A rootkit virus contains a collection of malicious software programs that are designed to grant a bad actor unauthorized access to a computer or to certain applications. The attacker can gain privileged access to a machine while remaining undiscovered.
Rootkits grant a bad guy complete control over a system, allowing them to modify existing software, even the software that is designed to detect its presence. This makes rootkit software particularly tough to detect, as the software designed to “root” out the rootkit has often been blindsided and modified by the attack.
There are ways to detect that you might have been the victim of a rootkit attack. You may notice your computer is running slower than usual, or that there is an increase in network activity. Unfortunately, with today’s increased processor power and fast networks, this may be tougher to detect than in the past.