01-20-2018 , 03:11 AM
https://www.grc.com/inspectre.htm Release History
Release #1 — Initial release:
The first release was triggering false-positive warnings from 3rd-party anti-virus scanners. This was probably due to a registry key the application uses to enable/disable the Meltdown and Spectre protections. Also, the language used in one of the text-explainers was confusing and self-contradictory.
techdetailsRelease #2 — Second try:
This second release hides its use of the registry key that was upsetting so many anti-virus scanners. A pass through Virus Total shows that made a huge difference. And that confusing paragraph was rewritten into two, which are now presented more correctly. Let's see how this second try fares.
Release #3 — Raw Technical Data Display:
InSpectre's more technically inclined users have asked for more information about how InSpectre makes its decisions. Non-Windows users have also asked for that information so that InSpectre could be run on Linux and MacOS machines (under WINE) to check the non-Windows machine's CPU support. As shown to the right, InSpectre release #3 adds a “Show Technical Details” item in the system control menu at the upper-left corner of the app. Click on the little “Spectre” icon and select the “Show Tech Details” item to display the raw data obtained by InSpectre's analysis of its operating environment.
Release #4 — Silent System Probe Option:
When InSpectre is launched with the string “probe” in its command line, its Windows user interface will be suppressed and InSpectre will act like a command-line utility. It will assess its hosting system's status, then immediately terminate itself returning a decimal exitcode which encodes the eight “trouble bits” shown below, which itemizes any trouble. Therefore, for example, an exitcode of zero (0) is returned only by a fully secure system.
Decimal
Value Trouble Itemization
1 OS is not aware of the Meltdown vulnerability
2 OS is not aware of the Spectre vulnerability
4 The system is vulnerable to Meltdown
8 The system is vulnerable to Spectre
16 CPU does not support Spectre (microcode not updated)
32 CPU does not support low-overhead Meltdown protection
64 Meltdown protection disabled by registry setting
128 Spectre protection disabled by registry setting
Since InSpectre's exitcode is the sum of the values shown above which are true for any specific system, the table above can be used to decompose InSpectre's probe-mode exitcode to determine the system's trouble.
Release #5 — Copy results to system clipboard:
Earlier releases of InSpectre did not encourage copying the program's displays out of the application. Any region of the results can now be marked with the mouse and copied to the system's shared clipboard by using the standard Ctrl-C key combination. The application's system menu (under the small Spectre icon at the upper-left corner of the application window) also now contains a “Copy to Clipboard” option which will either copy a marked region or the entire textual content if no region is marked for copying. :Scanned 100% Malware Free & Clean With Kaspersky Free & Trusted ( Kaspersky Security Network) Digital signature: (Gibson Research Corporation)
Release #1 — Initial release:
The first release was triggering false-positive warnings from 3rd-party anti-virus scanners. This was probably due to a registry key the application uses to enable/disable the Meltdown and Spectre protections. Also, the language used in one of the text-explainers was confusing and self-contradictory.
techdetailsRelease #2 — Second try:
This second release hides its use of the registry key that was upsetting so many anti-virus scanners. A pass through Virus Total shows that made a huge difference. And that confusing paragraph was rewritten into two, which are now presented more correctly. Let's see how this second try fares.
Release #3 — Raw Technical Data Display:
InSpectre's more technically inclined users have asked for more information about how InSpectre makes its decisions. Non-Windows users have also asked for that information so that InSpectre could be run on Linux and MacOS machines (under WINE) to check the non-Windows machine's CPU support. As shown to the right, InSpectre release #3 adds a “Show Technical Details” item in the system control menu at the upper-left corner of the app. Click on the little “Spectre” icon and select the “Show Tech Details” item to display the raw data obtained by InSpectre's analysis of its operating environment.
Release #4 — Silent System Probe Option:
When InSpectre is launched with the string “probe” in its command line, its Windows user interface will be suppressed and InSpectre will act like a command-line utility. It will assess its hosting system's status, then immediately terminate itself returning a decimal exitcode which encodes the eight “trouble bits” shown below, which itemizes any trouble. Therefore, for example, an exitcode of zero (0) is returned only by a fully secure system.
Decimal
Value Trouble Itemization
1 OS is not aware of the Meltdown vulnerability
2 OS is not aware of the Spectre vulnerability
4 The system is vulnerable to Meltdown
8 The system is vulnerable to Spectre
16 CPU does not support Spectre (microcode not updated)
32 CPU does not support low-overhead Meltdown protection
64 Meltdown protection disabled by registry setting
128 Spectre protection disabled by registry setting
Since InSpectre's exitcode is the sum of the values shown above which are true for any specific system, the table above can be used to decompose InSpectre's probe-mode exitcode to determine the system's trouble.
Release #5 — Copy results to system clipboard:
Earlier releases of InSpectre did not encourage copying the program's displays out of the application. Any region of the results can now be marked with the mouse and copied to the system's shared clipboard by using the standard Ctrl-C key combination. The application's system menu (under the small Spectre icon at the upper-left corner of the application window) also now contains a “Copy to Clipboard” option which will either copy a marked region or the entire textual content if no region is marked for copying. :Scanned 100% Malware Free & Clean With Kaspersky Free & Trusted ( Kaspersky Security Network) Digital signature: (Gibson Research Corporation)