UK CEOs are placing huge demands on security professionals, with most now expecting to be notified of a cyber attack within half an hour – they even want basic operations back up and running within a day.

That’s according to new research from Cohesity, which found two-third expect to be notified within 30 minutes, and 19% within just five.

Meanwhile, 14% think they should have basic business operations restored within an hour and 38% within a day; only 11% thought a week was reasonable.

These high expectations are placing significant pressure on cybersecurity teams, the study noted, but the figures do track with the UK government’s recent Cyber security breaches survey.

The report noted that the “vast majority” of businesses (87%) reported being able to restore their operations within just 24 hours.

“More than seven-in-ten businesses (72%) and charities (76%) said it took ‘no time at all’ to recover,” the report said.

Some are taking a more conservative approach to long-term recovery timelines, however. Around 15% said they expect to be fully operational in the wake of an attack within a few weeks.

Who’s responsible for cyber attack recovery?

Crucially, the Cohesity report found executives aren’t aligned on who should be notifying them about a breach and managing the recovery. A quarter told researchers that it should be the security advisory board, with 21% citing the CTO and the same number the CISO.

The same pattern appears when CEOs are asked who decides what gets restored first in order to resume basic business operations.

Responsibility is spread across the entire board, at 23%, the CTO at 21%, the CEO personally at 20%, and the security advisory board at 14%.

“CEOs are signaling that cyber incidents now come with performance consequences. With expectations this high, organizations need a clear chain of command in place, so decisions are made quickly and confidently,” said Fraser Hutchison, VP UKI at Cohesity.

“Cyber attack recovery is now a board-level issue. CEOs expect to restore basic business operations fast, but many organizations still haven’t defined who alerts leadership, who decides what ‘minimum viable’ means, or what gets restored first."

Hutchison warned that without a “clear plan agreed in advance”, critical decisions can be “contested in the heat of the moment”. This, the report noted, ultimately slows down recovery.

AI throws a spanner in the works

Decisions around recovery are being made more difficult by the fractured state of AI governance across large UK businesses, according to Cohesity, with ownership of AI security distributed across as many as five different executive roles.

Four-in-ten survey respondents said the CTO was responsible for AI cybersecurity, followed by the CISO (31%), CIO (29%), CSO (26%), and CAIO (22%). Researchers said this means that in many organizations, multiple executives hold a partial stake in AI security with no single owner.

Meanwhile, the person responsible for restoring AI systems after an attack is often not the same person who governs them day to day: the CIO leads on AI policy at 30% of businesses, while the CTO leads AI cybersecurity at 41%.

A further 20% of businesses have had to create an entirely new role to own AI policy at all, and 11% have no owner or are unsure.

“AI is accelerating how organizations run, and it’s raising expectations for speed everywhere including recovery from a cyber attack. But speed without clear ownership, and confidence in what you’re restoring can turn a cyber incident into a prolonged business crisis,” said James Blake, Cohesity global vice president of cyber resilience and consultancy strategy.

"The organizations that recover best are the ones that define Minimum Viable Company upfront, assign clear decision rights, and rehearse recovery as an operational discipline, not just a technical process."

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A third of UK organizations are failing to back up all of their sensitive data, hindering their ability to restore operations and ensure service continuity in the event of a breach.

Almost half of those surveyed by security firm Cohesity reported not backing up all their workloads, including virtual machines, applications, and unstructured data, while 38% aren’t applying consistent data categorization, backup controls, and policies globally.

Crucially, only 45% consistently follow the ‘3-2-1’ backup rule - three copies of data, stored on two different media types, with one copy kept off-site. The same number are failing to keep tamper-proof copies by using immutability across all their organizational backup data to ensure resilience against cyber attacks.

Fraser Hutchison, VP for Northern Europe at Cohesity, warned that enterprises need to sharpen their focus on backup strategies as failure to do so could exacerbate recovery in the wake of a cybersecurity incident.

