How to install an anti-rootkit program on Vista

Q I have just downloaded Sophos anti-rootkit. Unfortunately when I try to run the program, it does not support Windows Vista. Is there a way around this?
Alan Edwards

A Rootkits are particularly insidious malicious programs that sit on your computer and give access to the deep-down technical parts of the operating system to allow the rootkit's creator to do all sorts of things such as track what you are doing and install other malicious software.

The Sophos tool is a good way to check that your computer is free of them but as you have found out it does not work if you are using Windows Vista.

That is both bad news and good news, though. The reason it doesn't work in Vista is that Vista is much better at preventing such programs from running in the first place, so it is not quite as big a problem for users of Vista as it is for users of Windows XP.

It is still possible for some things to get through, and the problem here is that nobody has been able to come up with a full rootkit detection program that is designed for Windows Vista. The closest we have seen is F-Secure's Blacklight program, which does a good job and which works on both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Alternatively, the full version of the latest paid-for AVG anti-virus also includes rootkit detection.

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