Intel security bug

Out of context: Reply #10

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  • monNom1

    To be clear why spectre is so worrisome: it can steal sensitive information right out of your CPU memory as though it were plain text.

    ie: If you log into online banking, you might be behind https, but the credentials you type in are plain text from the perspective of your CPU. Malware or javascript in another tab or hidden window/iframe can use this bug to read that data from your CPU and send it to an attacker. Basically your computer is untrustworthy now unless patched.

    For users with older computers who can't update OS, or don't want to update for some reason, you should probably disconnect that machine from the Internet all together and use it only for off line work from now on. Get a cheap new computer for Internet things and use a sneaker network to move files between them.

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