@Weasel explained it much better than me. Good work, dude!

But also, there is something fishy about all of this... even though I'm not a "conspiracy theorist". Sherlock Holmes would probably ask "who profits the most from all this?" The way I see it - AMD profits the most, because their processors are the least vulnerable. This is practically a nail in the Intel's coffin, as some people on Slashdot say and one of Intel's CEOs has sold as much of his Intel stocks as he could, just recently.

hmmm, the old Chinese curse comes to mind: "may you live in interesting times". They sure are "interesting". Too "interesting" for my taste.

 

Yes, Intel Management Engine security flaw is something different. It's a security flaw in the remote control little Intel's "sub-OS" that all of the modern Intel processors have. That shit is better off disabled in BIOS anyway. It's only useful for government offices, big firms and corporations. TPM ["Trusted Platform Module" lol] tech, as well. Just give us processors that can "process" as fast as possible... ffs

 

From Woody Leonhard
--------------------------------

Daniel Meissler posted an amazingly succinct, yet accurate, description of the tech behind the Meltdown and Spectre vulns.​

​

 

I have read a *very interesting* [and highly rated by knowledgeable people] and I think truthful post at slashdot that I'm posting here:

"There are PAID intel shills in this forum and on every other one across the net. Intel payolla outlets Anandtech, Tom's Hardware and Arstechnica have all consulted their Intel contacts and VERY late published FAKE NEWS articles letting Intel off the hook. But not every tech site takes large cheques from Intel...

If anyone here mentions 'SPECTRE', they are an Intel shill. Spectre is an 'exploit' that has no proven attack vector on AMD Ryzen parts, and the THEORETICAL vectors are simply patched on AMD with no performance hit. On Intel, Spectre CANNOT be patched, however. Either way, spectre is another TRIVIAL and insignificant bug- of which many thousands have already been dealt with on both AMD and Intel.

It is MELTDOWN that is the only issue that matters. Meltdown describes the NSA backdoor built into every Intel CPU designed to allow user code ring-0 access. This is an ARCHITECTURAL design of intel's CPU's, and cannot be fixed except by flushing and state resetting before EVERY virtual memory/IO operation- a massive slowdown of key functionality.

AMD's memory architecture is completely different, and does NOT allow this NSA requested attcak vector- not now, not ever.

Linux has gone crazy cos the exploit is a clear NSA backdoor, which Linux types will not accept. Microsoft, as an OS, is riddled with NSA exploits by Microsoft, so doesn't need a CPU hardware vector. Thus MS can happily patch the hole (on Intel only) at the cost of significant performance degradation on all mutli-core mulit-app use cases (which excludes most current games).

Intel cannot have a 'fixed' CPU til the end of 2019 at the earliest. Roadmapped Intel parts (like icelake) all have this NSA backdoor.

There is ZERO AMD issue- indeed AMD Ryzen is the future, just as the original AMD64 was the future when intel paid sites like this one to shill for the broken hopeless netburst design."

You draw your own conclusions. Mine is, I'm "ryzing" above it all. It is probably just money, as always...

 

Last edited: Jan 5, 2018

Nonsense! (but whatever AMD is paying you to shill for them? We'll double it!)
I mean, if we did hire shills, which we don't.
Did I say we? I mean my Intel masters ... ogeez, I'm really making a mess of this, huh? I meant THEY. They, The Ones Who Live, Intel, who are total strangers to me.
Who knows though, they might double your pay if you ever decide to stop shilling for the Red Team and come on over. We got milk and cookies. Gah! THEY have. Or so I hear.

 

Oy, Blorg, are you using AMD or Intel processors in your PCs? ;) Be honest.

I have both, but yes my main CPU is AMD. Yet, Intel is used on my laptop that plays all the VSTis I need.

Frankly, I also don't believe in all this "Intel shills" crap. But Intel has been accused of paying off people in the past as well as Microsoft. So the accusation is not unfounded, especially in these times of hardship. It's easy to believe it. There are billions of bucks at stake, eh? Their powerful PR machine is trying to do the best they can.

 

Last edited: Jan 5, 2018

How much are your AMD handlers paying you to spread such pernicious poppycock?

 

Its called damage control. This thing happening right now is massive, cant remember such a massive fuck up?
This info came from the top, probably an ex pentium top engineer sold the info to the highest bidder ( google).
After many years the roles are getting reversed, great publicity for amd and im on pentium right now on all devices, just being objective.

 

I was actually considering getting i7 7700 for *my* next rig... even though Ryzen happened, but now there's nothing to think about.

All these Intel press releases certainly sound like a lot of damage control and trying to pull all others with them. Shame. I feel sorry for them in a way. I've been assembling 90% Intel audio workstations for the last 20+ years.

 

From Woody Leonhard
--------------------------------

Multiple reports of blue screens (BSODs) 0X000000C4 when installing the January Win7 Monthly Rollup KB 4056894
Posted on January 5th, 2018 at 17:01 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
We’ve seen many reports here on AskWoody.

There’s also a thread on Reddit. More on MyDigitalLife.

Some reports are detailed. Some are — well, they’re complaints. If you can imagine. AMD machines are being pinpointed.

If you hit a blue screen, or you know someone who did, please post about it here. Include your processor type (Intel or AMD), which version of Windows you’re using, which antivirus you’re using, and whether you installed the patch manually or via Windows Update.

 

Please accept our heartfelt condolences.

