Author: Donster

Microsoft Halts Meltdown-Spectre Patches to AMD PCs as Some Turn Unbootable

Microsoft late-Monday halted Meltdown and Spectre security patches to machines running AMD processors, as complaints of machines turning unbootable piled up. Apparently the latest KB4056892 (2018-01) Cumulative Update causes machines with AMD processors (well, chipsets) to refuse to boot. Microsoft has halted distributing patches to PCs running AMD processors, and issued a statement on the matter. In this statement, Microsoft blames AMD for not supplying its engineers with the right documentation to develop their patches (while absolving itself of any blame for not testing its patches on actual AMD-powered machines before releasing them).

“Microsoft has reports of customers with some AMD devices getting into an unbootable state after installing recent Windows operating system security updates,” said Microsoft in its statement. “After investigating, Microsoft has determined that some AMD chipsets do not conform to the documentation previously provided to Microsoft to develop the Windows operating system mitigations to protect against the chipset vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown,” it added. Microsoft is working with AMD to re-develop, test, and release security updates, on the double.

Update (09/01): AMD responded to this story, its statement posted verbatim is as follows.

AMD is aware of an issue with some older generation processors following installation of a Microsoft security update that was published over the weekend. AMD and Microsoft have been working on an update to resolve the issue and expect it to begin rolling out again for these impacted shortly.

Security | Donster | January 9, 2018 |

Just Announced Hardware for 9 January 2018

Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.

Hardware | Donster | January 9, 2018 |

Historical Article: Speaking in Tongues

Near an abandoned French farm in 1918 field telephones crackled with orders in a language that baffled German eavesdroppers—and the code talkers were born

By Richard Selcer @ Historynet.com

During World War II the United States used American Indian code talkers to thwart enemy decoding of battlefield radio and telephone traffic. The exploits of these men—almost all of whom were Navajos serving with the Marines the Pacific—are justly famous, thanks to several popular written histories and the 2002 film Windtalkers.

Yet few people realize that U.S. reliance on code talkers during wartime did not originate with Navajos on some jungle-covered South Sea island. It was, instead, on the shell-pocked Western Front battlefields of World War I that American Indians—mostly Choctaws in Army uniforms—were first tasked with transmitting crucial military communications in languages the enemy could not decipher.

Read on…

Military History | Donster | January 5, 2018 |

More Meltdown & Spectre Exploit Coverage

meltdown-and-spectre-exploits We have a bit more information in regards to the Meltdown security exploit which primarily affects Intel’s CPUs, but also has been confirmed to affect some ARM CPU designs. Also the Spectre exploit that every high-performance processor ever made – Intel, AMD, ARM, and POWER – is thought to be vulnerable to. Intel has begun issuing updates for all types of Intel-based computer systems, and Microsoft has issued patches via Windows Update (Windows 10 only). Also there are a few news stories about when and if Intel knew of these security issues for an extended period of time.

Security | Donster | January 5, 2018 |

AMD Releases Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.1.1 Alpha Drivers

Source: TechPowerUp!

Making good on its post-New Year promise, AMD late Thursday released its first Radeon Software Adrenalin iteration for the year, version 18.1.1 Alpha. Being flagged “Alpha,” these are very early drivers, the use of which are not backed by any warranties. They’re not fully tested to work by AMD.

Version 18.1.1 Alpha addresses critical bugs that caused some of the older games to break following Adrenalin 17.12 release. The games, which are nearly a decade old, are AAA blockbusters which are based on the older DirectX 9 API. A number of older DirectX 9 games, such as EA’s “Command & Conquer 3,” “Command & Conquer 4″ series, “Battle for Middle Earth 1-2,” and “The Witcher Enhanced Edition” had simply refused to start following the 17.12 driver update.

The new Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.1.1 Alpha drivers are available online at the AMD driver download page.

Hardware Video Cards | Donster | January 5, 2018 |

Turn the Tide with Alfred the Great in Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia

New trailer reveals first playable faction leader, plus new details and victory conditions revealed

Alfred the Great’s victory at the Battle of Edington, in which he stood fast against the Viking invaders and changed the future of the British Isles, marks the player’s historical starting point of 878 AD in the forthcoming game Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia.

See King Alfred alter the course of history in the first in-engine cinematic trailer HERE.

Like Alfred, each playable faction leader will face a series of unique events and branching dilemmas based on historical events. The choices made will have far-reaching and impactful consequences allowing players to write their own story and re-write history.

Players can attempt to achieve victory in a number of ways: by aggressively expanding through force of arms, by increasing their faction’s fame through construction, advanced technology and influence, and by completing a series of unique objectives based on their chosen faction’s history. A final, ultimate victory condition can also be aimed for, presenting the player with a unique and significant late-game challenge.

Further new details on Thrones of Britannia can be found on the games Steam page.

Strategy and Wargaming Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia | Donster | January 4, 2018 |

Understanding Meltdown & Spectre Exploits

What To Know About New Exploits That Affect Virtually All CPUs

By Ryan Smith @ AnandTech

Security researchers working for Google’s Project Zero group, along with other research groups and academic institutions, have discovered a series of far-ranging security risks involving speculative execution. Speculative execution is one of the cornerstones of high-performance execution on modern CPUs, and is found in essentially all CPU designs more performance than an embedded microcontroller. As a result, essentially every last high-performance CPU on the market or that has been produced in the last couple of decades is vulnerable to one or more of a few different exploit scenarios.

Read on…

Security | Donster | January 4, 2018 |

Just Announced Hardware for 4 January 2018

Hardware | Donster | January 4, 2018 |

Escape from Tarkov New Year Event and the Load Testing

Battlestate Games kick off the load testing of the Escape from Tarkov game servers before the official start of the Open Beta testing at the beginning of 2018. Also the studio starts a holiday event which will allow the game to be purchased with a 25% discount during the week, and some of the users will receive a free 7-day access to the game. A full description of the event, participation requirements and instructions for redeeming the gift can be found on the project website in the news section.

Moreover developers released the last update of the game in 2017. This version of the game introduces the complete Shoreline map along with new weapons and weapon modifications, including AKMS, AKMN, Gyurza pistol and Trijicon REAP-IR thermal sight, as well as new equipment like customizable Ops-Core helmets. Moreover, several gameplay systems have been seriously redesigned, most importantly, deployment and extraction system, weapon mastering and dynamic changing of its size. Other notable changes include customization of helmets and head gear slots. The end of the Raid screen now features the opportunity to view the list of characters killed during the game session. Furthermore, players can now take dogtags off deceased enemies, which contain info on nickname, level and PMC affiliation. The complete list of new developments and changes can be found on the official project Forum and in social network communities.

At this point, users purchasing any game package get access to the Beta testing and can start playing immediately after purchase.

Learn more about the project testing plans and the estimated completion time frame, and purchase the game on the official website of the project.

Escape from Tarkov MMORPGs | Donster | December 28, 2017 |

Just Announced Hardware for 28 December 2017

Hardware Uncategorized | Donster | December 28, 2017 |