Computer enthusiast, software engineer and security researcher
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Steven[4] M.[5] Gibson (born March 26, 1955) is an American software engineer, security researcher, and IT security proponent. In the early 1980s, he worked on light pen technology for use with Apple and Atari systems, and in 1985, founded Gibson Research Corporation, best known for its SpinRite software.
In 1985, Gibson founded Gibson Research Corporation (GRC), a computer software development firm,[8] and from 1986 to 1993, he wrote the "Tech Talk" column for InfoWorld magazine.[11]
In 1999, Gibson created one of the first adware removal programs, which he called OptOut.[12] In 2001, he predicted that Microsoft's implementation of the SOCK_RAW protocol in the initial release of Windows XP would lead to widespread chaos by making it easier for Windows XP users to create denial of service (DoS) attacks.[13][14][15] That year, his company's website was brought down by DoS attacks[6] which continued for two weeks. Gibson blogged about the attacks and his (ultimately successful) efforts to track down the hacker.[6] Three years after the Windows XP release, Microsoft limited raw socket support in Service Pack 2.[16]
In 2006, Gibson raised the possibility that the Windows Metafile vulnerability bug was actually a backdoor intentionally engineered into the system.[19] A response by Microsoft,[20] and by Mark Russinovich on Microsoft's Technet blog,[21] stated that the bug appeared to be coding error and that Gibson's reasoning was based upon Microsoft's abort procedure documentation being misleading.
In 2013, he proposed SQRL as a way to simplify the process of authentication without the risk of revelation of information about the transaction to a third party.[22]
DNS Benchmark, freeware that lets users test the performance of the domain name servers used by their internet service providers.[25]
Securable, freeware to test whether a pre-Windows 7 computer is 64-bit compatible. It also tells the user whether Data Execution Prevention is enabled.[26]
ShieldsUP, a free browser-based firewall testing service; one of the oldest available[27][28]
SpinRite, a hard disk scanning and data recovery utility first released in 1988.[29] As of January 2019[update] the current version was 6.0,[30] which was first released in 2004.[31] SpinRite is a commercial product, costing US$89 as of July 2021[update].[30] Gibson's work on SpinRite has led to him being considered an expert on hard drive failure.[32]
Spoofarino, freeware released in 2006 and promised since the controversy over the launch of Windows XP in 2001, it enables users to test whether their internet service providers allow them to send forged or "spoofed" packets of data to Gibson's web site.[33]
Never10, standalone freeware program that toggles registry values in Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, which either disables or enables Microsoft's Get Windows 10 app and automatic OS upgrade. As of version 1.3, it also triggers the removal of any previously downloaded Windows 10 upgrade files as part of the disable function.[34][35] Never10 became InControl and stops automatic upgrading of Windows 10 and 11.
InSpectre, a utility that examines a computer's vulnerability to the Meltdown and Spectre attacks.[36]
InitDisk, a tool that was developed for GRC's SpinRite (6.1), is a safe USB drive formatter that allows the user to reformat any USB device and make it bootable.[37]
ReadSpeed, an accurate benchmark for PC mass storage. The tool measures stability and repeatability to a precision of more than 4 significant digits.[38]
ValiDrive, a tool that validates whether or not USB flash drives or other Removable media are actually capable of storing the amount of data that they claim to. [39]
— (1991). A Passion for Technology, 1986 - 1990 Cumulative Index and 1986. Aliso Viejo, California: Gibson Research Corporation. ISBN978-1880814864. OCLC1245623144. OL28048112M.
— (1991). A Passion for Technology 1987. Vol. One. Aliso Viejo, California: Gibson Research Corporation. ISBN978-1880814871. OCLC1245623144.
^Helweg, Otto (January 18, 2006). "Inside the WMF Backdoor". Mark Russinovich's Blog. Archived from the original on December 18, 2006. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
^Softpedia. "DNS Benchmark". Softpedia. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^Orchilles, Jorge (2010). Microsoft Windows 7 Administrator's Reference: Upgrading, Deploying, Managing, and Securing Windows 7. Syngress. p. 10. ISBN9781597495622.