"Most organizations now recognize the need to identify phishing scams or social engineering tactics; however, we can’t lose sight of what to do when disaster does strike. While complete prevention is near impossible, assurance of rapid recovery is fully within organizational control," he said.

"Our research shows that UK organizations still aren’t taking adequate precautions when it comes to data backups. By storing data on immutable platforms, they can ensure business-critical information remains beyond the reach of adversaries and that operations stay up and running, even when systems are compromised."

Sharpen up on backups

Last year, research from Beaming revealed that more than 800,000 UK firms had lost company data in the previous five years, at a total cost of more than £1 billion a year.

Businesses with between 10 and 250 staff saw the worst effects, while the most expensive data loss incidents occurred in the manufacturing sector, where the median cost was more than £60,000.

Backup strategies are now front of mind for many IT professions, alternative research shows. A survey from Kaseya earlier this year found 30% are losing sleep over lackluster backup and recovery strategies, with some pushing for a stronger focus on this area.

Complacency was also identified as a recurring problem for many enterprises, according to Kaseya. Nearly two-thirds (60%) of respondents said they believed they could fully recover from a data loss incident in the space of a day.

The reality of the situation was different, however. Kaseya’s research indicated that only 35% actually could.

Can AI solve the problem?

The boom in the use of AI is a mixed blessing, according to Cohesity. While a third of UK firms believe that generative AI adoption is progressing much more quickly than risk tolerance, 54% agree that AI capabilities are highly effective for anomaly detection and analysis.

Half of businesses, meanwhile, said they find AI tools useful for accelerated threat hunting and investigation.

"UK organizations are understandably concerned about the risks of AI technologies, with GenAI adoption still outpacing risk tolerance," said Hutchison.

"However, our research reveals some silver linings: AI is already augmenting previously time-consuming, manual security processes. By the end of next year, AI will play an increasingly central role in data security operations, enabling businesses to identify and respond faster to threats."

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The pandemic will have a profound impact on the way businesses work in the future with many having to rethink how they operate. Data backup is one of many processes that took a back seat during lockdown, but as things return to normal, there has never been a better time for businesses to get their data protection house in order.

Even before the pandemic, many SMBs had a poor track record for data backup. A recent report by IT services provider Beaming found nearly three million UK SMBs were at high risk of losing data by not backing it up correctly, or failing to back it up at all.

There’s no reason why SMBs should be struggling with data protection, as there are plenty of top-quality backup products on the market suitable for a wide range of environments and budgets. The best backup strategies use a hybrid mix of on-premises and cloud backup to provide the requisite number of copies, with various products combining both for simplified management.

Perfect partnership

On-premises backup teamed up with cloud storage is a great way forward for SMBs as this approach satisfies the essential ‘three-two-one’ data protection mantra. This strategy allows you to retain three up-to-date copies of your data, back it up to two different types of storage media and keep one copy off-site.

It sounds complicated, but all good backup products can manage the whole thing for you. In most cases, you can create one job that copies data to an on-premises backup store and also sends it to your preferred cloud storage provider.

The cloud shouldn’t be your only backup location as, if your internet connection or provider goes down, access to your cloud storage goes with it. It’s also your responsibility to ensure data stored in the cloud is protected – some customers of French company OVH found this out the hard way recently when one of its cloud data centres was gutted in a major fire and all their data was lost.

A hybrid backup strategy will protect your business against most disasters. A second copy of data on-site provides fast access for quick recovery and if you’re unable to enter your offices for any reason, the cloud provides a third copy for external access.

Human nature

A complicated data protection strategy that relies on regular human intervention is guaranteed to fail. Backup needs to be fully automated, so look for products that provide full scheduling facilities allowing them to run jobs regularly for you at the appointed times.

Various products do this, and many default to running a strategy comprising one full backup and subsequent partial backups for each system. Partial, or incremental, backups only copy data that has changed since the last backup was run which saves on storage space and reduces the load on your internet connection when data is being transferred to the cloud.

