Once upon a time there was a software developer writing a small tool to extract strings from binary files. He thought is interesting to see how it travels around the then young web and set it free to the wild.
That was back in 1996.
To my utter astonishment this little tool is still around out there and creates enough interest to create hits on this site.
To honor this and to avoid confusion for visitors coming here for this utility peek (and not some obscure cg related stuff) I created this page for a permanent home of PEEK.
Unfortunately I do no longer have the source code, so the binary form must suffice.
Once upon a time, there was a software newbie looking for a way to find out what was in those inscrutable windows files. He found in the wild, in a place which has since passed beyond memory, a wonderful utility called Peek.
Alas, the author was not to be found for many seasons, but now is revealed. Well met, Martin Lubich.
To honor the permanent home of Peek, may the (still and forever) newbie refer seekers to this site? Or is some other arrangement preferred?
Now that is a nice continuation of a tale started long ago.
So, please tell others of this place and with this and some luck the tale will be told even a bit longer and with this it’s inevitable destiny may be delayed once more.
It is my honor to do so.
Heyas Martin,
Peek is possibly one of the most used utilities on my computer going as far back as when it was originally developed in 1996, and has helped in too many ways to count, including simply looking inside files before running them, looking for any malware/virus-like code. I’ve recommended to countless people since then, including on my current “Geek / Tech” website.
It has always worked perfectly up until installing on Windows 7 x64, and I feel a bit “lost” without it often times. Any tricks on getting it to run in this OS?
Many thanks,
ThE STaRDoGG CHaMPioN
GeekDrop.com
Hi
Glad to hear Peek has been useful for you.
Unfortunately I do not have any ideas how to use this utility in a 64 bit Windows environment. Seems like the 32 bit compatibility of 64bit Windows does not include 32 bit shell extensions.
And as I haven’t the source code anymore, there is little hope for a 64bit future
Well, I’ll see if going through some of my (very) old archives in my basement, I can find the code. And if I am lucky, I have it stored on a medium which is still readable by todays hardware …
Hi, I have just come across the 64bit problem too. Hopefully a 64bit version of peek can be made. I use it all the time on my 32bit machines.