Neowin News Feed for: Meltdown

Say goodbye to DX12 on 4th Gen Haswell CPUs as Intel defused it to fight off security bug

Sayan Sen — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 15:20:02 +0000

Intel disabled DirectX 12 on its 4th Gen Core lineup dubbed Haswell via a graphics driver update. The company stated that this was done to mitigate a security bug that it found on these CPUs. Read more...

Next Windows 10 feature update to make your PC faster following Spectre slowdowns

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 09:24:01 +0000

Following the discovery of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities in Intel processors, the resulting fixes for the issue slowed down many PCs. The next feature update to Windows 10 may change that. Read more...

Surface Book receives a long list of firmware and driver updates

Abhay V — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 19:10:01 +0000

Following suit with other Surface devices, the Surface Book is now receiving a long list of firmware and driver updates. The updates also include fixes for Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities. Read more...

Intel's upcoming processors may not fix the latest Spectre variant

João Carrasqueira — Fri, 25 May 2018 18:36:02 +0000

The hard times for Intel may not be over yet, as sources say that the promised silicon-level fix for the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities may not protect from the variant discovered this week. Read more...

Spectre variant 2 mitigation now available for the Windows 10 April 2018 Update

Florin Bodnarescu — Wed, 16 May 2018 14:00:01 +0000

An update for the latest version of Windows 10 now mitigates Spectre variant 2 on systems running the April 2018 Update with Coffee Lake, Kaby Lake, Skylake, Haswell, and more processors. Read more...

More flaws discovered in Intel chips - some serious, expect patches soon

Saumitra Bhagwat — Sat, 05 May 2018 07:28:01 +0000

Intel simply can't seem to catch a break with CPU design flaws. After Spectre and Meltdown, there are now eight new vulnerabilities this time around. But don't worry, a fix is already in the works. Read more...

Intel says it won't patch Spectre variant 2 for certain processors

Vishal Laul — Wed, 04 Apr 2018 16:48:01 +0000

In an update, Intel has revealed that it won't be developing patches for the second variant of Spectre for some of its older chips due to, but not limited to, them being impractical to develop. Read more...

Microsoft fixes Windows 7 memory bug introduced by bungled Meltdown patch

Usama Jawad — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 07:30:01 +0000

Microsoft has released an emergency Windows update for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 systems to fix a serious memory bug that was introduced after a bungled Meltdown patch in January. Read more...

Intel to fix Meltdown and Spectre in new chips; releasing code for older processors

Rich Woods — Thu, 15 Mar 2018 19:02:01 +0000

Intel announced today that future chips from the company will have Meltdown and Spectre fixes built into them, and that it's releasing new code for chips that were released in the last five years. Read more...

Microsoft adds updates for more Intel chips to Windows Update

Rich Woods — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 19:06:01 +0000

Earlier this month, Microsoft began offering Intel firmware updates via Windows Update for Skylake processors. Today, the company expanded its offerings to Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake. Read more...

Microsoft releases Intel's Spectre and Meltdown microcode via Update Catalog

Rich Woods — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 18:00:01 +0000

Microsoft, with a blog post today, announced that it will begin providing Intel's new Spectre and Meltdown mitigations through the Microsoft Update Catalog, and will continue to push further updates. Read more...

AMD now facing class action suits over Spectre vulnerability of CPUs

John Keefer — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 22:48:01 +0000

Intel has been taking the brunt of the consumer backlash over the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities found in its CPUs, but AMD is also starting to take some heat in the form of legal action. Read more...

Intel updates 6th-, 7th-, and 8th-gen chips with Meltdown and Spectre fixes

Rich Woods — Wed, 21 Feb 2018 19:46:01 +0000

Intel today announced that it is releasing new updates for its sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-generation chips with additional mitigations for the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities. Read more...

Windows Analytics will now see if you're protected against Meltdown and Spectre

Rich Woods — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 17:32:01 +0000

Today, Microsoft announced that its Windows Analytics tool will help to assess if your computer is protected from the recently discovered Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities. Read more...

Intel has released a stable Spectre patch for Skylake

Faheemmuddeen Patel — Thu, 08 Feb 2018 18:16:01 +0000

Having initially rolled out a buggy Spectre patch, Intel has now released an updated patch for Skylake CPUs. The updates will be made available through OEM updates so make sure to update soon. Read more...

Intel warned select customers of processor vulnerabilities before the U.S. Government

Abhay V — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 12:08:02 +0000

A recent report by The Wall Street Journal states that according to sources, Intel did not warn the U.S. Government of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, but did inform Chinese tech giants. Read more...

Microsoft issues emergency weekend update to remove buggy Intel patch [Update]

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 07:30:01 +0000

Microsoft this weekend issued an emergency update to abide by Intel's advisory requesting users to not not install a buggy Spectre mitigation that was causing systems to crash unexpectedly. Read more...

Intel: Chips coming later this year to be free of Spectre and Meltdown flaws

John Keefer — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:26:02 +0000

In its quarterly earnings call for investors, the company vowed that it was working to fix the flaws in its chips, and vowed that its processors due out later this year will be vulnerability-free. Read more...

Congress wants to know why the disclosure of Meltdown and Spectre was bungled

Usama Jawad — Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:56:01 +0000

In a series of open letters, the United States Congress has questioned the bungling of the embargo for Meltdown and Spectre by various tech firms, including Microsoft, Intel, Apple, and Google. Read more...

