Check if your PC has been patched against Meltdown and Spectre
Check out this list of PC vendors to see if a Spectre patch is available or being worked on for your PC.
Since the disclosure of the Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities, hardware and software vendors have been working on patches to guard against the exploits.
But as Intel and AMD work on shipping the necessary code out to be tested and released by PC manufacturers, the onus is on users to make sure that their PCs have been updated. But even determining whether your PC is affected and if a patch is available can be a hassle depending on the manufacturer. Fortunately, a number of PC vendors, including Dell, HP, and Lenovo, have been on the ball with keeping their support pages updated with a list of affected systems and whether a patch is currently available or on the way.
If you're looking to see if your PC is impacted and whether patches are available, here's a list of major manufacturer pages to keep an eye on (via Bleeping Computer):
It's worth noting that the status of and information about the updates varies quite a bit by manufacturer. The ETA for most patches is up in the air at the moment, but the pages will at least allow you to track the status for your paticular machine. And if you have a custom build, motherboard manufacturers like ASRock, Gigabyte, and MSI are worth keeping an eye on as well.
InSpectre will quickly check if your PC is vulnerable to Meltdown and Spectre
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Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl.