rootkit

See also: root kit

English

Alternative forms

root kit

Etymology

root +‎ kit

Pronunciation

Audio (US) (file)

Noun

rootkit (plural rootkits)

(computer security) A set of software tools used by a third party after gaining access to a computer system in order to conceal the altering of files, or processes being executed by the third party without the user's knowledge.

Verb

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

(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.