Rootkit Protection

A rootkit is a collection of one or more tools designed to covertly maintain control of a computer. Initially rootkits appeared on the UNIX operating systems (including Linux) and were a collection of one or more tools which allowed an attacker to gain and keep access to the most privileged user on the computer (on UNIX systems this user is called 'root' - hence the name) On Windows based systems, rookits have more commonly been associated with tools used for hiding programs or processes from the users. When installed a Windows rootkit uses functions in the operating system to hide itself, so as not to be detected, and is often used to hide other malicious programs such as keystroke loggers. The use of rootkits is not necessarily malicious, but they have come to be increasingly associated with undesirable behavior and malicious software.