Jun 19 2007, 08:37 PM, updated 19y ago
what are rootkits?
normally only sysadmins are concerned with these, but i'm seeing alot of these crap floating around in the home networking environment. could be coz alot of current Windows version seem to be based on NT/Server platform. a rootkit is program that that allows the a hacker to mask intrusion and gain root or privileged access to the computer. rootkits can then monitor traffic, grab keystrokes, steal passwords, or create a "backdoor" into the system for the hacker to administer the infected system remotely for almost anything he wishes to.
because rootkits can run at the kernel & API level, it can be hidden from the OS the upper layer utils like Explorer (file viewers), does not show up in Task Manager (process viewers), will not leave visible entries in the startup folders or common startup locations mentioned above. It will also not show up on most antivirus scanners & antispyware. rootkits not only take advantage of the vulnerbilities in your OS but even in your antispyware/antivirus detector as well.
rootkits are not themselves not malware programs but ofthen times are used to hide the presence of malware programs/trojans/worms. detecting rootkits requires a specialist rootkit detector.
check rootkit threat alerts from here:
http://www.rootkit.com/board.hot.php
types of rootkit-run levels
QUOTE(M'zoft Technet)
The term rootkit is used to describe the mechanisms and techniques whereby malware, including viruses, spyware, and trojans, attempt to hide their presence from spyware blockers, antivirus, and system management utilities. There are several rootkit classifications depending on whether the malware survives reboot and whether it executes in user mode or kernel mode.
Persistent Rootkits
A persistent rootkit is one associated with malware that activates each time the system boots. Because such malware contain code that must be executed automatically each system start or when a user logs in, they must store code in a persistent store, such as the Registry or file system, and configure a method by which the code executes without user intervention.
Memory-Based Rootkits
Memory-based rootkits are malware that has no persistent code and therefore does not survive a reboot.
User-mode Rootkits
There are many methods by which rootkits attempt to evade detection. For example, a user-mode rootkit might intercept all calls to the Windows FindFirstFile/FindNextFile APIs, which are used by file system exploration utilities, including Explorer and the command prompt, to enumerate the contents of file system directories. When an application performs a directory listing that would otherwise return results that contain entries identifying the files associated with the rootkit, the rootkit intercepts and modifies the output to remove the entries.
The Windows native API serves as the interface between user-mode clients and kernel-mode services and more sophisticated user-mode rootkits intercept file system, Registry, and process enumeration functions of the Native API. This prevents their detection by scanners that compare the results of a Windows API enumeration with that returned by a native API enumeration.
Kernel-mode Rootkits
Kernel-mode rootkits can be even more powerful since, not only can they intercept the native API in kernel-mode, but they can also directly manipulate kernel-mode data structures. A common technique for hiding the presence of a malware process is to remove the process from the kernel's list of active processes. Since process management APIs rely on the contents of the list, the malware process will not display in process management tools like Task Manager or Process Explorer.
Persistent Rootkits
A persistent rootkit is one associated with malware that activates each time the system boots. Because such malware contain code that must be executed automatically each system start or when a user logs in, they must store code in a persistent store, such as the Registry or file system, and configure a method by which the code executes without user intervention.
Memory-Based Rootkits
Memory-based rootkits are malware that has no persistent code and therefore does not survive a reboot.
User-mode Rootkits
There are many methods by which rootkits attempt to evade detection. For example, a user-mode rootkit might intercept all calls to the Windows FindFirstFile/FindNextFile APIs, which are used by file system exploration utilities, including Explorer and the command prompt, to enumerate the contents of file system directories. When an application performs a directory listing that would otherwise return results that contain entries identifying the files associated with the rootkit, the rootkit intercepts and modifies the output to remove the entries.
The Windows native API serves as the interface between user-mode clients and kernel-mode services and more sophisticated user-mode rootkits intercept file system, Registry, and process enumeration functions of the Native API. This prevents their detection by scanners that compare the results of a Windows API enumeration with that returned by a native API enumeration.
Kernel-mode Rootkits
Kernel-mode rootkits can be even more powerful since, not only can they intercept the native API in kernel-mode, but they can also directly manipulate kernel-mode data structures. A common technique for hiding the presence of a malware process is to remove the process from the kernel's list of active processes. Since process management APIs rely on the contents of the list, the malware process will not display in process management tools like Task Manager or Process Explorer.
rootkit detectors
• M'zoft's Sysinternal RootkitRevealer [from sysinternal, 'nuff said]
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysintern...itRevealer.mspx
• X-Focus's Ice Sword [chinese, very good and for experienced users only]
http://www.xfocus.net/tools/200509/
• M'zoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...&displaylang=en
• Blacklight from F-Secure [non-free]
http://www.f-secure.com/blacklight/
• Sophos Anti-Rootkit [Release Candidate 1]
http://sophos.com/products/free-tools/soph...ti-rootkit.html
• RKDetector
http://www.rkdetector.com/
• RootKit Hook Analyzer
http://www.resplendence.com/hookanalyzer
Rootkit removal
The difficulty with rootkit removal is lies problem that rootkits work by changing the OS itself at the kernal level, it may not be possible to remove the rootkit without causing Windows to become unstable or non-functioning.
For rootkits that are 'bundled' with spyware/malware, removing the malware hidden by the rootkit presents the normal problems of removing any malware but removing the rootkit itself may unstabilize your entire system to the point that the malware can not be completely removed.
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I wonder which would be the best 
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