Network administrators that want an easy life should look for products that allow their entire business backup strategy to be managed from one console. Keeping everything under one roof makes it much easier to deploy and monitor backup jobs, manage storage devices, keep an eye on problems and run restore jobs.

Virtualisation is becoming very popular for SMBs that want to save on hardware costs so look for backup products that have built-in protection for host platforms such as VMware and Hyper-V. Most include this as standard but one product in this guide requires a completely separate product to secure virtual hosts.

Stand and deliver

Another depressing downside of the pandemic is the increase in ransomware attacks, and SMBs that think they are too small to be of interest should think again. The true figure may never be known but many SMBs hit by ransomware demands simply pay up and don’t report it for fear of damage to their brand reputation.

Backup software can’t protect against these attacks, but features such as file versioning could mitigate them without you having to pay a ransom to get your data decrypted. The best backup products let you choose the number of versions to keep going back days, weeks and months so if you get hit by a ransomware demand. It’s possible to browse them and restore files to a state before they were encrypted.

Some ransomware attacks are even more devious, as they’ll gain access to the backup system and delete all backups before encrypting the source data. One defence against this type of attack is immutable storage that once written to, cannot be changed, overwritten or deleted. It’s easier to implement than you may think as many cloud storage providers offer immutable storage, for instance.

Masters of disasters

Don’t start congratulating yourself when your data protection solution is up and running, as you must regularly test its restore facilities for files, applications and systems. Called contingency planning, this will ensure your backups are working and all unforeseen problems are ironed out before you need to use them when a real disaster strikes.

Various products we’ve seen are all available as free time-limited trials, so you can test them out before buying. Data loss can have catastrophic consequences for an SMB, so consider very carefully which backup product will ensure your business is a born survivor.

Encountering a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on a Windows 11 system can be alarming for any user, from IT professionals managing critical infrastructure to individuals relying on their PCs for daily tasks. This critical stop error, often displaying a cryptic message, signals a serious system issue that has forced Windows to halt to prevent potential data corruption or hardware damage. While a BSOD can stem from a multitude of causes, including hardware malfunctions, driver incompatibilities, or corrupted system files, many instances are resolvable. This guide provides a structured approach to diagnosing and fixing common Blue Screen of Death errors in Windows 11, helping you restore system stability.

Experiencing a blue screen of death (BSOD) on Windows 11 can be a frustrating encounter, but it’s a relatively common issue that doesn’t always indicate a catastrophic problem. Many Windows users have encountered a BSOD, which signals a system crash. Fortunately, it often can be resolved with systematic troubleshooting.

The causes of a BSOD can vary widely, ranging from hardware issues (like faulty RAM or overheating components) and driver conflicts to software bugs and corrupted system files. In some cases, a simple restart may temporarily resolve the issue. However, for persistent problems, more comprehensive methods are needed to address and fix the underlying causes to ensure your system runs smoothly.

The BSOD on Windows 11 helpfully provides an error code (often called a Stop Code) and sometimes a QR code to give users an initial idea of what caused the crash. These codes are the starting point for diagnosis.

The BSOD is also known as a ‘STOP error,’ indicating a fatal system error. IT professionals have referred to it by its foreboding name for years due to its disruptive nature.

A brief historical note: When Windows 11 first launched, some early builds displayed this error screen with a black background. However, Microsoft quickly reinstated the classic blue background in subsequent updates. If you encounter a black screen error, it indicates you are running a significantly outdated build of Windows 11, and you should prioritize updating Windows 11 immediately to benefit from the latest security patches, features, and stability improvements.

How to fix the blue screen of death in Windows 11

The BSOD in Windows 11 is designed to be more user-friendly than in older Windows versions, but its sudden appearance can still be daunting. When a BSOD occurs, your system typically attempts to gather diagnostic information and may automatically restart.

