Nvidia graphics cards have serious driver flaws: What to do

(Image credit: Nvidia)

If your Windows machine has an Nvidia graphics card, it's time to patch again.

The GPU maker last week disclosed two severe flaws in its Nvidia Display Driver software, which would let anyone with local access to an affected machine install malware, corrupt the computer or steal information.

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The flaws affect GeForce, Quadro, NVS and Tesla GPUs, although only the GeForce line is widely used by non-professional consumers. Three other flaws affect Nvidia vGPU Windows and Linux software, which is used by enterprises.

To download and install the appropriate software update for your Nvidia GPU, head over to the Nvidia Driver Downloads page and plug in the information for your Nvidia product. GeForce owners will want to patch up to driver version 442.50.

If you're not sure what kind of Nvida firmware you have, Nvidia has instructions on determining your driver version on Windows. For newer GPUs, you can also use the Nvidia GeForce Experience software.

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Paul Wagenseil is a senior editor at Tom's Guide focused on security and privacy. He has also been a dishwasher, fry cook, long-haul driver, code monkey and video editor. He's been rooting around in the information-security space for more than 15 years at FoxNews.com, SecurityNewsDaily, TechNewsDaily and Tom's Guide, has presented talks at the ShmooCon, DerbyCon and BSides Las Vegas hacker conferences, shown up in random TV news spots and even moderated a panel discussion at the CEDIA home-technology conference. You can follow his rants on Twitter at @snd_wagenseil.