I’ve been trying to read up on this subject, but man the information out there can get overwhelming fast. I’m more of a software guy, hardware is not my expertise.
So please explain in easy to understand terms:
What should I do about these flaws I mentioned? I’m on an Intel ASUS laptop.
Also, I want to buy another laptop at the end of the year. Should any of this affect my buying decisions? Is every computer affected?
In: Technology
They’re caused be design flaws in the hardware. Namely in the way certain processor components access memory and handle simultaneous multi-threading. It allows attackers to peak at what the processor is working on. Hence why all the software work arounds for it are impacting performance. Because they are essentially bypassing the flawed parts of the chip.
It’s sort of like getting a flat tire in your car, versus the GM ignition switch issues. One’s an easy fix, the other involves the entire part to undergo a complete redesign.
All processors are affected by Spectre to varying degrees. Meltdown is specific to Intel and IBM POWER processors, while Zombieload only affects Intel.
The best way to mitigate it right now is to use AMD or ARM processors, which aren’t as severely effected. I believe AMD has fixed Spectre in their upcoming Zen 2 microarchitecture. Intel is working on fixes for their upcoming Ice Lake microarchitecture, but the release date for that hasn’t been announced AFAIK.
Since it is such a low level issue though, I don’t think consumers have much to worry about. The guys who are actively exploiting these issues will be going after the big iron. Corporate servers and what not to steal credit cards and other data.
Latest Answers