To avoid any potential loss of unsaved work if the system is configured to collect a memory dump, it’s best to let the process complete if it shows a percentage counter.

Here are effective steps to diagnose and resolve a BSOD:

Some errors are harder to diagnose, however. The error code IRQL_not_less_or_equal, for example, usually relates to a hardware fault, such as a corrupted RAM module.

It can also be triggered by faulty drivers, or even faulty antivirus software

Aside from using the QR code, the quickest way to check the error is to type the code into a search engine. It’s best to find the Microsoft Support page for that code first and foremost, before looking at third-party sites that will either try and sell you a quick fix, or get you to try every fix possible

The Microsoft support page will be able to explain the error, the circumstances that triggered it, and if there is a fix or workaround to resolve it. The support page should give you step-by-step instructions to follow and guide you on your way to resolving the issue.

If there are no fixes, or if the page only offers vague information like 'driver issue', it’s time to think back to any recent installations or changes you made to your machine, and if need be, uninstall them.

You can follow our detailed guide on how to boot Windows 11 in Safe Mode. If the BSOD does not occur in Safe Mode, a third-party driver or software is likely the culprit. This is similar to booting Windows 10 in safe mode.

What is the green screen of death in Windows 11?

If you’re a Windows Insider running preview builds of Windows 11, you might encounter a Green Screen of Death (GSOD) instead of blue. The GSOD serves the same purpose but is green to distinguish crashes in Insider builds from those in stable releases. It often contains more detailed debugging information. If you encounter a GSOD, the issue may be specific to the unstable preview build, and fixes that are perhaps not yet available. Check the Windows Insider Program hub and forums for support.

Managing software conflicts

Managing software conflicts in Windows 11 starts with the simplest remedy: keep everything current. Refresh the operating system, device drivers and every application you have installed, because most updates slip in quiet compatibility tweaks and bug fixes that stop potential clashes before they can knock the whole machine over. If crashes continue after you patch, cast an eye over any programs you have added or upgraded in the past few days; it is not unusual for a brand-new utility — or even a well-meant update — to spark the infamous blue screen. Removing the newcomer through “Apps & Features” in Settings will tell you quickly whether it was the culprit.

Sometimes the friction hides in the background, so pare back what loads at start-up. Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc, switch to the “Startup” tab and turn off anything that is not essential to daily work. A leaner launch makes it easier to spot a rogue process that was tripping Windows during boot.

When stubborn conflicts refuse to show themselves, boot the system with just the bare minimum of services and drivers. This so-called clean boot isolates the offender by process of elimination, letting you restore normal operations with confidence that the disruptive code has been identified — and that the dreaded BSOD will stay away.

Enterprise data volume is growing exponentially on a global scale, and developing a robust backup strategy is becoming a key strategy for IT leaders. For many, backups, restores, and data recovery operations are some of the most important tasks that an organization's IT department performs.

 A backup strategy is the lynchpin of an overall business continuity strategy. The purpose of a business continuity strategy is to maintain a minimum level of service while restoring an organization to business as usual when a disaster happens.

Smaller and mid-sized companies can struggle to find time to design an optimal backup strategy. Backup technologies and best practices have improved dramatically in recent years. Read on and discover a few tips that will help you boost your backup strategy, irrespective of where your organization's strategy is.

Consolidate multiple backup solutions onto one platform and prioritise backup efficiency

Organizations have turned to multiple-point solutions for backup and recovery because of increasingly complex IT environments. For example, a company might need to have separate backup systems for physical Windows and Linux servers. Non-integrated backup infrastructure is costly and difficult to manage, but you can consolidate these backup workloads onto a single platform. 

Non-integrated backup infrastructure leads to slow file restoration time, and this is usually a tell-tale sign of backup inefficiency. Often, the issue lies with having implemented a solution that doesn't cater to the exact needs of the business or having a plan that lacks the detail and granularity required for optimum efficiency.

