Security

Last night Microsoft released KB 4056894, the 2018-01 Security Monthly Quality Rollup for Windows 7. Spurred by early disclosure of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, Microsoft has done yeoman work getting the software part of the patches pushed out the Automatic Update chute.

That said, Windows patches are only part of a very formidable picture.

Where we stand with Windows patches

As of this morning, all of the supported versions of Windows have Meltdown-related patches, except for Windows 8.1. In particular:

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I’m increasingly skeptical of security holes that have their own logos and PR campaigns. Yesterday’s sudden snowballing of disclosures about two groups of vulnerabilities, now known as Meltdown and Spectre, has led to enormous numbers of reports of varying quality, and widespread panic in the streets. In the case of Intel’s stock price, that’s more like blood in the streets.

While it’s true that both vulnerabilities affect nearly every computer made in the past two decades, it’s also true that the threat — especially for plain-vanilla Windows users — isn’t imminent. You should be aware of the situation, but avoid the stampede. The sky isn’t falling.

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