Grisoft, makers of the popular AVG Antivirus, today released a free tool specifically aimed at eliminating malicious software that hides itself using rootkit techniques.
Rootkits typically subvert the Windows file system and Registry so as to hide their files from the operating system and from security software that relies on the operating system when searching for traces of malware. Grisoft conducted six months of public beta testing before releasing AVG Anti-Rootkit, to ensure that it removes malicious rootkits without affecting legitimate hidden processes.
AVG Vice President Larry Bridwell explained that AVG Anti-Rootkit was developed to "detect and destroy rootkits effectively, without bothering users with false alarms." He noted that rootkits "were originally used by hackers to cover their tracks after unauthorized access to computers. Today, these techniques have been redesigned in order to mask the presence of malicious software used to gather and exploit personal information…."
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-rootkit/us/crp/0more
