Discover Spectre and Meltdown
Ma ke you r PC mo re sec u re
How to beat the Spectre and Meltdown bugs
The Knowledge…
Fundamental flaws in the way processors work expose billions of devices worldwide – luckily there’s an easy fix
A trio of security flaws discovered in the device manufacturers have been last year have rocked the technology working with CPU makers such as AMD world with their extent and scope, with and Intel to find workarounds, mainly billions of devices – from PCs to web in the form of software patches. servers, tablets to smartphones – Microsoft has already issued a potentially affected. security update for Windows 10, as well The flaws – Spectre Variant 1, Spectre as previous versions of the operating Variant 2, and Meltdown – were found system. Windows 10 should download by a number of people including a the update automatically, but to be member of Google’s Project Zero, and sure, type ‘windows update’ in the have been present in chip designs for search bar of the Taskbar, and select over 20 years, with ‘Check for updates.’ CPUs from AMD, Spectre and Meltdown Download and ARM, IBM and Intel any new are hardware rather install directly affected. updates it finds. The news has Of the CPU flaws, than software flaws been described by Spectre poses both some security experts as ‘catastrophic’ the biggest risk, and is also the hardest since hackers could use the flaws to to exploit. Ultimately, the only way to access passwords, encryption keys and fix it may be to redesign the affected personal data, although no such processors, although this should mean exploits have been found in the wild. that future CPUs are immune from Spectre and Meltdown going forward. Until then, the best way to stay safe is patches incoming to make sure your PC – and any other There’s no need to panic yet, though. devices you own – have the latest OS Although Spectre and Meltdown are and security updates installed. hardware rather than software flaws,
Snapdragon laptops Using phone tech The first Windows laptops to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, typically found in smartphones, have started to emerge from hardware development labs, and they look impressive – not for their power (which is lacking a little) but for their portability, endurance, and the convenience of having 4G connectivity on board. Both HP and Lenovo will have announced their own machines by the time you read this; here’s a look at Asus’ NovaGo...
Flip it Most, if not all, of the new crop of Snapdragon laptops will be convertible tablets.
Better battery The NovaGo can last for up to 22 hours on a single charge, and 30 days on standby.
Weight issues Asus’ effort isn’t the lightest at 1.4kg, but future laptops should get much lighter.
IKEA Trådfri I don’t need any more DIY furniture Ah, yes, we completely understand. But this is something different: it’s Ikea’s first foray into the world of smart lighting. The Trådfri range consists of a whole bunch of bulbs and associated trinkets, and it’s priced competitively with the likes of Philips’ Hue. It’s also dead easy to get started with. How easy? You don’t even need to assemble a complex smart lighting setup; you can pick up a white LED bulb and a wireless dimmer for around £15. Pair the two together, and you’ve moved your light switch from your wall to your hand – and you have a dimmer, something which is an increasing rarity with modern bulbs. What else can I do? If you want to take your Trådfri setup further, you can add Ikea’s Trådfri Gateway to your router. This talks to all the bulbs in your house, and gives you full control of them all from an app on your phone. There’s also a ten-device remote control available, which makes the process of managing your lights super-simple. Any colours? You’re not left out if you’re looking for a more luminous experience – there’s an RGB strand of the Trådfri on offer, and you can get full control of the colouration via the app. Zigbee integration means you can also, after a fashion, combine Ikea lights with Hue bulbs. Zigbee? What’s that? It’s a combined standard method of communication for smart home devices. All being well, if manufacturers adopt it, Zigbee will mean the smart home of tomorrow can be controlled by one app rather than a massive collection of them. But that does rather depend on everyone playing nice – Ikea has only recently added Zigbee support, so it’s certainly something that can be tacked on after the fact.
February 2018 |
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