Intel: Confirm that your processor is affected by Specter and Meltdown

Specter and Meltdown are new vulnerabilities that promise to give you talk in the near future. Many Intel, AMD, and ARM processors are affected by this vulnerability. This includes Windows computers, MAC, iPhone, iPad or even Android smartphones.

These vulnerabilities are not easy to explain. There are complex explanations of the situation that make you clear after reading 3 and 4 times the same text, other explanations with small words will give you a little idea of what is happening.

In a simple way, Specter and Meltdown affect a bunch of processors and makes "pirates" able to access cached memory in an unorthodox way. This means that all your passwords or identification logins, if cached, can be removed and used by those same pirates.

This is the simplest explanation I can offer. In fact, even yesterday I heard a podcast with more than an hour of explanation in detail and debate about the situation and even then it becomes complicated to understand.

Meltdown:

First, the hacker causes the CPU to execute a sequence of transient instructions that uses an unreachable secret value stored somewhere in physical memory. This value will identify the location where the information is hidden and ends up unraveling the information to the attacker.

The Specter:

Specter attacks create applications that will introduce some kind of information into the memory of your gadget and then leak the confidential information through other channels. 

What you need to know is that this is serious and few gadgets are free from this kind of vulnerabilities. So, if you have a computer with one of these Intels, barely have a system update do not hesitate to install. Remember to avoid installing little known applications until this situation is resolved.

Intel Processors Affected by Specter and Meltdown:

• Intel® Core ™ i3 processor (45nm and 32nm)


• Intel® Core ™ i5 processor (45nm and 32nm)


• Intel® Core ™ i7 processor (45nm and 32nm)


• Intel® Core ™ M processor family (45nm and 32nm)


• 2nd generation Intel® Core ™ processors


• 3rd generation Intel® Core ™ processors


• 4th generation Intel® Core ™ processors


• 5th generation Intel® Core ™ processors


• 6th generation Intel® Core ™ processors


• 7th generation Intel® Core ™ processors


• 8th generation Intel® Core ™ processors


• Intel® Core ™ X-series Processor Family for Intel® X99 platforms


• Intel® Core ™ X-series Processor Family for Intel® X299 platforms


• Intel® Xeon® processor 3400 series


• Intel® Xeon® processor 3600 series


• Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series


• Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series


• Intel® Xeon® processor 6500 series


• Intel® Xeon® processor 7500 series


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v2 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v3 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v4 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v5 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v6 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v2 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v3 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v4 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v2 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v3 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v4 Family


• Intel® Xeon® Processor Scalable Family


• Intel® Xeon Phi ™ Processor 3200, 5200, 7200 Series


• Intel® Atom ™ Processor C Series


• Intel® Atom ™ Processor E Series


• Intel® Atom ™ Processor A Series


• Intel® Atom ™ Processor x3 Series


• Intel® Atom ™ Processor Z Series


• Intel® Celeron® Processor J Series


• Intel® Celeron® Processor N Series


• Intel® Pentium® Processor J Series


• Intel® Pentium® Processor N Series

There are many, I know. As I mentioned, be careful with the installations you do on your computer. Note that although these vulnerabilities are more targeted to computers, nothing indicates that they are impossible to do on smartphones. Beware and remember, install apps only from authorized stores.

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