Chinese Company Releases Web-Based Checker for the Spectre Bug

A couple of two new vulnerabilities came to light this week, breaking the basic security of practically all computers worldwide. Called Meltdown and Spectre, these bugs impact some fundamental issues related to the way all mainstream processors manage and isolate data, meaning that the only way to provide high-security is to replace old chips with new ones which handle that data correctly. So far, some of the major processor manufacturers have provided firmware patches, yet the two complex vulnerabilities still create turmoil in the industry as an ultimate solution would require the involvement of hardware and software companies who would need to update their products.

The Spectre hardware vulnerability can be exploited by hackers to steal data from target computers, and one of the ways to conduct this attack is through a JavaScript code launched by the browser. While Apple, Microsoft, and Mozilla have already shipped patches to protect browsers from attacks, Google is expected to release its security update later this month. Until then, users of Chrome are advised to turn on the Site Isolation feature. For another way to check whether a browser is protected, the Chinese company Tencent has released a web-based checker which promises to help users find out if their browser is safe from Spectre attacks. Users can test browsers for Windows, Linux, Android, and iPhone as the checker works on both desktop and mobile devices.

Experts have used the online checker to run a series of tests, and the results are not a big surprise. For Windows operating system, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome have been listed as protected against the Spectre bug, Opera, on the other hand, could be vulnerable. For Android mobile devices, Samsung Internet Browser, Google Chrome, and Firefox are again given as secure browsers, while Brave and Opera were classified as exposed. Apple's Safari browser for iOS and MacOS devices seems not to be vulnerable to Spectre as well, at least according to the Chinese company’s checker.

In any case, since most hardware and software companies whose products could have been exposed to the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities have already released security updates, all users are recommended to install the available patches as soon as possible.