Best Free Rootkit Scanner and Remover [1]
Read this article in Spanish (Español) [3]Introduction
A lot of anti-rootkit programs are available but most of them are very advanced and require an experienced and technical minded user who is familiar with computers and operating systems. However, there are a couple of options that do not require much technical ability and are also very effective.
Below are several programs that we have rated and could recommend with the best of these as good as any commercial product in this category.
Rated Products
[5]
Kaspersky TDSSKiller [5] [6]
It has an easy-to-use interface, fast scan times and great detection rate
Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) [7] | [8]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [9]
| Our Rating: 5/5 |
|
Read more... [6]
Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) [12] | [8]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [9]
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
Read more... [11]
[13]
aswMBR [13] [14]
Avast's anti-rootkit scans your computer and MBR for rootkits and fixes issues
Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) [15] | [8]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [9]
| Our Rating: 4/5 |
Read more... [14]
[16]
Dr.Web CureIt! [16] [17]
A malware scanner and removal tool effective at removing some rootkits
Platforms/Download: Windows (Desktop) [18] | [8]
Version reviewed: n/a
Gizmos Freeware [9]
| Our Rating: 3/5 |
Read more... [17]
Other Rootkit Scanners and Removers
Sophos Anti-Rootkit [19] has a small but easy to use interface with no options other than choosing where you want to scan. As it scans it opens up to a slightly larger interface where it lists the results of the scan and gives you information about each result as well as a recommendation for them. Additionally, a small help file is available that explains the program in a little more detail and gives directions on how to use the command line anti-rootkit tool which is also included. This would be a great tool if it was kept up-to-date but in my testing it failed to find or remove any of the modern threats I tested.
F-Secure Blacklight [20] is another great tool for rootkit removal. Unfortunately, support for it ended a couple of years ago. However, you can still download it on the F-Secure web site and it is compatible with Windows Vista and XP.
Still works well for older rootkits but gives "Incompatible" error if ran on Windows 7. Blacklight is also unable to detect most modern rootkits and therefore, I recommend one of the other tools for now.
Related Products and Links
You might want to check out these articles too:
- Best Free Antivirus Software [21]
- Best Free Adware/Spyware/Scumware Remover [22]
- Best Free Trojan Scanner/Trojan Remover [23]
- Best Free Firewall [24]
- Best Free Intrusion Prevention and Detection Utility for Home Use (HIPS) [25]
- Best Internet Safety Freeware [26]
- Best Free Process Viewer [27]
- Safe Computing in Under an Hour [28]
Editor
This software category is in need of an editor. If you would like to give something back to the freeware community by taking it over, check out this page [29] for more details. You can then contact us from that page or by clicking here [30].
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