Media: New Invasive Software to be Aware of

"Microsoft on 'rootkits': Be afraid. Be very afraid." by Paul Roberts of the IDG News Service describes the latest peril to infect (especially) Windows environments and what to do about it. The answer that there isn't much to do short of a complete reinstallation, and it's hard enough to tell if you've got the problem in the first place.

Just another thing to be aware of: 'In particular, some newer rootkits are able to intercept queries or "system calls" that are passed to the kernel and filter out queries generated by the rootkit software. The result is that typical signs that a program is running, such as an executable file name, a named process that uses some of the computer's memory, or configuration settings in the operating system's registry, are invisible to administrators and to detection tools.'

Apparently, the increasingly sophisticated rootkits and the speed with which techniques are migrating from rootkits to spyware and viruses may be the result of influence from organised online criminal groups that value stealthy, invasive software.

Associated Link: InfoWorld: Microsoft on 'rootkits': Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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