McAfee Offers Free Rootkit Detector

McAfee has released Rootkit Detective 1.0 to help uses detect and remove any pesky rootkits that may be running on their computers.

Here are a few of the features of this free tool from McAfee:

• Detect any system objects which the user cannot usually see, including files, processes and registryn entries.
• Provide details of all processes running on the user’s computer.
• Give the user the ability to terminate any malicious processes discovered.

  Rootkits can create plenty of problems once they have wormed their way into a computer. However, McAfee includes a warning for anyone thinking of using Rootkit Detective 1.0:

McAfee Rootkit Detective should only be used by knowledgeable individuals at the direction of, and with the support of, a representative from McAfee Avert Labs or McAfee Technical Support. Improper usage of this tool could result in damage to your applications or operating system.

Translation: Rootkits = bad. Accidentally removing an important part of your computer’s operating system = really bad. Don’t attempt it if you are not sure what you are doing.

Read all the instructions on how to use this free tool from McAfee before deciding to jump in with both feet.