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Intel Has a New Spectre and Meltdown Firmware Patch For You To Try Out (betanews.com)

Mark Wilson writes: The Spectre/Meltdown debacle continues to rumble on, and now the chip manufacturer has announced the availability of a new 'microcode solution' to the vulnerability. The updated firmware applies to 6th, 7th and 8th Generation Intel Core devices, and the release sees the company crossing its fingers and hoping that everything works out this time.

This is Intel's second attempt at patching the vulnerability, and this time around both the company and its customers will be praying that the fix for Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake chips actually does the job.

18 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Tricky decision by bestweasel · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm waiting for the point when the Intel patch does less damage than Spectre and Meltdown. Are we there yet?

  2. Prayer vs. Testing. by geekmux · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "...this time around both the company and its customers will be praying that the fix for Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake chips actually does the job."

    I can understand the masses praying for a legitimate fix, but the company is praying this will work? Did they suddenly abandon the concept of testing prior to release?

    I mean, it's not like Intel has to go digging to find a metric fuckton of affected hardware...

    1. Re:Prayer vs. Testing. by Powys · · Score: 3, Funny

      They are following the Google model of releasing everything as BETA so they have to provide no warranty, and push testing on the unwashed masses. Only after it is deemed successful will they remove the "BETA" moniker. Saves them the trouble.

    2. Re:Prayer vs. Testing. by mindwhip · · Score: 4, Funny

      My thoughts and prayers go out to Intel processors everywhere.

      --
      [The Universe] has gone offline.
  3. Who writes these taglines? by Dwedit · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Who writes these taglines? This is clearly not a Meltdown patch at all, so it shouldn't be mentioned anywhere.

    1. Re:Who writes these taglines? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Take it easy, brah, don't have a meltdown

  4. Reminds me of an old TV show by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Funny

    There was a campy, over-the-top parody TV show called "Sledge Hammer" back in the 80s... although even if you're old enough, you may not remember it since it wasn't exactly a roaring success. The "protagonist" (using that term loosely) was a gun-happy cop whose solution to everything involved using his gun. If someone was stealing a candy bar, he might shoot the candy bar out of the perp's hands, for instance. If an old lady missed her bus, he might shoot out the tires of the bus.

    Anyway, right now Intel reminds me of the show's intro. Most of it just featured glamour shots of Sledge Hammer's gun... but, at the end, Sledge Hammer says "Trust me, I know what I'm doing", and he shoots - but the bullet miscarries, resulting in a (virtual) bullet hole on your TV screen.

    That's Intel, in a nutshell.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Reminds me of an old TV show by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 3, Funny
      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    2. Re:Reminds me of an old TV show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Another great show I managed to kill off... When I really like a show, you can pretty much guarantee it's not going to last.

      Could you do the rest of the world a favour and develop a keen interest in the Kardashians?

      kthanksbye

  5. Spectre only by PhrostyMcByte · · Score: 3, Informative

    You can't fix Meltdown with a CPU patch.

  6. Waiting for the next /. how-it-went update by adosch · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let me know how it goes, everyone! I'll see you all in therapy...

  7. They've only had since June by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hey, Google only notified them in June and maybe they were going to get around to working on it after the holidays. And there are two new variants out this week that aren't considered, so be ready for the next round in a month or so as well.

    You can't expect Intel to get these things done immediately, people! (the class action suits are going to love that they didn't fix it with six months' warning).

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  8. Q3 2015 by darkain · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Skylake launched Q3 2015. So Intel is pushing the patch for barely more than 2 years worth of product. What about the millions (billions?) of systems out there that were not replaced in the past two years? Are they going the same way of Android in the "well fuck, sucks to be you!" mentality of security because the device isn't the absolute latest and greatest? I'm thinking they only supported back that far is because there are Xeon-D CPUs that launched Q1 2018 with Skylake architecture, and Intel is all over that Xeon-D right now (this is what Facebook is now using)

  9. It depends... by gwolf · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Does losing up to ~30% of your chip's speed mean more or less damage to you, to your usual workload, to the threat model you feel as better applying to your person?

  10. Re:another day another solution by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nonsense. He would have inserted how his hosts file utility protects against Spectre and Meltdown. And you can totally trust a guy whose website for his tool still shows Windows NT 4.0 screenshots!

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  11. Cardassians/Kardashians - The difference by knarfling · · Score: 5, Funny

    Remember that there are two groups with similar names, the Cardassians and the Kardashians. One group is vaguely reptilian, have large misshapen heads and an overblown and undeserved sense of superiority. The other group, of course, invaded Bajor.

    --
    Great civilizations have lived and died on false theories. Don't mess up mine with a few facts.
  12. Re:Try out? by jwhyche · · Score: 3

    Don't we have a chimp or a rabbit that we could test this stuff on first?

    No, but we have a bunch of dumb ass naked apes.

    --
    I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
  13. Still shipping vulnerable processors? by NewtonsLaw · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is Intel still shipping processors with these vulnerabilities?

    If so, you have to ask "what the hell are they thinking"?

    Would Ford or Chevy be allowed to keep selling a vehicle which was known to have defects that made it unroadworthy even before you drove it off the showroom floor?