Tails 3.5 released with Spectre-proof Linux kernel

Paul Hill — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 17:54:01 +0000

The Linux distribution, Tails, which focuses on privacy, has been bumped to version 3.5. The update brings Tor Browser 7.5 and a new Linux kernel which mitigates more fully against Spectre. Read more...

Apple releases Meltdown and Spectre fixes for older versions of macOS

Rich Woods — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 19:12:02 +0000

Apple released a round of security updates today, including the Meltdown and Spectre fixes for Macs running older operating systems, including macOS 10.12 Sierra and OS X 10.11 El Capitan. Read more...

Linus Torvalds calls Intel's Meltdown and Spectre patches 'garbage'

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 21:16:01 +0000

The creator of the open-source Linux operating system did not mince words when passing judgement on the Meltdown and Spectre patches being rolled out by Intel, calling them garbage. Read more...

Ashampoo Spectre Meltdown CPU Checker 1.1.1.1

Razvan Serea — Fri, 19 Jan 2018 15:16:01 +0000

Find out whether your computer is vulnerable to Spectre and Meltdown with just one click! Read more...

Intel: Meltdown/Spectre patches also cause reboots on newer processors

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Thu, 18 Jan 2018 10:54:02 +0000

In a blog post, the company's Executive Vice President Navin Shenoy admitted that further testing revealed a bug causing patched systems to reboot more frequently, also affects newer processors. Read more...

Apple sued for not informing users of Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:24:01 +0000

A new lawsuit filed in the United States claims malfeasance on the smartphone maker's part by not informing its users of the existence of these processor vulnerabilities at an earlier date. Read more...

Retpoline patch coming to Linux 4.9 and Linux 4.14

Paul Hill — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 01:03:42 +0000

Several versions of the Linux kernel have been patched with Retpoline which was made by a Google employee to mitigate against Spectre while keeping performance levels the same as they were before. Read more...

Ubuntu 17.10.1 ISOs available with corrupting BIOS fix

Paul Hill — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 20:16:01 +0000

Canonical has disabled the SPI driver in the latest version of Ubuntu in order to stop BIOSes on computers being corrupted. The new update is classified as Ubuntu 17.10.1 and is supported until July. Read more...

Microsoft Weekly: CES sightings, botched boots, and games galore

John Keefer — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 18:24:01 +0000

CES was the big event this week, and we got a lot of Microsoft-related stories. But the Spectre and Meltdown fixes were still in the news, especially in relation to AMD chips. Catch up on the week. Read more...

CloudReady 61.3 comes with changes to UI and kernel

Paul Hill — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 15:54:01 +0000

Neverware has updated CloudReady to version 61.3. The Chromium OS-based distribution now comes with an updated kernel to protect against Meltdown as well as the new app launcher seen in Chrome OS 61. Read more...

Google's Meltdown and Spectre patch isn't slowing cloud systems

Paul Hill — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 17:50:33 +0000

Google has announced that its cloud systems are not impacted with performance hits after it applied a patch dubbed Retpoline. Google plans to share the patch with others in the industry. Read more...

Intel's fix for Meltdown and Spectre had a bug of its own

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 05:38:01 +0000

The chipmaker is now recommending some of its bigger customers delay the installation of its latest patches aimed at Meltdown and Spectre after reports of unsolicited reboots on some processors. Read more...

AMD starts rolling out its own Spectre processor fixes

John Keefer — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 02:04:01 +0000

AMD has maintained that its processors are immune to Meltdown and that its chip architecture made it likely that Spectre posed zero risk. However, it is still issuing updates to mitigate risk. Read more...

Intel promises customer-first mantra and more transparency going forward

John Keefer — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 20:27:18 +0000

Intel has been battered by the revelation of vulnerabilities in its chips. For his part, CEO Brian Krzanich has owned up to the company's missteps, and now offers an open letter to the tech community. Read more...

Ashampoo Spectre Meltdown CPU Checker 1.0.7

Razvan Serea — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 09:30:02 +0000

Find out whether your computer is vulnerable to Spectre and Meltdown with just one click! Read more...

Google lists all Chromebooks and their Meltdown update status

John Keefer — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 21:34:02 +0000

Google has quickly updated most of its hardware to help mitigate against the Meltdown and Spectre security holes, but if you have questions about your Chromebook, you can find out its update status. Read more...

Ubuntu systems also having boot-up issues due to Meltdown and Spectre patches

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 19:50:01 +0000

Users of the Ubuntu are also reporting issues with the patches aimed at mitigating the Meltdown and Spectre CPU exploits, with some systems having boot-up issues after installation. Read more...

Future Windows updates to be blocked if your anti-virus isn't set properly

Muhammad Jarir Kanji — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 17:16:01 +0000

In an update to the patch notes for the Meltdown and Specture exploits, Microsoft states users will receive no future security updates unless their antivirus vendor changes a specific registry key. Read more...

Tails 3.4 released fixing Meltdown vulnerability

Paul Hill — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 01:10:01 +0000

The Tails operating system has been upgraded to version 3.4. It's quite important that users upgrade to this release as it fixes Meltdown and partially fixes the Spectre vulnerability. Read more...

Linux Mint project advises on Meltdown and Spectre

Paul Hill — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 23:04:01 +0000

The team behind Linux Mint has put out a new blog post informing users how they can patch their software in order to fend off any attacks which utilise Spectre or Meltdown. A kernel patch is coming. Read more...

Microsoft details the performance impact of its Spectre, Meltdown patches

Florin Bodnarescu — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 20:42:01 +0000

Following the discovery of three critical flaws in a range of processors, OEMs and OS manufacturers have issued various patches. Microsoft has detailed what performance impact its patches have. Read more...