Major security flaws in CPUs and what you can do about it

Apple recently admitted that its Macs, iPhones, and iPads consist of a security flaw that took birth through a software update. This alone should be alarming enough for all electronic gadget users to beware of automatic software updates for their operating systems. While Apple was busy fixing its brand’s reputation after their own admission, endless reports of a broad flaw existing in Intel’s chipsets seemed to have sent the users into a mode of panic. As noted by USA Today, following given are the most important questions to address at a time like this:

What can a user do about these problems?

There is not much that you can do about it, as major companies ideally send out updates to fix problems that surface online. However, you must ensure that your electronic devices are enabled for automatic updating. If you are a Microsoft user, then you will first have to determine which version of the Windows operating system you are actually using. Products by other brands usually end up updating all by themselves.

What are the products that are affected?

After reports of Intel’s chipsets being affected by a vulnerability surfaced online, it is safe to assume that potentially everything that consists of a central processing unit (CPU) are affected by major security flaws. In other words, be it PCs, MacBooks, laptops, smartphones or tablets – each of these products is highly affected by major security flaws.

How did this happen?

As far as the chipsets are concerned, it has been reported that they are affected by two exploitable flaws – both of which are directly related. The two major security flaws are called, ‘Meltdown,’ and ‘Spectre.’ Both make use of a side-channel analysis attack pattern wherein malicious codes give hackers access to all the information that is stored inside a secure portion of the computer’s central processing unit (CPU).