Beware of Microsoft Critical Update Released Today

[Pifil.5193]

My windows PC has been updated and I've noticed no drop in performance.

Just like I didn't really notice any drops in performance from all the other windows updates that have occurred in the past.

I would recommend people treat this update the same as any other and just let it happen. It's a real security concern and the updates will not affect the vast majority of operations on your PC.

[FillyMuffinz.5936]

PSA for Windows 7 Users with older AMD-Processors:

Installing Windows Update "KB4056894" might lead to your machine booting with blue-screen.The Fix is not something a layman can just do without lengthy instructions.

The Reddit-Thread for this issue can be found here:https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/7ode4s/problems_with_windows_7_quality_rollup_kb4056894/

There is also a list of all the AMD Processors that might be affected in the Comments-Secion here:https://www.askwoody.com/2018/multiple-reports-of-blue-screens-bsods-0x000000c4-when-installing-the-january-win7-monthly-rollup-kb-4056894/

Microsoft’s KB patch (for a kernel bug not relevant to AMD CPUs) definitely has been killing Win OS powered by AMD CPUs …

Intel-Meltdown Bug Patch – Hall of (Additional) Latest Casualities(as of: 06 Jan 2018, 02:15 UTC)

At MS TechNet:Win 7 Pro x64 + AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 4800+ CPU + WSUS: BSODWin 7 x64 + AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core + WSUS + Norton AntiVirus: BSOD

At Microsoft Answers:Win 7 x64 + AMD Opteron 285 Dual Core + WSUS: BSODWin 7 Ultimate x64 + AMD Athlon X2 6000+ Dual Core CPU + ESET NOD32 Endpoint Antivirus v6.6.2052.0: BSODWin OS + Intel CPUs: rebooted w/o problemsWin Server 2008 R2 + AMD Operton Dual Core: BSODWin OS + AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core 4600+: BSOD

Also said to be affected by BSOD:AMD Athlon X2 4800+AMD Athlon X2 4600+AMD Athlon X2 BE-2400AMD Turion XAt OverClockers UK:

Win Server 2008 R2 x64 + AMD Operton Dual Core CPU + WSUS: BSODWin Server 2008 R2 x64 + Intel Xeon CPU + WSUS: rebooted w/o problems

If you want to be safe for now refrain from downloading Update "KB4056894" on Windows 7 entirely and wait a bit until Microsoft fixes this or at least wait for an official answer.

Update "KB4056894" only addresses the MELTDOWN-EXPLOIT anyway.There will be more Patches for the SPECTRE-EXPLOIT later down the line.

Windows-Updates alone won't help to fix all the CPU-Issues btw.Intel has to apply their own Vendor-Patch which has not been delivered as of now.

Lastly:Right now there is no actual Attack Scenario in existence (actual Codes or Programs) that use these Exploits.Experts are testing Attack-Scenarios and in the following Days we should have actual Details on how these Issues can be exploited.

This is a neat explanation of what is actually know as of right now about the two Exploits:

And if you are interested in more information, here is a neat little article that takes a more skeptical look at all of this:https://www.computerworld.com/article/3245788/microsoft-windows/windows-meltdown-and-spectre-keep-calm-and-carry-on.html

[JVJD.4912]

Strange i didn't have this problem. o_0

[miraude.2107]

@Esquilax.3491 said:I Don't get why Microsoft feels like every home PC user needs the latest commercial grade security updates. Like heck if criminals are going to hack something it's going to be driven by profit like every other crime. Why hack some single small fry home gamer like me when they can go for a company server with thousands of users information.

The only way you can get hacked as far as I can tell is if you go to dodgy kitten websites and either intentionally or unintentionally download compromised files anyway and one could argue those people deserve to be hacked for participating in criminal activity.

It's like they install security cameras and hire security guards, safes and sensors in organizations like banks or rich peoples houses because that's where it makes sense to do so. So why are they putting all that crap in my small residence where It's not only basically useless but gets in the way.

As someone who used to play WoW, let me tell you. WoWhead is a site you pretty much visit for everything and is listed by Blizzard as the go to site. It also is a site that if you didn't have some form of adblock you were guaranteed getting a virus from because of the ads. All because a few trojan ads slipped through the net. So it's better to be safe than sorry. Most the time, people that hack aren't after your information at all, they are after your connection. Unsecured computers are pretty much wonderful for those that do DDOS attacks. There's even a website that tracks this stuff: www.digitalattackmap.com/

So the less ways someone else can use your computer for malicious intent the better.

[juhani.5361]

Worked just fine for me. If anything, my in-game performance has improved-- a lot less stuttering than I used to get.

[Deadly Moonshiner.1354]

@"Deadly Moonshiner.1354" said:I updated 2 Win 10 desktops last night. No performance issues and nothing unusual happened.

