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Consumer Products => Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security (legacy Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier) => Topic started by: MrToad on April 24, 2018, 11:27:24 PM

Title: Will Avast block the now published exploit for Total Meltdown vulnerability?
Post by: MrToad on April 24, 2018, 11:27:24 PM

Microsoft patched opened a huge security hole...deemed total meltdown..this link and prior from Woody Leonard gives background.
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3269003/microsoft-windows/Heads-Up-Total-Meltdown-Exploit-Code-Now-Available-On-Github.html
Will Avast be putting a defense for this and can it be counted on to prevent the exploit?

Title: Re: Will Avast block the now published exploit for Total Meltdown vulnerability?
Post by: MrToad on April 24, 2018, 11:35:05 PM

As the article indicates, this total meltdown vulnerability was caused by Microsoft patches for Windows 7. Subsequent patches that would fix it cause severe problems so the most reasonable solution is to wait and depend on antivirus for protection..hence the question...or roll back patches to Dec 2017.

Title: Re: Will Avast block the now published exploit for Total Meltdown vulnerability?
Post by: bob3160 on April 24, 2018, 11:39:08 PM

https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=212691.msg1439553#msg1439553 (https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=212691.msg1439553#msg1439553)

Title: Re: Will Avast block the now published exploit for Total Meltdown vulnerability?
Post by: MrToad on April 25, 2018, 02:59:51 AM

The meltdown vulnerability is NOT the same as the Total Meltdown vulnerability my question addresses...read the linked article and see the discussion on askwoody.com for more info. There currently are no known exploits for the meltdown vulnerability, but there are for the newer, and frankly more dangerous total meltdown.

Title: Re: Will Avast block the now published exploit for Total Meltdown vulnerability?
Post by: Asyn on April 25, 2018, 06:36:12 AM

-> https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=66267.msg1455268#msg1455268

Title: Re: Will Avast block the now published exploit for Total Meltdown vulnerability?
Post by: MrToad on April 25, 2018, 07:49:55 PM

"Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease." Precisely correct..the patches that 'cure' the total meltdown vulnerability that Microsoft inflicted with the Jan/Feb patches, are more likely to cause havoc than the total meltdown risk exposure. On balance Microsoft patches recently have been worse than the disease. I rolled back my most used Win7 PC's to the Dec 2017 patch thus eliminating the total meltdown threat on those PC's.
The purpose of starting this thread was to give Avast a heads up to block the potential threat. It would be nice to hear from Avast that they are indeed doing that.

Title: Re: Will Avast block the now published exploit for Total Meltdown vulnerability?
Post by: REDACTED on April 25, 2018, 08:19:02 PM

The link you yourself provided above reports that the hole created by the Jan/Feb patches was fixed in the March patch.  So if you're current, you have nothing to worry about.