A rootkit is a malicious program hidden in the computer that allows someone to have administrator controls over your PC without your knowledge. One aspect of rootkit is that its presence is undetectable by most of the free antivirus software. So removing rootkit is a challenge.
What is a Rootkit?
Here is what Wikipedia says about Rootkit:
A rootkit is a type of software that is designed to gain administrator-level control over a computer system without being detected. Rootkits can be installed in hardware or software targeting the BIOS, hypervisor, boot loader, kernel or less commonly, libraries or applications.
Here I present you with 5 free software to detect and remove rootkits.
1) Sophos Anti-Rootkit
Sophos Anti-Rootkit allows you to locate rootkits and remove them from your PC. You will have to register with Sophos.com to download and use this product.
This free antirootkit software checks all the running programs hidden from the task manager, all registry files and local hard drives for all known rootkits. It comes in a very simple user interface or you can work through command lines also.
Sophos Anti-Rootkit takes a while to finish scanning the whole process and it reports the result. You can then clean up your PC. But be aware of false positives and it’s always a safer side to make sure and confirm that you are not removing anything that might be potentially harmless or even necessary. Make sure you create a system restore point before removing anything.
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Being a freeware it does a pretty decent job in detecting rootkits without compromising system integrity. But it takes some time to finish the scan process. Try out Sophos Anti-Rootkit free software by following the link.
2. Trend Micro RootkitBuster
Trend Micro RootkitBuster is free stand alone rootkit remover software. It scans five areas such as the registry entries, processes, drivers and hooked system services, and MBR.
You don’t need to install anything to run the application. Just download the zip file and run the executable file. It scans fast and logs everything. You can view the log file and confirm if you need to remove the any harmful program.
Trend Micro RootkitBuster is a good option to detect and remove mebroot MBR based rootkit. It cleans hidden files and registry entries.
Since this free anti rootkit doesn’t require any installation, it’s truly portable and you can carry it in your USB drive. Download Trend Micro RootkitBuster free rootkit remover by following the link.
3. McAfee Rootkit Detective
McAfee Rootkit Detective is developed by McAfee Avert Labs that detects rootkits running on your system. It runs on Windows Operating System.
Download the zip file and extract it. You can then launch the executable. The software comes in Beta version and it’s meant for experienced users. It scans the files and registry entries and logs everything. You can also submit these files for further analysis to Avert Labs.
The application provides information on various system resources like hooks, kernel import/export etc. It cleans and deletes all malicious objects found but takes a long wile to finish the process. Reach McAfee Rootkit Detective free rootkit remover through the link.
4. GMER
GMER is a stubborn rootkit remover available for free. The program can list running processes, modules, and Windows services. It scans hidden modules, processes, threads, services, files, registry keys, hidden alternative data streams etc.
This free rootkit remover also allows monitoring driver loading, library loading, TCP/IP connections etc. It runs on Windows NT/W2K/XP/VISTA. It scans very fast and does a good job in detecting the rootkits.
GMER anti rootkit doesn’t eat so much of your memory. Try downloading it through the link.
5. F-Secure BlackLight
F-Secure BlackLight is one of the first widely used rootkit removers. It scans to find any suspicious object and removes them.
The tool examines the system at a deep level and detects rootkits. It looks inside PC folders, files and hidden processes. Once it finishes the scan it provides a list of every possible sign of malicious program. You have the option to remove those files.
However before deleting them, try renaming those files to .ren extension and confirm that it truly is a rootkit and you can eliminate it using BlackLight free rookit remover.
This freeware is good even with non-technical users and comes with a good interface. Try out F-Secure BlackLight by following the link.
Conclusion:
A rootkit can be dangerous enough to record keystrokes retrieving passwords etc. And removing them often crashes your system if you are not good at it. For effective result, try executing one or two of these rootkit removers more than once. That could possibly help you detect every rootkit hidden in your computer.
Have a rootkit free PC with these free rootkit removers. Also make sure you have a good free firewall, and a good free antimalware installed on your system.
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