As you may know, fixing OS (Windows 10 in my case) is just one part of actions needed to protect from "Meltdown" vulnerability. You also need to update Intel processor microcode and some low level motherboard drivers. So I just wanted to share my experience with this vulnerability and give some general guidance in good faith to illustrate the complexity of resolving this issue.

First and foremost, after all things I did (described below) I did not experience any noticeable performance drop. However, I can't and won't make a general statement here - every system is basically different. Also, I am not sure if process described below is something appropriate for an average user.

Finally, what worked for me, may not work for someone else and may result in bricking your system. Hence, whatever you do on your system is solely your responsibility and I take no responsibility for any/all actions you may or will take or any/all consequences of such actions.

1) In order to get Windows fix downloaded and installed, your antivirus SW needs to be listed as compatible. There is a google doc which lists antivirus software compatible with the Microsoft latest fix.

2) If your antivirus SW is compatible then after the antivirus is refreshed/updated, your system needs to have a registry key (Key="HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" Subkey="SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\QualityCompat" Value="cadca5fe-87d3-4b96-b7fb-a231484277cc" Type="REG_DWORD”). If this key doesn't exist, windows will not download/install the fix. You should check the list above and visit your AV site (in most cases info is on their forums and links are also listed in the documents) and act accordingly.

3) If your system is Intel based, fixing the issue also requires update to Intel Management Engine. This is what your motherboard vendor should have on their site available as bios/drivers update. In my case, after downloading the update from ASUS (I have Z170-K mobo and i7 6700K 4.0 GHz), it turned out that this update also requires the latest BIOS version and the latest Intel MEI driver as well. So I downloaded the latest BIOS and flashed my mobo and downloaded the latest MEI driver from ASUS and installed that. Finally I installed the management engine update. After a few reboots all was fine and system worked as usual. As a side note here, I don't use ASUS AI Suite. If you use it then you need to update that too or your AI Suite will crash since it is not compatible with other fixes installed.

[Rikkagin.9472]

This thread is confusing. The OP said that an update caused windows not boot so they had to load an older version.

Yet almost everyone is prattling on about performance. If you are concerned about performance, upgrade or optimise.

Regarding the OP, however...

Last I went to sleep, and so did my laptop. In the morning it would no longer load up Win 10, not even the first load screen.

So what happened last night? The only thing I can think of as an auto update, whether windows or some other. I cannot say for sure, the diagnostic tool could not tell me, and not could it fix it.

After trying every other option, I had to do a factory reset, so now I face the pain in the ....... of re-downloading everything, re-setting up everything... Moreover I lost a few things that cannot be replaced (some recently written notes etc).

I WILL be turning off auto updates when I get home from, despite everyone’s sagely advice, and I’ll carefully update everything manually, until I am happy that I can trust auto update again. Whenever that will be. I’ll also review every security measure I can take, without screwing up my OS again.

[Ahnog.8795]

@Rikkagin.9472 said:This thread is confusing. The OP said that an update caused windows not boot so they had to load an older version.

Yet almost everyone is prattling on about performance. If you are concerned about performance, upgrade or optimise.

Regarding the OP, however...

Last I went to sleep, and so did my laptop. In the morning it would no longer load up Win 10, not even the first load screen.

So what happened last night? The only thing I can think of as an auto update, whether windows or some other. I cannot say for sure, the diagnostic tool could not tell me, and not could it fix it.

After trying every other option, I had to do a factory reset, so now I face the pain in the ....... of re-downloading everything, re-setting up everything... Moreover I lost a few things that cannot be replaced (some recently written notes etc).

I WILL be turning off auto updates when I get home from, despite everyone’s sagely advice, and I’ll carefully update everything manually, until I am happy that I can trust auto update again. Whenever that will be. I’ll also review every security measure I can take, without screwing up my OS again.

For the next time this happens boot the computer and press you bios button until it interrupts the boot. You will be given the option to roll back.

In the mean time. I called Microsoft and they told me that another update to the update was coming out. Sure enough that one fixed my computer.

[Zaklex.6308]

This update is so critical that it hasn't even gotten to me yet...I'll just wait until they get around to sending it my way.

[Rajani Isa.6294]

@miraude.2107 said:Did the update, game still plays fine. People are just crying wolf to cry wolf and it's fascinating. If a car manufacturer told you that you need to get your gas tank repaired because of a possibility of the car catching fire while you are driving however you might lose a little performance in your engine, would you still whine about that lost performance or get your kitten car fixed? The fact that some people are willing to forgo this update is probably something a lot of shady peeps are banking on.

I've heard there are still Note 7s in use out there shrug

[Crinn.7864]

This is why you should get the update