If you are one of many users who are concerned if your computer is affected by latest Meltdown and Spectre chip bug, you will be glad to know that Microsoft has released a PowerShell script which lets you check if you have proper protection against the bug enabled in your computer.
In the support article accompanied with the shell script, the company assured its customers that it is unware of any instances where the vulnerabilities were used to attack customers. Microsoft also noted that it has already released a patch for customers as it continues to work with other companies to offer further protection to people. Afterwards, the support article laid out protection plans for its users.
In order to be fully protected, the company urged its customers to verify that they are running a supported antivirus programs before updating any firmware or operating system related update. In addition to this, Microsoft asked its users to install any update that is provided by device manufacturers. If everything is in right place, users will be able to check if they are protected against the bugs by running a script in PowerShell.
In order to run the script, you will need to type windows key and type PowerShell. After you see the icon, right click on it and select run as administrator. Afterwards, type Install-Module SpeculationControl and press Enter. At this point, you will be prompted to install NuGet provider. Just type Y and press enter. In case you are getting some warning, press enter. After the installation is completed, type Import-Module SpeculationControl and press Enter. After this, type Get-SpeculationControlSettings and press Enter. At this point, you will get a list of results which will show you’re a series of protections enabled in your device. Microsoft noted
That the idea result will look like this
Speculation control settings for CVE-2017-5715 [branch target injection]
Hardware support for branch target injection mitigation is present: True
Windows OS support for branch target injection mitigation is present: True
Windows OS support for branch target injection mitigation is enabled: True
Speculation control settings for CVE-2017-5754 [rogue data cache load]
Hardware requires kernel VA shadowing: True
Windows OS support for kernel VA shadow is present: True
Windows OS support for kernel VA shadow is enabled: True
Windows OS support for PCID optimization is enabled: True
