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Rootkits and XP - is the war lost?

chunter
Posts: 2,008 Forumite


in Techie Stuff
After battling for 2 days to shift one, I eventually did a clean install.
Windows 7 and Vista seem to be lots better at handling/stopping them.
XP seems to be a big wide open door that just lets them tear away.
Combofix and Sophos' Anti-Rootkit can usually find them and delete them. But not always.
The killer is that only the likes of the two above have a proper go at finding them. Your McAfees and Nortons and your free antivirus don't have a clue.
Windows 7 and Vista seem to be lots better at handling/stopping them.
XP seems to be a big wide open door that just lets them tear away.
Combofix and Sophos' Anti-Rootkit can usually find them and delete them. But not always.
The killer is that only the likes of the two above have a proper go at finding them. Your McAfees and Nortons and your free antivirus don't have a clue.
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Comments
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Is the war lost on rootkits? Probably 95% of XP users never come across one!0
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Not fair, I use XP and never had a rootkit yet :mad:
Where can I get mine!
Maybe if I got rid of my free Avira AV I might get one :think:0 -
Likewise. I've been using Avast and the Free Comodo Firewall for the last 3 years and never had a rootkit in that time.0
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you wouldn't know unless you did a rootkit scan or booted from an AV CD.!!
> . !!!! ----> .0 -
In my case, although Avast includes rootkit scanning, I also use Panda's Anti Rootkit scanner now and again and so far it's never found anything.
You seem to be suggesting (apologies if I'm wrong) that most of us are ignorant of these things just because we use freeware. While I agree that perhaps to the average non technically minded PC user that ignorance is bliss, it's not to all of us. I take the protection of my Home Family PC seriously.0 -
don't forget Dr Web CureIt.....very very good at getting shut of rootkits that even Combofix doesn't always get..had a couple of clients with this type in the last month or so
Anyone tried Hitman Pro on one yet ???......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......
I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple0 -
you wouldn't know unless you did a rootkit scan or booted from an AV CD.
Is this not quite true ?? Some behaviours seem to be caused by rootkits, such as stopping processes running, seemingly random errors on start-up, etc...and surely recognising the behaviours is/should be part of the defence mechanism, even if that is by human means ??......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......
I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple0 -
Depends on the infection, and the user, they aren't supposed to be noticed, and symptoms can be confused with general windows flakiness.!!
> . !!!! ----> .0 -
True, but you do tend to build up knowledge for what symptoms are related to generic types of infections....in the words of tesco, every little helps......Gettin' There, Wherever There is......
I have a dodgy "i" key, so ignore spelling errors due to "i" issues, ...I blame Apple0 -
don't forget Dr Web CureIt.....very very good at getting shut of rootkits that even Combofix doesn't always get..had a couple of clients with this type in the last month or so
Anyone tried Hitman Pro on one yet ???
For those who don't use DOS there is a standalone Windows version
- no need to use full DrWeb
- updateable
- no install to registry
- here
Be warned it takes 30 minutes for the quickie on a fully loaded machine !Disclaimer : Everything I write on this forum is my opinion. I try to be an even-handed poster and accept that you at times may not agree with these opinions or how I choose to express them, this is not my problem. The Disabled : If years cannot be added to their lives, at least life can be added to their years - Alf Morris - ℜ0
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