Sincerely,
Team Blue

 

Funniest thing, i run the intel exe that identifies vulnerability, it says my home i3 comp is vulnerable. I dl the Win7 patch supposed to remedy the vulnerability, run it, i reboot and then i am faced with "this cpu isn't supported by win7" and of course the patch didn't remove the vulnerability hahaha. What a bloody mess.

 

There are basically two security leaks called Meltdown and Spectre.

Meltdown is especially only on chips from Intel. Spectre is also on Intel, but also on the chips from AMD and ARM. That means that AMD users, Iphone and Android phones are affected too. Meltdown is more easy too abuse, but also good too fight against it with a update. Altough, your Intel chip could be so much slower. Very likely this is why Intel chips were so much faster than all these chips from AMD. AMD slower, because it's more safer.

Spectre is more difficult to fix, but on the other hand it's also more difficult to abuse. But I'm pretty sure it will happen anyway or very likely it already happened. The only difference between Intel and AMD is that Intel have Meltdown aswell. Meltdown reads only kernel memory, while Spectre reads contents of memory from other users running programs like explained in the picture from thantrax above me. Kernel memory is just the storage for the most important parts of the PC.

Meltdown and Spectre are both working on the technique called speculative execution. This technique is used on modern chips to get more performance out of it, making it faster and to prevent time. What this technique basically does is already thinking about what the next step will be, while it's still processing his older step to go on the next step at that time. It's like forward thinking. If the chip have the next step right it will prevent time and the process will go faster. It doesn't matter if it doesn't, because the chip will throw it into the cache. The cache is like a temporary storage where the chip can always go too to make it fast and easy on getting all these information in the future.

With Meltdown you would be able to see what steps and values are all used in the cache. Let's say step 1 have value n and for the next step it needs n5. If the chip have this right the process will go faster. And by looking how fast each step is activated smart hackers could know that the value 5 was used for the next step. On this way they could get vulnerable information out of it. Pretty confusing explanation maybe, haha.

These leaks are coming from design errors. So the real solution will be by making new chips and by replacing them. I bought an Intel I7-7700K like three months ago. I think I better could have bought an AMD chip. Cheaper and it looks like that Intel chips starts to go back hardly in performance right now. They should compensate us by giving new chips anyway. Shame enough that won't happen.

 

Talking about cpu models that cover the last 10 years this seems to me as error by design instead of a design error.

Say that again, i'm with you all the way but i think it is highly unlikely up to impossible lol. Perhaps for the last 2-3 gens of cpus there is a chance but i don't think there is much to be done for older models exposed to these vulnerabilities.

At least now i am not sceptic towards my upcoming upgrade. Threadripper ftw

 

Last edited: Jan 6, 2018

I agree with that.

I think this bug wasn't intentional (backdoor or not). But fixing it means re-design, implement and produce at very high scale bug free CPUs. Nearly all Intel CPUs are affected, even future ones probably.
It's not even comparable with the famous Pentium I rounding bug. Back at the time, Intel was able to change for a bug free Pentium all the owners who wanted. Big losses, but still affordable.

Of course AMD is the most benefited from this, its CPUs are far less vulnerable.

About press in Intel/Amd/MSoft/Google whatever big company payroll, it always happens when big money is on the table. We can't know who exactly, but unfortunately it's a fact.

The best we can expect is a "surpringsinly" big drop in Intel CPUs prices lol.

 

Last edited: Jan 6, 2018

I understand ......that I can buy the lastest Intel Chip........for 50 Euros.......in the Future........
and everyone can lick my ass....cause I`m never Online........
Is that right ???????????

 

Last edited: Jan 6, 2018

From Woody Leonhard
--------------------------------

Multiple reports of blue screens (BSODs) 0X000000C4 when installing the January Win7 Monthly Rollup KB 4056894
Posted on January 5th, 2018 at 17:01 woody Comment on the AskWoody Lounge
We’ve seen many reports here on AskWoody.

There’s also a thread on Reddit. More on MyDigitalLife.

Some reports are detailed. Some are — well, they’re complaints. If you can imagine. AMD machines are being pinpointed.

If you hit a blue screen, or you know someone who did, please post about it here. Include your processor type (Intel or AMD), which version of Windows you’re using, which antivirus you’re using, and whether you installed the patch manually or via Windows Update.

UPDATE: Lots and lots of reported problems.

TechNet: Blue Screen after KB4056894

Answers Forum: STOP: 0x000000C4 after installing KB4056894 – 2018-01 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for WIndows 7 for x64

Overclockers UK: Warning on KB4056894 (Intel/AMD) Fix caused Operton Bluescreen/STOP

Reddit: Problems with Windows 7 Quality Rollup (KB4056894)

Thanks for the links, everyone.


Windows Patches/Security
0X000000C4,
January 2018 Black Tuesday,
KB 4056894

 

Oh yes, you have a point there. I think that Intel has gambled in some way over all these years to keep their lead on AMD, but right now they are probably paying hardly for the price. It's unreal that after all these years this bug have always been there, but nobody found it until a few months ago. Well, they said. I don't think it's true.

Probably not indeed. Probably it depends really on how the chips will be performing. I did some research and I found this.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1554-meltdown-flaw-cpu-performance-windows/

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/windows-10-cpu-bug-fix-patch-benchmarks.html

It seems that the results of the newest chips is actually very little. Maybe 2% overall. But yeah then you still have a very unsafe chip. Older chips have not been tested yet. So have no idea what the impact will be on them.