Therefore, it's important to switch to a recovery process that isn't simply based around just getting everything up and running regardless of system intricacies. Instead, it's best to draw up a more detailed and sophisticated plan around specific systems, applications, and data - which will then help get the business back up and running quickly and efficiently.

A backup product that integrates directly into these existing systems will aid the process greatly, as every integration point helps improve efficiency, organization, and ultimately productivity.

Be predictable and utilize the 3-2-1 backup strategy

Using consistent backup processes and testing frequently using a standard testing procedure will give reassurance that backups have been run and tested properly. This will mean far fewer issues should a recovery situation arise.

Having documented processes that can be repeated easily across your business will reduce your response time, lower your support costs, and ultimately minimize downtime.

Following the 3-2-1 backup rule is a good approach: keep at least three copies of a data set, store backup copies on at least two different media, and keep one of the backup copies off-site.

Think of backup as a daily practice

In a Solarwinds MSP survey, 32% of respondents admitted to not carrying out daily backups. Yet in the event of a serious crash, days or weeks of data could be lost.

Backup is not just extra copies of data. The real goal is disaster recovery. If backups are performed regularly, it will dramatically cut down on recovery times in the event of an incident, as it will be easier to locate exactly which backup will address the data loss incident.

The underlying theme is about changing the way your business approaches backup. By using simple and structured service offerings, running repeatable and consistent backup jobs, and using integrated solutions, you can make significant improvements to your organization's backup processes.

Don't assume you're covered

Organizations are increasingly utilizing SaaS productivity suites such as Office 365 and Google Drive to manage their workflows. While these applications offer a range of benefits from collaboration to efficiency gains, they harbor a secret: they don’t back up your data, going against the common assumption that they’ve got you covered.

Cloud providers can protect data to an extent. Issues occurring on their side, such as disk failures or natural disasters, are covered, but they are unable to help with issues on the customers' side. Ransomware attacks or deletions by employees (either accidentally or maliciously) aren’t accounted for, meaning data restoration would be very difficult.

As platforms, productivity suites are generally secure. But even still it’s worth looking into additional backup, as their backup specifications are often found to be lacking compared to the requirements of most organizations. For instance, Office 365 only operates a 14-day retention period, with Microsoft SharePoint Online backed up every 12 hours, creating a gaping window for potential loss.

It’s worth your time to take backup into your own hands, at least to some extent. Backing up second copies of cloud data locally would permit efficient restoration in the occurrence of an incident on your side. It would also help align the business with compliance regulations and internalize control in an increasingly unpredictable digital landscape.

Keep up to date with changes in backup technology

Backup isn't a new idea, but the danger of it being a familiar process is that it's easy to take things for granted. But even technologies as familiar as backup continue moving forward, and ways of doing it get better, easier, faster, and less expensive. One example is cloud-first backup solutions, which are becoming a cost-effective way to store copies of data offsite and reduce local storage requirements.

Determine what needs saving

If anyone could imagine the perfect backup strategy, its scope of coverage would likely range from unlimited quantities of data to bytes hidden underneath software. However, this idealistic scenario is seldom attainable and, for many enterprises, it means that compromise is key.

You're likely aware that developing and sustaining second copies of every single piece of information is expensive and time-consuming. A common example of this is hard drives, which are most often weighed down by having to contain the device’s operating system as well as the program files chosen by the users. Neither needs to be constantly backed up – in fact, they can often be re-installed from other sources.

If the chosen backup strategy doesn’t exclude this type of data, an amount that is likely to be large, if not exuberant, the receipt for this kind of service will be priced proportionally. Simply put, your company’s finance team might not be pleased.

This is why, to optimize a given backup strategy, it’s important to first sift through all the data, folders, and files, and categorize them based on how crucial they are to the functioning of the organization. For instance, it's common for business assets that a company usually cannot afford to risk losing, including database and accounting files, to be backed up every day.

