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Abstract

A system and method is provided for detecting operating system compromises due to inconspicuous rootkit installations. A rootkit detection module identifies hidden processes running on top of the operating system. Processes operating in an uncompromised environment expose their process identifiers (PIDs) to the operating system. Thus, if a hidden process is discovered, this is an indication that a rootkit program may have compromised the operating system. The rootkit detection mechanism according embodiments of the present invention detect hidden processes by identifying a range of all possible PIDs and identifying PIDs that are not being reported by the operating system. Specifically, the rootkit detection mechanism according to one embodiment of the invention tests each PID in the range via lower level function calls that do not rely on published operating system APIs, and examines the memory location referenced by the PID for determining if a hidden process exists.

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First Claim