills come out. 

 

I use my charge card for everything because I get cash back on everything I buy. I make a couple of thousand dollars a year off of them. Free money if I pay them off every month. I do. 

 

Oh my Mother, I was just griping about all of the paper in the insurance bills today. I get a statement from Part D every month. I really don't need all of that information. It's like a packet of useless information. And the last page is all in foreign languages. I get one statement from my stock account where one page is in foreign languages and the last page says, this page is left blank on purpose. Why send it?!  And those pages are thick and the size of notebook paper. I get monthly statements here for everything. But to be honest, if I didn't get a statement here, I would forget to pay them. In Indiana, it's all automatic. 

 

My life is going to be so much easier when I get moved. And a lot less expensive...I hope. 

[Mt_Rider]

Ambergris...nope, no Google updates offered/required at our house.  

 

I'm lucky to have DH doing all the bills, and such.  With my head for numbers - - NOT - - I'd soon have us in a whirlwind of trouble. 

 

We use debit cards tied to a credit union. DH has had me practicing using the lobby machine for cash.  I keep forgetting HOW!    He saw how helpless my mom was when dad went into the care home and thot that shouldn't happen to me if he passed.  Yeah, good thinking.  I used to do all of our business/money issues.  But he got up to speed from his office and I went downhill.  Teeter Totter life. 

 

I so rarely do any of the paying in stores.  Since I cannot drive anymore except lonely gravel roads, I feel quite proud of myself if I take my old truck into the village and get gas.     But they keep changing how they do it.  Go inside; tell them an estimate of how much you're spending....    uhhh... I dunno.  How much has gas gone up since I last filled this vehicle?    Yeah, I estimated a little low and it wasn't a complete fill.  But I'm not going back in....   

 

We used to pump til it clicked off full.  IF ROTTEN CHEATERS would quit forcing more and more COMPLEXITY into these simple transactions, mebbe I could keep up.  No, I'm not gonna run off without paying for the gas...........  {except if my brain goes 'flat line' and I forget    )   Nah...that wouldn't happen, right?  

 

MtRider  ...thanks for prayers and well wishes while my family is gallivanting off to Asia!   

[Littlesister]

Google hasn't done an update on me since it was done about 3 weeks ago.  I am getting ready to make some changes on how I do my bills soon. I write checks for the utilities and for my BC/BS prescription plan as they claim they don't do auto pay for that. I need to find out what is going on with that one. Because I am sure they do as my BC/BS medical insurance is auto deducted each month. Need to work on that soon as well. I have to make a change from BC with the gas co. since I am nearing my $50,000 lifetime limit.  So, I have been looking into a few options. Hopefully I can auto pay this one when I choose it. Not sure if there are still any issues with this CrowdStrike anti-virus other than everyone trying to change passwords and get things set back up.  I am wondering if this is going to be a new norm from now on.

[themartianchick]

50 minutes ago, Littlesister said:

Hopefully I can auto pay this one when I choose it. Not sure if there are still any issues with this CrowdStrike anti-virus other than everyone trying to change passwords and get things set back up.  I am wondering if this is going to be a new norm from now on.

When my credit union was attacked by ransomware, any payments that I set up to automatically pay bills each month went out as scheduled. Any payments from companies attempting an ACH transfer to move money out of the account also occurred on schedule. However, I could not access the credit union website to make any new transactions or even to check my balance. This particular financial institution is located out of state, so I usually perform in-person transactions at a local credit union that is part of the same shared services network. I am not sure whether or not I could have gotten any transactions done at the shared services branch.

 

The experience reinforced a few things for me:

 

1) Set your bills up for auto-pay within your account so that you can send a set amount to each creditor each month.

2) Use your credit card companies' websites to set up auto pay to pay the bare minimum each month. This means that you will never miss a payment, pay a late fee or get a ding on your credit report. (If you are able, paying off your credit cards in full each month is the best idea.

3) Set up overdraft protection on your accounts. This could be in the form of an order to your bank to automatically draw money from another account to cover a shortfall or it could be an actual overdraft line of credit issued by your bank or credit union. You can always pay off the overdraft when systems return to normal.

 

4) Have a backup account. This is where you can stash a little emergency cash. If something is wrong with your primary account, you might still need to access money or use other banking services. My credit union hack took half a month to resolve...Seriously. If you have at least 2 sources of income (like SS and a pension), consider having them deposited into different banks.

