Microsoft has disabled Intel's Spectre patch which has resulted in some unwanted system issues, such as rebooting and inconsistent behaviour.

Application of this payload specifically disables only the mitigation against CVE-2017-5715 – “Branch target injection vulnerability.”

Update to disable mitigation against Spectre, Variant 2 [support.microsoft.com]

Intel Says, Stop Deploying Current Spectre Patch [webmasterworld.com]

Linus Torvalds Criticises Intel's "Patches" for Meltdown and Spectre [webmasterworld.com]

Phishing and Fake Sites Appear With Fake Patches for Meltdown and Spectre [webmasterworld.com]

CPU Vulnerabilities Named Meltdown and Spectre [webmasterworld.com]