What are XP and Vista Rootkits?

With every new year comes a new batch of malicious computer viruses for us to all be aware of. One of the most common types of viruses are known as XP and Vista rootkits. These viruses allow a third party user to take control of your computer. They can either edit or embed themselves in your operating system and allow someone else to become the root user, or the administrator of your computer. This gives them the ability to look for personal information such as credit card numbers or it can allow them to haphazardly delete information you need. Let’s take a closer look at what rootkits are, how you may end up with one and how to get rid of one once you have it.

The origins of XP and Vista rootkits are somewhat unknown. It is thought that these programs came from the designers of the operating systems themselves. They were used as a way for tech support people to gain remote access over computers that needed help. Even today’s XP and Vista machines come with a program that, with administrative access, can give control of your entire computer to another person at a remote location. It was once these programs became hacked that rootkits started to cause problems.

Rootkits can be acquired in any number of ways. The most popular form of transmission is still via email. The virus can be attached to an email or embedded in an otherwise normal attachment. Windows rootkits are also commonly transmitted throughout the Internet and can be installed on computers that don’t use firewalls. Hackers can use programs that search online networks for computers that are vulnerable. This is why it is so important to always have up to date firewall and anti virus programs on your machine at all times.

One of the most common places that XP and Vista rootkits hide themselves is in firmware. Firmware is the software that peripherals that you attach to your computer use to operate. Once in a while, firmware updates will become available for items like your router or your video card or sound card. If these files are infected, it can be extremely difficult to remove the bug since most virus programs don’t bother scanning firmware. In the future, never download firmware updates for any of your peripherals from any third party sites. Either download the updates from the manufacturer’s website or from the website of your computer’s manufacturer.

Removing XP and Vista rootkits isn’t as difficult as it sounds, assuming your computer is prepared. You should always have up to date anti virus software installed and running at all times. Shutting down your anti virus programs, even for a moment, can open your machine up to an attack. The same goes for your firewall. In most cases, these programs should detect rootkits as they are installed so you can authorize your virus protection to fix the problem.