The second-most critical business assets, which can include anything from folders saved in 'Documents' to important email data, should be backed up at least once a week. Anything beyond this is usually up to the individual needs of the business and should be decided based on what the company values most or is essential to its operations. A smaller volume of second copies can also make the recovery and restoration of lost files faster and easier.

While humans can be identified by names, social security numbers, and biometrics of varying lengths and formats, internet hosts are identified by fixed-format IP addresses. Depending upon the version, IP addresses can either be 32-bit numbers in four decimal blocks or 128-bit characters in eight hexadecimal blocks. For example, an IPv4 address might look like 192.168.1.1, whereas an IPv6 address looks like 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.

It’s nearly impossible for humans to remember such multiple long strings of numbers – even remembering a phone number takes more conscious effort than a name or mnemonic phrase does. This is where the Domain Name System (DNS) comes in; it enables humans to locate Internet hosts by a recognizable name.

DNS defined

DNS is an application-layer protocol that translates human-readable host names into IP addresses. 

Often referred to as the "phonebook of the internet", DNS allows websites to stick to memorable and understandable addresses such as www.itpro.com, rather than requiring users to enter the IP address.

Host names cannot fully specify the host location. For example, .uk suggests the host site is in the UK. But where in the UK? It doesn’t provide a specific location. DNS maps host names to IP addresses to specify host location within the network of networks. 

What is a DNS server?

DNS runs in a client-server model and works on UDP/TCP on port 53. A port is a numbered channel that enables a device to handle multiple types of network traffic at once. It’s like a numbered door that leads to a specific service. Port 53 is a dedicated channel reserved for DNS traffic.

A DNS server is a machine that holds all the records of hostnames-to-IP addresses, which are known as DNS mapping. In practice, most DNS servers run on UNIX/LINUX systems using Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) – a purpose-built software suite with industry-wide adoption, powering roughly eight out of ten DNS servers worldwide. It’s freely available under the Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) license.

Every host machine that wants to reach a domain name relies on a DNS client. Just as DNS servers run on BIND, DNS clients are virtually built into every operating system. A DNS client sends a query to a DNS server, asking for the IP address of a specific hostname. The DNS server looks up the hostname in its stored mapping and returns the corresponding IP address. The exchange between the DNS client and server completes the translation process, as the host machine can use the address to load the website. 

DNS process operates in a distributed hierarchy where records are distributed across multiple DNS servers globally to avoid a single point of failure and also decrease latency. There are three classes of DNS servers:

Root name server: A root name server is at the top of the DNS server hierarchy. It doesn’t store the actual IP address, but knows where to direct the DNS query.

The 13 named root name server authorities (labelled A through M) are operated by 12 organizations, including the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), NASA, and the US Department of Defence. These 13 root name server authorities are physically deployed over 1750+ server instances worldwide. This is possible due to Anycast routing, which is a technique that enables multiple servers to share the same IP address. As a result, a DNS query automatically reaches the nearest root name server.

TLD name server: A root name server directs queries to top-level domain (TLD) name servers. The TLD name server sits in the middle of the DNS server hierarchy and manages domains like .com, .org, .net, .gov, .edu, and country-specific domains, including .uk, .de, .fr, .jp, etc.

Similar to root name servers, TLD name servers don’t store the actual IP addresses, but know where to send DNS queries based on purpose, type, and geography.

Authoritative name server: TLD name servers map queries to authoritative name servers, which sit at the bottom of the DNS hierarchy. Authoritative name servers are the single source of truth for the DNS because they hold the IP address. An organization can have its own authoritative name server or get one from a service provider.

DNS recursor: DNS recursors are not a part of the DNS server hierarchy because they are not organized, standardized, and managed by a specific organization. DNS recursors are local servers provided by the internet service provider (ISP) or public DNS, like Google (8.8.8.8) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1). Each host machine is automatically configured to use a single DNS recursor.

