Ross Greenberg

Ross Matthew Greenberg (September 16, 1956 – February 16, 2017) was an American software developer, noted for creating one of the first antivirus software products. He also worked in journalism, and was a founding member of the Internet Press Guild.

Ross Greenberg
Ross Greenberg at Chelsey Park Health and Rehab. (August 2016)
Born(1956-09-16)September 16, 1956
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 16, 2017(2017-02-16) (aged 60)
Dahlonega, Georgia, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupationprogrammer; journalist
Known forantivirus pioneer
Notable work
Flushot Plus

Career

Flushot Plus

In 1987, as Software Concepts Design, Greenberg released one of the first two heuristic antivirus software utilities, Flushot Plus.[1][2][3] He released it as shareware for $10.[4]

O'Reilly book author Roger A. Grimes described Flushot Plus as "the first holistic program to fight MMC [malicious mobile code]."[5]

Journalism

In the 1980s, Greenberg was a frequent contributor to PC Magazine, and was the primary sysop of its CompuServe forum, PC MagNet.[6]

In 1996, he became a founder member of the Internet Press Guild.[7][8]

Personal life

Greenberg was born in New York City, and raised in Syosset. His parents were Muriel and Walter Greenberg. He had two sisters: Toni (Richard) Koweek and Carla G. Kaplan.[9]

Greenberg attended the State University of New York at Stony Brook, graduating in 1978.[10]

Greenberg's wife, Dawn, was from Marietta, Georgia.[9] Before he moved to a nursing home in the Atlanta area, the couple lived in Bovina, New York. The couple separated in 2009, but did not divorce.

Health issues and death

Greenberg suffered from multiple sclerosis, first diagnosed in the mid-1980s. His elder sister described the form of his illness as "aggressive".[9]

In late 2009, after his condition became too challenging for his family to care for him, Greenberg moved to a nursing home near Atlanta, Georgia.[11] He later moved to a nursing home in Forsyth, Georgia. In August 2015, he was moved to Chelsey Park Health and Rehabilitation Center, Dahlonega, Georgia,[9] where he died after contracting pneumonia, in February 2017.[12]

See also
  • Interrupt List for MS-DOS

References
  1. Yevics, Patricia A. "Flu Shot for Computer Viruses". Americanbar.org.
  2. Strom, David (April 1, 2010). "How friends help friends on the Internet: The Ross Greenberg Story". Wordpress.com.
  3. "Anti-virus is 30 years old". Spgedwards.com. April 2012.
  4. Inc, Ziff Davis (June 28, 1988). "PC Mag". Ziff Davis, Inc. Retrieved August 9, 2017 – via Google Books.
  5. Grimes, Roger A. (June 1, 2001). Malicious Mobile Code: Virus Protection for Windows. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 522. ISBN 9781565926820.
  6. Inc, Ziff Davis (October 31, 1988). "PC Mag". Ziff Davis, Inc. Retrieved August 9, 2017 – via Google Books.
  7. "Ross M. Greenberg :: IPG". Netpress.org. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  8. "Google Groups". Groups.google.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  9. Koweek, Toni G. (2017), Obituary—Ross Matthew Greenberg
  10. "Ross Greenberg - Google+". Plus.google.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  11. "A Statement of Gratitude :: IPG". Netpress.org. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  12. "Obituary for Ross Greenberg - Dahlonega, GA". Dahlonegafuneralhome.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
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