You know the funny part about this crap. Has been around on the CPU's for over 20-yrs why the big panic now?
What are Spectre and Meltdown?
Spectre and Meltdown are the names of the flaws found in a number of processors from Intel, ARM and AMD that could allow hackers to access passwords, encryption keys and other private information from open applications.
The flaws, found by a number of people including a member of Google’s Project Zero, are sending shock waves through the IT world. Namely, "it was revealed that they had been present in chip designs for over 20 years," and that they affect a number of companies’ processors, meaning the flaws could be found on a huge number of devices, from PCs to web servers and even smartphones.
Should I be worried about Spectre and Meltdown?
At the moment, you shouldn’t panic too much, because so far it doesn’t look like the Spectre or Meltdown flaws have been used in an attack, and device manufacturers are working with Intel, ARM and AMD to fix these flaws.
Intel has claimed that the exploits can't corrupt, modify or delete data. While it’s good to see companies set aside their differences to find a fix for these flaws, it has emerged that one flaw, Spectre, may need a processor redesign to fix.
However, this does mean that future processors should be free from the Spectre and Meltdown security flaws. So, don’t be too alarmed, but keep an eye on any updates your device offers, and follow our advice on how to protect against the Meltdown and Spectre CPU security flaws.
How to fix Meltdown and Spectre CPU security flaws on Windows PCs
Windows PCs are likely to be hit hardest by Meltdown and Spectre, regardless if they run on Intel or AMD processors. The good news is that Microsoft seems to be on the case and has said that it has already released a security update on Wednesday for Windows 10, as well as previous versions of Windows.
Windows 10 should download the update automatically, but to be sure, type ‘windows update’ in the search bar of the taskbar, and select ‘Check for updates.’ Download and install any new updates it finds.