How does DNS work?

DNS lookup is the process of sending DNS messages, whether queries or replies, across the internet with the ultimate goal of translating human-readable domain names into IP addresses. All DNS messages are sent as UDP/TCP datagrams to port 53.  

Application-layer protocols, such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), and file transfer protocol (FTP), use DNS to translate user hostname requests to IP addresses. 

When a user types a website name in the browser, the browser checks its local cache to fetch the IP address. If the IP address isn’t found there, the request moves on to the operating system, which checks its own DNS cache next. 

DNS caching is the first step that application-layer protocols execute for faster processing and less load on DNS servers. Every cached record has a time-to-live (TTL), which specifies the validity of a cached record. After TTL expires, DNS servers discard cache information because IP addresses are not permanent.

To fetch the IP address, HTTP calls gethostbyname() to invoke the DNS client side on the host machine. DNS client then queries the DNS recursor.

DNS recursor sends a query to the root name server, which directs the query to the TLD name server in the middle layer of the DNS hierarchy. Based on the website name, the TLD name server can be .com, .org, .net, .gov, etc. 

The TLD name server points the query to the authoritative name server. Upon receiving the DNS query, the authoritative name server returns the IP address to the DNS recursor. 

DNS recursor further caches the IP address and returns the reply to the DNS client on the host machine. All of this happens within a few milliseconds to seconds. The browser receives the desired DNS record and uses it to initiate a TCP connection to the destination server, with HTTP operating on port 80 to request and load the website. 

Recursive DNS resolver vs authoritative DNS server

Recursive DNS resolvers and authoritative DNS servers are different parts of the DNS lookup process.

A recursive DNS resolver functions as a “librarian”: it performs iterative search operations on behalf of the host machine to fetch IP addresses in the same way a librarian would search for a book a reader wants in a library

In the final steps of the DNS lookup process, the recursive DNS resolver sends a query to the authoritative DNS server, which holds the IP address. Instead of redirecting the DNS query, the authoritative DNS server finally returns the IP address to the recursive DNS resolver.

What happens when DNS fails?

Slow website loading, redirection to spam sites, or simple on-screen error messages, such as “Server not found”, “DNS server not responding," and “This site can’t be reached,” are common indicators of lookup failure. 

While most people encounter DNS failure while they try to open a website, misconfigurations can affect email delivery too. In such a case, the sender's mail server can’t determine where to deliver the email. The mail can return in the inbox with “DNS lookup failed”, “Domain not found”, or “Mail delivery failed”.  

Some common reasons for DNS lookup failure are listed below. 

• Domain shifted to a new hosting service.
• ISP server misconfiguration.
• Outdated routers.
• Incorrect DNS records: Wrong IP addresses or misspelled domains.
• Incomplete records for IPv6 clients.
• Incorrect DNS settings. 
• High TTL. 
• High latency due to geographical constraints.  

Some common methods to fix DNS failure are to restart or update the router, clear DNS cache, update TCP/IP settings, migrate from legacy devices, or switch to public DNS servers.

While DNS lookups can occasionally fail on their own, hackers can target DNS vulnerabilities through DNS DDoS attacks, cache poisoning, and domain hijacking.

Enterprises can combat DNS attacks by following a failsafe strategy. Configuring a secondary DNS as a backup to reroute traffic during an outage can prevent downtime. Another option is to use cloud DNS services like AWS Route 53 and Cloudflare, which have built-in support for DDoS attacks.

It's one of the most frustrating moments a Windows user can experience; the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), which stops everything, even searching for a fix via the web.

This, which is also known as a 'STOP' error, usually occurs when the computer's system detects something askew and takes the necessary precaution of shutting the machine down to avoid further damage.

Often the user will have no information about the fault as the screen literally goes blank (well, blue), however, there is a common fault: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA error.

