{"id":1247,"date":"2018-01-05T12:03:20","date_gmt":"2018-01-05T20:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/?p=1247"},"modified":"2018-02-01T11:41:12","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T19:41:12","slug":"spectre-and-meltdown-phones-tablets-and-computers-oh-my","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/2018\/01\/05\/spectre-and-meltdown-phones-tablets-and-computers-oh-my\/","title":{"rendered":"Spectre and Meltdown &#8212; phones, tablets, and computers, oh my!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Much in the media this week about an\u00a0industry-wide problem with all devices using Intel processors &#8212; CPU chips, and perhaps those from other manufacturers as well. A security vulnerability: <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Meltdown_(security_vulnerability)\">Meltdown<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Spectre_(security_vulnerability)\">Spectre<\/a>. It&#8217;s like Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow walking through the dark forest in the 1939 classic<em> The Wizard of OZ<\/em> and chanting &#8220;Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>PC World&#8217;s been covering this situation with a bunch of articles. Here&#8217;re a few links:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3245606\/security\/intel-x86-cpu-kernel-bug-faq-how-it-affects-pc-mac.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meltdown and Spectre FAQ: Fix for Intel CPU flaws could slow down PCs and Macs<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>Massive <strong>security vulnerabilities<\/strong> in modern CPUs are forcing a redesign of the kernel software at the heart of <strong>all major operating systems.<\/strong> Since the issues\u2014dubbed <strong>Meltdown and Spectre<\/strong>\u2014exist in the CPU hardware itself, Windows, Linux, Android, macOS, iOS, Chromebooks, and other operating systems all need to protect against it. And worse, plugging the hole can negatively affect your PC\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<p>Everyday home users shouldn\u2019t panic too much though. Just apply all available updates and keep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3219792\/computers\/best-antivirus-for-windows-pc.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">your antivirus software<\/a> vigilant, as ever. If you want to dive right into the action without all the background information, we\u2019ve also created a focused guide on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3245810\/security\/how-to-protect-your-pc-meltdown-spectre-cpu-flaws.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how to protect your PC against Meltdown and Spectre<\/a>.<sup>1<\/sup><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3245508\/components-processors\/intel-responds-to-the-cpu-kernel-bug.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Intel responds to the CPU kernel bug, claiming its patches will make PCs &#8216;immune&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>Intel said the patches for the CPU vulnerability, due next week, would bring a negligible performance hit to the average user. Claiming that the patches can make PCs &#8220;immune&#8221; from the vulnerabilities is a first, though.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3245790\/mobile\/spectre-cpu-faq-phones-tablets-ios-android.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How the Spectre and Meltdown CPU flaws affect phones and tablets<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>Intel may have dominated most of the news surrounding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3245508\/components-processors\/intel-responds-to-the-cpu-kernel-bug.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">kernel bug<\/a> in processors, but it\u2019s not just Windows and Macs that are at risk. In addition to Meltdown, there is also a \u201cbranch target injection\u201d bug called Spectre that affects mobile ARM processors found in iOS and Android phones, tablets, and other devices that could also expose your data. Here\u2019s everything we know about it so far.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.macworld.com\/article\/3245778\/apple-phone\/apple-meltdown-spectre-cpu-flaws-statement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws affect all iOS and Mac devices, but don&#8217;t panic<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote><p>We\u2019ve been waiting to hear from Apple ever since we first heard about the far-reaching\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3245606\/security\/intel-x86-cpu-kernel-bug-faq-how-it-affects-pc-mac.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meltdown<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3245790\/mobile\/spectre-cpu-faq-phones-tablets-ios-android.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spectre<\/a> CPU flaws earlier this week, and the company has <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-us\/HT208394\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">finally responded<\/a> with some not-so-good news: All Mac and iOS devices are affected. That&#8217;s right, <em>all of them<\/em>. However, Apple ensures us there&#8217;s no reason to panic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>So, the bottom line is that this vulnerability is serious. Lots of manufacturers of the hardware and software that make your devices run are working on the fixes. Some patches already have been released. So, just be ready for the updates. It&#8217;ll take time for everything to settle down. The major concern is impact on performance. Ironically, the vulnerabilities were a result of long-standing techniques to improve performance. As PC World stated:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We feel your pain. But security trumps performance, so we\u2019d rather our PCs be a little slower than exposed to hackers.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In summary:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Update your operating system<\/li>\n<li>Check for firmware updates<\/li>\n<li>Update your browser<\/li>\n<li>Keep your antivirus active<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>[1] That PC World article notes that:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Microsoft<\/strong> pushed out an emergency Windows patch [Windows 10 &#8216;1709&#8217; edition\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/support.microsoft.com\/en-us\/help\/4056892\/windows-10-update-kb4056892\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>KB4056892<\/strong><\/a> patch] late in the day on January 3.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Apple<\/strong> quietly worked Meltdown protections into macOS High Sierra 10.13.2, which released in December. [Also\u00a0iOS 11.2.]<\/li>\n<li><strong>Intel<\/strong> also released a <a href=\"https:\/\/downloadcenter.intel.com\/download\/27150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">detection tool<\/a> that can help you determine whether you need a firmware update.<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3213031\/computers\/best-web-browsers.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">major PC web browsers<\/a> have all issued updates as a first line of defense against nefarious websites seeking to exploit the CPU flaw with Javascript.<\/li>\n<li>The Google researchers who discovered the CPU flaws say that traditional antivirus wouldn\u2019t be able to detect a Meltdown or Spectre attack. But attackers need to be able to inject and run malicious code on your PC to take advantage of the exploits. Keeping security software installed and vigilant helps keep hackers and malware off your computer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>UPDATE<\/strong>: I haven&#8217;t tried Intel&#8217;s detection tool, but today (January 17, 2018) Senior Editor Brad Chacos at PC World published an article about a 3rd-party tool which checks\u00a0whether your system has been patched to protect against the flaws: &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcworld.com\/article\/3248985\/security\/pc-vulnerable-meltdown-spectre-cpu-exploits-inspectre.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Is your PC vulnerable to Meltdown and Spectre CPU exploits? InSpectre tells you<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.grc.com\/default.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Gibson Research<\/a>\u00a0recently released <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grc.com\/inspectre.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">InSpectre<\/a>, a wonderfully named, dead simple tool that detects if your PC is vulnerable to Meltdown and Spectre.<\/p>\n<p>InSpectre is a small 122\u00a0<em>KB<\/em> program that doesn\u2019t need a formal install and scans your computer for Meltdown and Spectre susceptibility in mere milliseconds. When it\u2019s done, the program pops up with clear, easy-to-read information about the security status of your system.<\/p>\n<p>This is the sort of software Microsoft or Intel should have released to help clarify the murky, convoluted patching situation around this devastating duo of CPU exploits.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Personally, I&#8217;ll wait for these tools to evolve further.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much in the media this week about an\u00a0industry-wide problem with all devices using Intel processors &#8212; CPU chips, and perhaps those from other manufacturers as well. A security vulnerability: Meltdown and Spectre. It&#8217;s like Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow walking through the dark forest in the 1939 classic The Wizard of OZ and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,126,127,123,125],"tags":[119,36,120,121],"class_list":["post-1247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-computer","category-desktop","category-notebook","category-phone","category-tablet","tag-meltdown","tag-security","tag-spectre","tag-vulnerability"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1247"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1312,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1247\/revisions\/1312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digivideoplus.com\/dv_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}