Meltdown and Spectre

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admfubar

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Jan 5, 2018, 6:27:22 PM1/5/18
to alug

Explained nicely

https://xkcd.com/1938/

Jonathan Woodall

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Jan 5, 2018, 6:45:10 PM1/5/18
to admfubar, alug
Thanks, that was good for a laugh.

Man, the wizardry we invented in the 1990s... 

Speaking of that, does anyone know when mainstream CPUs actually *GOT* speculative execution?

I remember hearing about it when someone explained the extreme pipeline depth of the Pentium IV to me, but I can't remember if we had it prior to the Pentium era.

On Fri, Jan 5, 2018 at 6:27 PM, admfubar <admf...@gmail.com> wrote:

Explained nicely

https://xkcd.com/1938/

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David Egts

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Jan 5, 2018, 6:49:40 PM1/5/18
to admfubar, alug
Good one! Here's a new 3-minute explainer that uses food instead of phantom trolleys...

https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/what-are-meltdown-and-spectre-here%E2%80%99s-what-you-need-know

Dave

David Egts

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Jan 5, 2018, 6:52:19 PM1/5/18
to Jonathan Woodall, admfubar, alug
Looks like 1995...

"speculative execution (which is all the mainstream processors introduced since the Pentium Pro, from 1995)"

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/01/whats-behind-the-intel-design-flaw-forcing-numerous-patches/

Dave

Jonathan Woodall

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Jan 5, 2018, 6:55:23 PM1/5/18
to David Egts, admfubar, alug
Thanks, Dave!

Blast from the past. I wanted a Pentium Pro so bad back then, but by the time you paid for a Pro and its motherboard, that was like 3 months' rent...........

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Jan 7, 2018, 8:58:42 AM1/7/18
to alug

I will have to re-read The Soul of a New Machine, but I thought I speculative execution was part of the microcode that made the Data General Eclipse fast, back in 1980.

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OldMidWest Swabbie

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Jan 17, 2018, 9:29:58 AM1/17/18
to Akron Linux Users Group

You will find more details and answers at this link Meltdown & Spectre attacks explanation and reference . along with a few videos ...  Also I agree with you on this cartoon.  

If you would like additional links,  take a look at an earlier posting on Intel-leaks within this group.  

Have you patched your software, Yet ?  Recently it has been reported that Microsoft's fix can cause Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).  Microsoft has determined that certain Anti-Viruses have not followed their specifications and until they fix their programs - BSODs will happen with their programs. 

Microsoft has required that a special Key be placed in the registry for when the AV authors have fixed their programs.  This has been a recent development. This is explained below.  

Here is Microsoft's explanation with  Microsoft's Support Document that talks about this AV causing BSODs.  

Now about linux - there are patches against Meltdown for Linux.  There is also work to harden software against future exploitation of Spectre,  that is discussed at the previous link on Meltdown and Spectre.  

So if you were looking for more details regarding this intel flaw,  I hope that this has been helpful to all our members in providing links to details that you may be seeking.  
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