rootkit

See also: root kit

English

Alternative forms

• root kit

Etymology

root +‎ kit

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

rootkit (plural rootkits)

1. (computer security) A set of software tools used by a third party to gain unauthorized access to a computer system and control the system while concealing itself from the user.

Hypernyms

• malware

Verb

rootkit (third-person singular simple present rootkits, present participle rootkitting, simple past and past participle rootkitted)

1. (transitive) To infect (a computer system) with a rootkit.
   • 2000, Seth T. Ross, UNIX system security tools:

     Given crackers' propensity for "rootkitting" systems — installing altered system binaries to facilitate future access — systematic integrity checks using message digest algorithms or one-way hash functions can be an important detection safeguard.

   • 2006, Ed Skoudis, Tom Liston, Counter hack reloaded:

     If not, your system might have been rootkitted.

See also

• backdoor
• trojan
• virus
• worm