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Check if your Chromebook is protected against the Meltdown vulnerability

Worried your Chromebook is vulnerable to the Meltdown bug recently discovered? Read this.

Jason Cipriani Contributing Writer, ZDNet
Jason Cipriani is based out of beautiful Colorado and has been covering mobile technology news and reviewing the latest gadgets for the last six years. His work can also be found on sister site CNET in the How To section, as well as across several more online publications.
Jason Cipriani
James Martin/CNET

The Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities are serious, with very few devices not impacted. Google's Chrome OS, which most commonly runs on laptops , isn't immune.

Watch this: Intel addresses security flaws with company's chips at CES 2018

To help reassure users, Google has published a list of Chrome OS devices. The list was first spotted by Android Police and includes a lot of information, but what you really need to worry about is the last two columns.

chromium-spectre-meltdown
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET

If your Chrome OS device is listed with "Yes" or "Not needed" then it's protected from Meltdown. However, if your device has "EoL" — End of Life — then your device isn't protected, and will not receive an update.

As for Spectre, you'll need to follow the instructions in this post under the Google Chrome section to enable Strict Site Isolation. Otherwise, an update currently scheduled for Jan. 23 should mitigate the vulnerabilities.

To update your Chrome OS device, open Settings and click on About Chrome OS > Check For Updates.