 

5) Learn how to transfer money between accounts with different banks. I would work within the bank's internal processes for transferring cash. Some banks will credit the cash immediately, while others want to allow the cash to clear for a few days. It is important to know how your bank operates. There are services like CashApp, Zelle, Paypal, Venmo, etc... I have used Paypal and Zelle for years and have some measure of faith in them. I have heard horror stories about CashApp and Venmo and remain wary. However, I am a landlord and some of my tenants prefer to use them. The safest way to transfer money between financial institutions is probably going to be through bank-to-bank transfers.

 

[Jeepers]

I haven't had any problems but then again I lost all of my internet when my house fell apart. I know I'm in for a rude awakening when I try to start the laptop up again. One thing I need to do is to reset all of my passwords. Of course all of my password list is...in the computer...in a Word document. One reason I buy all my computers at Best Buy is so I can use their Geek Squad. If they go out of business, I'm skrewed. 

 

Mt. Rider, I'm the same way. I hate it when they change how things work. They put in a new ATM at my bank and now I have to put my card in sideways. It took a minute to figure that one out. The machine now sits so low that I have to put the the Jeep in park, undo my seat belt, open my door and reach down to retrieve my money. It's ridiculous. 

 

And everytime I go through the toll booth, something changes. It's really bad now. They have added two more really expensive 'plazas' for lack of a better word. They go nowhere. They aren't exits. Just right there in the middle of the road. One you go through and pay a flat $3.00 and one then one all you do is take a ticket. In the other direction you just drive through and don't do anything. Some are manned and some aren't. You have to figure out how to pay it the unmanned ones. So far my credit card has saved me because i didn't see a money slot. You also have to figure out which lane to get in as you approach the spaghetti mess. I meant to buy an EZPASS the last time I went over but forgot. I need to do that this time. If you have an EZPASS, you can just stay on the main road and not go through those two extra confusing booths. They could have saved a fortune by just raising the regular toll in that area instead of building these monster toll booth areas that go absolutely nowhere. No exit and no entry and they all have a big enclosed crosswalk over them to the other side of the highway. Why? 

 

If I had to estimate how much gas I need at the pump I'd be lost. I'd probably be putting in $20.00 every other day just so I had enough room in the tank and not go over. 

[Jeepers]

I deal with three different banking institutions. 

 

As long as I keep money in my Indiana accounts, my bills over there are automatically paid. I set up two different accounts. One is for monthly bills to be auto paid and Social Security deposit and one is just for mortgage auto deduction. I can write checks on either one. I hate that bank for a number of reasons. It's privately owned. I have had trouble accessing that bank, online from day one. My debit card, that I won't use, expired and they don't have a seperate ATM card. You are supposed to use your debit card...which expires. And they don't issue credit cards. I can never access my account online. It never recognizes my pass word no matter how many times I change it. 99% of all transactions I do over there, I have to have customer service assistance do it for me over the phone. They want to charge me a $12.00 fee each time. I raise h3ll and say it's their fault I can't access my online account and they waive it and say this is the last time. Pffff. We'll see. And I have to pay for checks.  I hate that bank. Small town banking. And I have everything set up there so I'd have to change everything even SS to a new bank. Maybe later. I'm busy and I don't need any more confusion in my life right now. But I'm putting them on notice...here. 

 

I do the majority of my banking in Ohio. I have a few accounts in this bank but no auto withdrawals. I like to pay all of my bills and everything else, with my charge card because I make quite a lot of money (to me) getting the cash back. 5% on gas and food and 2% on everything else.  I got over $2,000 back last year. I pay the cards off EVERY month though so I don't have to pay any interest. And all of my accounts are interest bearing so I'm earning some money there too. Everything that bank offers, I get for free. Even a safety deposit box. I'm a long time customer though. I love Key Bank. There is one in Indiana, but it's about an hour, one way, from where I'll be. I'm seriously thinking about transferring everything I have to that branch. Only thing I'd really miss is the ATM and I could plan monthly trips over there for that. Even every other month would only be 6 trips a year. 

 

Then I have the company that holds my stock portfolio. I don't mess with them much. I leave my stocks alone and don't buy or sell. They have always done fine for me. But instead of taking a quarterly dividend check, I let them all roll over into a savings account that I get interest on. When I need money, I call them and within 2-3 days however much I want to withdrawal, automatically goes into my Key Bank. Could not be easier. The when I go to Indiana I deposit a check from my Key bank into the Centier Bank or have DIL do it from one of the blank checks I left with her. Usually while I'm over there I just go in with an Ohio check. 

