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Jun072010

Did I Infect My Friends? Part 4: Rootkits - The Stealthiest Attack of All

Monday, June 7, 2010 at 12:46AM |

Imagine having a true "ghost in the machine" that spies on your every keystroke and is completely undetected while your financial data is being stolen away? Introducting the rootkit. No, that is not a gardening term.You may think the worst case scenario of getting a virus infection is having your PC crash or be rendered so slow that it's virtually unusuable. If you are like most typical consumers who are underprotected, either because their virus detections are days or weeks too old, or your subscription has expired, you may have experienced a virus infection once or twice in the lifetime of your PC. If you were infected with the stealthiest virus of all but don't even know it, you could unwittingly infect your friends in the process unless you've got the right protection installed.

What are rootkits?

Rootkits were originally developed for Unix systems. The word rootkit comes from the practice of granting a user what's known as "root" level access or privileges, also known as administrator privileges, to the operating system. Hackers who create rootkits now choose Windows as their preferred attack target, and while most rootkits exploit operating system vulnerabilities to sneak onto your PC, some can infiltrate via instant messenger applications, or through email attachments. Sometimes hackers use social engineering in the form of rogue antivirus or fake operating system messages to trick the user into allowing rootkit installation onto their PC. The rootkit gives the hacker permission to gain administrator-level control over your computer system without being detected, and in doing so can essentially "hide" whatever other malware may be operating on your system. Have you ever seen the famed "blue screen of death" (as it usually means death for your PC)? A rootkit is possibly the culprit.

Defending Your PC Against Rootkits

The first line of defense against rootkits is real-time antivirus software. Without comprehensive antivirus software that addresses rootkit detection and removal, you could be divulging passwords, financial data and highly sensitive information to a cybercriminal without ever knowing it. Next week's release of Immunet Protect Plus includes advanced detection of rootkits, viruses, spyware, and much more, so stayed tuned for details on how to upgrade! Join our Facebook Fan Page now to get instantly notified as soon as Immunet Protect Free and Plus are available for download next week.

Our current version of Immunet Protect does not contain rootkit protection, so we advise our users to run a companion antivirus product alongside Immunet Protect that does detect rootkits, such as Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG, avast, Norton and others on our list of officially supported companion antivirus products.

As we've said before, protecting your PC is not just about avoiding the pain and damage to your own self, but also about preventing the unnecessary and embarrassing infection of your friends' PCs as well. Friends don't let friends get viruses, so please use Immunet Protect to keep your community safer. You can also be a friend to Immunet, and promote our new website (coming next week) with a free Immunet Badge.