Darkshade Forum

General Category => News => Topic started by: diddly on January 04, 2018, 10:24:07 AM

Title: Meltdown and Spectre
Post by: diddly on January 04, 2018, 10:24:07 AM

Meltdown and Spectre are two major computer vulnerabilities in the news these days.  A fairly descriptive (https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/4/16848976/how-to-protect-windows-pc-meltdown-security-flaw) article explains that an attacker could gain access to your system through your web browser.

To protect yourself, make sure you are using the latest version of Chrome or Firefox as your browser, and keep your operating system updated with the latest patches.

Meltdown is an even more serious problem, in that it requires a new CPU, and reportedly affects only Intel chips.  So maybe, if you're looking to buy a new intel device, you might want to consider AMD or waiting.  Unfortunately, the "fixed" chips will run 5%-50% slower (although 30% gets most widely reported).

Apparently the CEO of Intel knew of the vulnerability before he started selling off his stock in the company, and this was a factor causing Google Project Zero to reveal the issue.

Title: Re: Meltdown and Spectre
Post by: diddly on January 04, 2018, 12:51:26 PM

Because Meltdown and Spectre keep getting lumped together, it gets difficult to know which facts related to which CPU/OS/Device.  If we consider them together, then in fact, most CPUs and OSes are impacted.  https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/584653 (https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/584653)

Quote

Vendor Information (Learn More)
Vendor   Status   Date Notified   Date Updated
AMD   Affected   -   03 Jan 2018
Apple   Affected   -   03 Jan 2018
Arm   Affected   -   03 Jan 2018
Google   Affected   -   03 Jan 2018
Intel   Affected   -   03 Jan 2018
Linux Kernel   Affected   -   03 Jan 2018
Microsoft   Affected   -   03 Jan 2018
Mozilla   Affected   -   03 Jan 2018