rootkit

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.

Noun

  1. 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.

Origin

From root + kit.

Forms

rootkits root kit

Hypernyms

malware

Derived

bootkit

Verb

  1. To infect (a computer system) with a rootkit.
    • 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...
    • If not, your system might have been rootkitted. - 2006, Ed Skoudis, Tom Liston, Counter hack reloaded:

Forms

rootkits rootkitting rootkitted root kit

Related

backdoor trojan virus worm