rootkit

noun

root·​kit ˈrüt-ˌkit 

ˈru̇t-

variants or less commonly root kit

computers

: a malicious piece of software that grants a remote operator complete access to a computer system

… the controller of the rootkit has the ability to remotely execute files and change system configurations on the victim's device.

—Kyle Praseut

Rootkits maliciously change a computer's operating system without a user's knowledge and then cover up their tracks. The hacker who installed the rootkit is then able to monitor the infected computer and use it to launch other attacks.

—Andrea Caumont

Examples of rootkit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

First, there was a zero-day vulnerability leaving Windows passwords up for grabs, then a ransomware shocker as criminals put a $500,000 Windows threat up for rent, and even the discovery of a Windows rootkit to contend with. —Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2025

Security researchers have unmasked a campaign using both fake CAPTCHA tests and malicious downloads as the starting point for what quickly turns into an invisible rootkit attack that can cloak any malicious file, task or Windows registry entry that uses one specific prefix. —Davey Winder, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2025

During the initialization phase, the rootkit conceals its own presence. —Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 8 Dec. 2023

Late last week, Symantec said that the BSOD was most likely caused by a rootkit that had infected the users' computers, and gave instructions on how to boot back up and what to do to clear out the rootkit. —IEEE Spectrum, 17 Feb. 2010

Word History

First Known Use

1994, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for rootkit

• acquit
• admit
• amrit
• armpit
• backlit
• befit
• cockpit
• commit
• dalit
• dendrite
• emit
• illite