Computer stuff...
BIOS Hell
BIOS updates are being recalled and replaced. Woody Leonhard has the scoop on several vendors.
My new rig had a second BIOS update 2 days ago. Previous BIOS version was F5i. It has disappeared and been replaced by F5m. Yesterday I reran PCMark10 on that rig. Performance drooped again. On PCMark10 I now have a performance loss of 6.4% overall, with a high of 9.9% in Essentials. Post updated here: Meltdown & Spectre Updates Benchmarked
Software Updates
EMDB 3.10
Mp3tag 2.86
Intel:
“We recommend that OEMs, cloud service providers, system manufacturers, software vendors and end users stop deployment of current versions, as they may introduce higher than expected reboots and other unpredictable system behavior.”
Ahhhhahahahahaha!
Oh, and Linus Torvalds went off on Intel:
“It’s not that it’s a nasty hack. It’s much worse than that…so the IBRS garbage implies that Intel is _not_ planning on doing the
right thing for the indirect branch speculation…So somebody isn’t telling the truth here. Somebody is pushing complete
garbage for unclear reasons…As it is, the patches are COMPLETE AND UTTER GARBAGE…They do literally insane things. They do things that do not make sense. That makes all your arguments questionable and suspicious.”
And remember, good ol’ TweakHound told you not to update in the first place.
Intel has shared more info on this issue. Everything they put out looks like it has been filtered by their marketing department and lawyers.
Firmware Updates and Initial Performance Data for Data Center Systems
related: Speculative Execution and Indirect Branch Prediction Side Channel Analysis Method
“Frequent reboots”
We Geeks use the highly technical name “system crash” for this.
The models that may experience this behavior have expanded to Broadwell, Haswell, Ivy Bridge, Sandy Bridge, Skylake, and Kaby Lake. That is basically everything in the last 7 years.
I warned y’all not to update.
Intel Affected products:
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
Steve Gibson of GRC has a tool to check for the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities and verify protection.
Download & Info
My system benchmarked after KB4056892 and CPU Microcode update (BIOS).
Full system specs here: My New PC – 2017
CPU: Intel i7-8700k
Mobo: Gigabyte Z370 AORUS Gaming 7
GPU: Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 AMP! Edition (Nvidia)
Ram: 32GB
Drives: x2 Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2
OS: Win10 Pro
***UPDATED 23JAN2018
My motherboard manufacturer released another BIOS update for this issue.
New scores on PCMark10.
[Read more…] about Meltdown & Spectre Updates Benchmarked
Meltdown and Spectre News
Yeah I know, daily stuff. I know some of you are sick of it but it is bigger than a big deal so hear we go…
Intel has the nads to release some benchmarks showing performance hits varying from +1 to -21%. (pdf) None of us are going to know what the heck hits us until we get some fracking firmware updates.
On my end, Gigabyte has been silent on the entire issue. I emailed both the Press and Tech Support teams with no reply. Questions on this topic have gone unanswered in their forums.
Dell on the other hand has been a pleasant surprise. They have a dedicated support page for this issue that even list when your model will get an update. My Alienware 15 R2 is scheduled to get an update on the 14th.
Lawsuits: I am now officially a part of a class action suit (well, after I sign the retainer). More news may follow. Or not.
CEO: No new word on Intel’s CEO that many think should be fired or worse.
Excellent read: iVerge – How the industry-breaking Spectre bug stayed secret for seven months
Linux: Spectre & Meltdown Checker “A simple shell script to tell if your Linux installation is vulnerable” I repeat myself, at the risk of being cruel, if you’ve got Intel you’re vulnerable. Apologies to Paul Simon.
Browsers: Online browser checker. “If the result is VULNERABLE, it is definitely true. However, if the result is NOT VULNERABLE, it doesn’t mean your browser is absolutely not vulnerable because there might be other unknown attacking methods. ”
VMware Workstation Player: 14.1.1 released “This update of VMware Workstation Player exposes hardware support for branch target injection mitigation to VMware guests.”
Why Are You Still On Social Media?
I’m constantly amazed at the utter gall displayed by the higher-ups at these social media companies. The gist of this article is that if you don’t think like they do you are “shitty people” and they will “shadow ban” you. I don’t care what your political views are, no freedom loving person can find this behavior acceptable. The only way to change this is not to buy the Bravo Sierra that they will try to “fix” things. The fix is to remove their power over you. The fix is to GET OFF SOCIAL MEDIA.
The Beginning Of The End
Facebook developing ‘Portal’ gadget which will let it put microphones and cameras in people’s homes
Off Topic
Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer: 116.9 MPH
I don’t think I could even stay in the batters box.
IMHO this is a Geek tool for fun. Got Intel? You’re vulnerable.
[Read more…] about PowerShell – Check For Meltdown and Spectre
Important information regarding the Windows security updates released on January 3, 2018 and anti-virus software
Microsoft has identified a compatibility issue with a small number of anti-virus software products.
The compatibility issue is caused when anti-virus applications make unsupported calls into Windows kernel memory. These calls may cause stop errors (also known as blue screen errors) that make the device unable to boot. To help prevent stop errors caused by incompatible anti-virus applications, Microsoft is only offering the Windows security updates released on January 3, 2018 to devices running anti-virus software from partners who have confirmed their software is compatible with the January 2018 Windows operating system security update.
If you have not been offered the security update, you may be running incompatible anti-virus software and you should follow up with your software vendor.
last updated: 0838EST, 04JAN2018
Full breakdown: https://meltdownattack.com/
iVerge – Microsoft issues emergency Windows update for processor security bugs
Google: “These vulnerabilities affect many CPUs, including those from AMD, ARM, and Intel, as well as the devices and operating systems running on them.”
AMD says, “near zero risk”
CERT: Vulnerability Note VU#584653 – CPU hardware vulnerable to side-channel attacks
Patches will be rolling out today for the Intel CPU Fiasco.
(See below for the email I woke up to this morning.)
I highly recommend you pause, disable, stop, do not run Windows Update.
Full details have not been released as of this writing. These updates will at the kernel level. For the non-Geek that means at the core of Windows. I am not trying to play chicken little (henny penny for my U.K. friends). IMHO these updates are being rushed out and will be altered over time. They could slow down or even hose your PC. Let someone else beta test this stuff.
[Read more…] about WARNING – Do Not Run Windows Update