A BSOD error like this usually appears when hardware or software incorrectly accesses memory that is normally reserved for the operating system. When Windows attempts to access this memory, and instead finds the software or hardware using it, the system flips out and crashes.

The reasons for this can be numerous, but, usually, it's related to driver updates or new hardware installations that have gotten mixed up with memory that's meant to be for core OS functions. This is also the reason that some anti-virus software can cause this error, along with malfunctioning RAM.

If you have encountered the PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA error, follow the steps below to help resolve the problem.

Step 1: Checking for faulty hardware and software

The first step is to figure out if it is, indeed, a piece of hardware that is causing the BSOD. To do so users need to switch off their machine, disconnect the most recently added component and then start it up again. For those that have recently added a number of bits of hardware, they should repeat the process with each piece.

It's also possible that software could be the root cause. If you installed any new software shortly before encountering the error, try uninstalling and restarting your computer.

Anti-virus software is another common culprit here, so be sure to temporarily disable any you may have installed on your PC. If you're worried about going briefly unprotected, simply disable your internet connection before attempting this.

If the blue screen error is preventing you from doing any of the above, you'll need to boot the system in Safe Mode first.

Step 2: Run Chkdsk

If that has not solved the problem, its time to check whether your hard disks are functioning correctly by running the Chkdsk command. To determine this, click the Start button and type in 'CMD'. Upon hitting the return key, a black window will open - here you'll need to type 'Chkdsk' here and press return.

At this point, your PC will restart and run the check-disk tool, highlighting any errors it encounters. Should it find any, perform this check again but key in 'Chkdsk /f' and the system will correct the problems it finds.

Step 3: Reset Virtual Memory

Next it’s time to give Windows a bit of a kick in the virtual memory, which is another name for the paging file mentioned in the error. The settings are a bit buried though, so bare with us.

First click on Start on the desktop and type System and select the option that comes up (or find the System menu via the Control panel). Then click on Advanced System Settings, choose the Advanced tab, click Settings under Performance, again select the Advanced tab, and finally click Change under Virtual Memory.

In the Virtual Memory windows uncheck ‘Automatically manage paging file size for all drives’ and then select No paging file below, and then click Set. Now restart your PC.

Once that’s done, head back to the same Virtual Memory settings as above and turn back on ‘Automatically manage paging file size for all drives’ and again restart your PC. That should have have cleared out any niggles, but if your problem is a misbehaving piece of hardware or software you might need to go further.

Step 4: Run Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool

This step will help you determine whether or not your computer's physical memory is triggering the BSOD. It's a simple process: just click on the Start button and type 'Windows Memory Diagnostic' in order to find the tool.

Once you've clicked this, you'll be shown two options: restart and check immediately or check for issues the next time you reboot your system. Select the first one, ensuring you have saved any work you currently have open. The tool will run as your system restarts and Windows will display the results of the test once it's back up and running. Here you'll be able to see any problems with your RAM.

If you're running a setup with multiple memory sticks, simply remove one stick at a time and repeat this process to find the culprit. You can then replace the faulty stick of RAM with a new one.

Step 5: Check your drivers

It's also possible that a device driver could be causing the PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA error. Again, click on the Start Button and key in 'devmgmt.msc' to find the Device Manager.

If you spot any devices with a yellow exclamation mark logo beside them, it's time to update their drivers. Right-click on the device in question and select 'Update Device Software' and simply follow the instructions on screen.

Should this not prove successful, right-click on the device again, hit 'Disable' and then restart your computer to see if this corrects the issue. If it does, you'll need to visit the manufacturer's website and manually download any updated drivers that are available in their Support section.

You’ve now done basic tests on your hard disk, memory and drivers, and considered many possible common causes for the PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA error. If none of this has worked then it’s worth trying a System Restore back to an earlier version of Windows. Simply hit Start and type ‘Recovery’ and then select Open System Restore from the Window that appears and follow the instructions.