 

When I get situated over there I'll put the Indy bank on the stock account and change my address to Indiana instead of Ohio. 

 

That is one of the things I have on my to-do list in Word that I can't access. Change addresses, discontinue services, get pharmacy printout, notify Dr. And on and on. I have it all written down with all of my account numbers and the phone numbers to call. 

[Littlesister]

I have a regular bank and a Federal Credit Union. The regular bank I only keep enough money in it to pay bills and to cover all the auto payments I have. The Credit Union I don't touch. I just add money to it every so often and leave it alone. I called my financial planner this morning about one of my checks not being put in my account. I took out a lump sum of money from that retirement and they were still supposed to be sending a monthly check. No check in two months so he is checking to see what is going on. 

[themartianchick]

I have multiple accounts and most are with credit unions. A lot of my credit cards are with credit unions and you have to have an associated bank account in order to be a member. I have a few investment banks because they manage old retirement accounts or specific investments. We use Key Bank for our business. We aren't thrilled with them, but they are so close that we'd be crazy not to utilize them. I also pay the majority of my bills with a credit card. However, my auto pays and ACH withdrawals are to pay the credit cards and a couple of other items that can not be paid with a credit card. Like Jeepers, I love my rewards. They help me to purchase little splurge items and I like that it is easier to dispute a charge when there is a problem. I also like cards that give discounts for specific retailers. I don't shop at Whole Foods often, but there is a discount if you use an Amazon credit card to pay. They don't call that place Whole Paycheck for nothing!

[Littlesister]

Those cash rewards are why I also use my credit cards. Especially Discover. They do a every 3-month thing where you get a higher percentage rate back on certain purchases. Such as for 3 months it might be groceries and gas and then another 3 months might be Walmart and Sam's, BJ's wholesale and Costo. Near Christmas time it will be retail stores and groceries. But still on everything else I still get the regular percentage on everything else. I used it when I paid for the work on my car. That really ran the cash rewards up. I should have used it when I had the generator's yearly thing done. Oil change and all the checks to make sure everything is working properly. But they send you a bill after the work is done and I just pay by check. 

[Ambergris]

Delta.com is down.

[Mt_Rider]

   Is that still going on? 

[themartianchick]

I heard that Delta seemed to have more difficulty than the other airlines in getting their Crowdstrike issues straightened out. It is kind of funny...Post-pandemic, Delta was the airline that seemed best poised to get their business back together. Lately, they seem to be having a lot of issues with even normal operations.

[Littlesister]

I guess it is still not over.  Seems trying to get things back up and running properly is becoming a hassle for some. Hopefully it will all get straightened out soon and hopefully this won't happen again.

[Ambergris]

Delta was up today, with warnings that not everything was perfect.

For one thing, second suitcases are Not Allowed.  Not expensive.  Not Allowed.  I tried upgrading my ticket, and it still said the same thing.  So not much point to the upgrade.  Also, they are routing me through Colombia, with a six-hour layover there.  This is going to be different.

I now am being asked to sign in with my password every time for my email, and says I'm blocked because someone has tried too many times with the wrong password.  Most recently, my kitten "helped" twice in a row.  And everything wants me to authenticate.  Sigh.  The VPN has moved to high priority for the next trip to the US.

[Jeepers]

They are "expecting" to be fully operational by Thursday. Today they were 'only' down by 50% 

 

 

[Littlesister]

From what I heard there are still some issues with layovers getting to the Norfolk Airport. Not sure what is going on. But hopefully everything will be back to normal soon.

[Mt_Rider]

I emailed to family to see if they're in Japan by now.  I have NO idea what time it would be in Japan so I don't know when they'll answer.

 

MtRider   

[Littlesister]

Jeepers, I am sure they will answer your call as soon as they get it. Might be things aren't working right due to this virus and they are still working on it.

[Ambergris]

I had decided to cancel my ticket, but my computer spent the 24-hour recission period stating that I was blocked from the internet.  Finally figured out that my software that is supposed to protect me from scumware had turned on a firewall and was "protecting" me from the internet.  Why???  And why today of all days?

[Mt_Rider]

This is beginning to sound like slapstick comedy.....but it truly ain't funny! 

 

Hope everyone who's affected - Ambergris - gets things straightened out in time. 

 

MtRider  ...no response from kids yet but not worried.