Intel Accelerated Memory Scanning offloads malware scanning to GPUs to boost performance
The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities really focused people's attention on the security of processors, and Intel has been at pains to convince users that it takes security seriously. With this in mind, the company has now announced a new Threat Detection Technology which introduces two new malware-fighting techniques.
Accelerated Memory Scanning offloads malware scanning to GPUs, taking the strain off CPUs and helping to improve performance. There's already interest, with Microsoft planning to add support to Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection. Intel has also revealed Advanced Platform Telemetry which is supposed to cut down on false positives.
Intel Remote Keyboard app nixed after discovery of critical remote control vulnerability
Intel has issued a security advisory about its remote keyboard app after discovering a bug that made it possible for a remote user to mimic keyboard and mouse input with elevated privileges.
Intel Remote Keyboard was available for both iOS and Android, but the critical vulnerability -- and two other bugs with a High rating -- means that it has now been pulled from Google Play and the App Store. Intel is also recommending that anyone using the app uninstalls it as soon as possible.
Intel: some processors will never receive Meltdown and Spectre patches
With little fanfare, Intel has revealed that some processors will simply never receive microcode updates that will patch against the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities.
In a document entitled Microcode Revision Guidelines, the chip-maker says that a wide range of processor families -- equating to over 200 CPUs -- will not receive any more updates. While the majority of the affected chips were on sale between 2007 and 2011, it's safe to assume that a large proportion of them are still in use, meaning that a lot of systems will remain unprotected.
Intel unveils hexacore mobile Core i9 chip and gets within spitting distance of 5GHz
In Bejing today, Intel revealed its first mobile Core i9 chip. The hexacore processor (yep... no fewer than six cores) is an eighth-generation chip, and the company says it is "the highest-performance laptop processor Intel has ever built".
Intel also claims that it offers the "best gaming and content creation experience on the go," and with the top-of-the-range Intel Core i9-8950HK processor reaching speeds of up to 4.8 GHz, it's a claim that's easy to believe. A total of 12 threads bring serious improvements over the previous generation chips.
Apple could drop Intel and start making its own chips for Macs
Apple could be planning to ditch Intel and start to manufacture its own chips for Macs by 2020, according to a new report.
The move would be in line with what the company has done for iPhones and iPads -- the A11 Bionic chips are already designed in-house. Intel's share price dropped by 6 percent as the rumors of the plan came out.
Intel contributes code to open source edge computing project
The rise of IoT devices is pushing more systems towards an edge computing model in order to handle the data created more effectively.
While several open source projects exist to help solve pieces of the edge puzzle, no single project currently meets the need for a complete edge infrastructure solution.
Intel-sponsored study finds that smart cities save time
A study sponsored by Intel has come to the rather unsurprising conclusion that smart cities save people time. The company says that major cities that have embraced the Internet of Things (IoT) can save each of their citizens up to 125 hours per year.
Being able to claw back more than five days over the course of a year seems too good to be true, but the study from Intel and Juniper Research appears to bear out the claim. The research looked at smart cities around the world, ranking them accordingly in the areas of mobility, health care, public safety and productivity.
Microsoft details steps being taken to address Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities
The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities affected millions of processors around the world, and the "fixes" that followed compounded the problems with reports of the patches bricking AMD PCs, and Ubuntu systems, and causing major slowdowns. Intel even told customers to stop installing the patches due to 'unpredictable' reboot issues.
In a new blog post, Microsoft provides an update on the state of the situation, and has some good news for Windows 1o users.
Intel failed to warn US government about Meltdown and Spectre flaws before going public
Intel is facing criticism from the US government after it was revealed that the company did not inform cyber security officials about the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities even though they had been known about for months.
Reports about the Meltdown and Spectre flaws were leaked by the Register, and it wasn't until this information hit the public domain that Intel decided to speak to US-CERT about the matter. The lack of communication from the chip-maker was revealed in a series of letters sent by technology firms to lawmakers this week.
The first PCs with Intel's new 5G modem will arrive in 2019
There is a lot of talk surrounding the potential of 5G networks. The big players in the industry have already announced their plans to support the new technology, and some have also revealed their first products to support it.
Intel is part of that crowd, announcing today that its XMM 8060 modem will enable 5G connectivity in a slew of PCs from the likes of Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft. It does not take long to realize that, among other devices, the Surface line will offer 5G support. When?
Intel has a new Spectre firmware patch for you to try out
The Spectre/Meltdown debacle continues to rumble on, and now the chip manufacturer has announced the availability of a new "microcode solution" to the Spectre vulnerability. The updated firmware applies to 6th, 7th and 8th Generation Intel Core devices, and the release sees the company crossing its fingers and hoping that everything works out this time.
This is Intel's second attempt at patching the Spectre vulnerability, and this time around both the company and its customers will be praying that the fix for Skylake, Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake chips actually does the job.
With Intel's updated bug bounty program, you could earn big bucks for finding the next Meltdown
Intel has updated its bug bounty program, offering up to $250,000 to anyone identifying vulnerabilities in its hardware and software. The key update here is that the program is now open to everyone through the HackerOne platform -- it was previously open to selected security researchers on an invite-only basis.
The move comes in the wake of the Meltdown and Spectre chip vulnerability revelations, and it's clearly an attempt by Intel to not only ramp up its security, but to be seen doing so. The company says it wants to create "a process whereby the security research community can inform us, directly and in a timely fashion, about potential exploits that its members discover."
Intel releases updated Spectre and Meltdown patches for Skylake systems
It may have been a while since there was major news about the Spectre and Meltdown bugs, but the problems have not gone away. After previously releasing unstable patches, Intel has now launched a microcode update for Skylake systems.
Despite the problems with both stability and performance with Spectre and Meltdown patches, Intel uses an announcement about the latest updates to stress the importance of installing patches in a timely fashion. There's more than a hint of irony in the fact that Intel had to tell users to stop using an earlier update because of the problems it was causing.
Microsoft issues emergency Windows update to disable Intel's shoddy Spectre variant 2 mitigation
The computer industry is in utter chaos right now. Despite a slight increase in PC sales for Q4 2018, the market is still extremely unhealthy. Not to mention, pretty much all existing hardware is fundamentally flawed thanks to both Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities. At least major companies such as Intel, AMD, and Microsoft are working together to mitigate these risks, right? Wrong. These patches have proven to be problematic -- for instance, some AMD computers were rendered unbootable. Ugh, what a failure.
To make matters even worse, Intel's Spectre variant 2 mitigation is causing instability (random reboots) on some Windows computers. Microsoft has apparently had enough of Intel's shoddy patches, and as a result, it has issued an emergency update to disable the Spectre variant 2 mitigation on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10.
Intel will release chips free from Meltdown and Spectre bugs this year
The discovery of the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities in processors caused a great deal of panic and confusion. The poor reliability and performance hit brought about by patches did little to help consumer confidence, but Intel says it will be releasing processors in 2018 that are free from the problems.
The move will be welcomed by customers who have been frustrated by problematic bug fixes designed to mitigate against the bug but which brought issues of their own. A timescale for the hardware solution has not been pinned down more specifically than "later this year."
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