How to protect yourself from Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws

[RV_]

This article includes must read information for the following systems:

Android phones

iPhones and iPads (and iPod touch)

Windows PCs

Macs

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The Meltdown and Spectre Intel CPU flaws had patches rushed out by Intel and they are causing problems so Intel is asking folks that downloaded them to hold off as they now know why they are causing system instability and repeated reboots.

While most folks have not done firmware updates for their computers, and don't know how, unless they were from Windows update, you can relax. The flaky patches are only available from the Intel website and have to be manually installed. Their page was thrown together so instead of installing one Monday I decided to wait and call today but this morning confirmed - WAIT!

However the links I will provide below should be bookmarked as CNET is keeping them updated until these flaws are ameliorated.

Windows, Apple, and Linux vendor updates are safe to continue using these.

Excerpt:

"How to protect yourself from Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws

Practically every modern processor is vulnerable. We're updating this list of fixes as they become available.

On Wednesday, researchers revealed serious flaws in modern processors that could affect practically every Intel computer released in the last two decades -- and the AMD and Arm chips in your laptops, tablets and phones, too. Read more here.

The good news: Intel, AMD and Arm believe they can fix -- or at least mitigate -- the so-called Meltdown and Spectre flaws with software patches, and Microsoft, Apple and Google have already released some of those mitigations. (AMD says some of the flaws don't affect its processors at all.)

But as usual, you'll need to be diligent about applying those patches yourself!

So here's everything we know as of Jan. 22 about how to protect yourself. (We'll be updating this guide as new fixes become available.) 

Update, Jan. 22: If you were planning to update your BIOS with a fix for your Intel processor, maybe wait a bit? Intel says its own patches are causing some PCs to become unstable and unexpectedly reboot, and advises you to stop patching for now. Mind you, we're talking about manual BIOS updates here -- you should be fine leaving Windows Update turned on."

The article with info on all the above affected products in full, can be found here, bookmark it and check it weekly for updates:

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-fix-meltdown-spectre-intel-amd-arm-windows-mac-android-ios/

Edited January 23, 2018 by RV_