rkhunter (Rootkit Hunter) is a Unix-based tool that scans for rootkits, backdoors and possible local exploits.
Specifically, rkhunter is a shell script which carries out various checks on the local system to try and detect known rootkits and malware. It also performs checks to see if commands have been modified, if the system startup files have been modified, and various checks on the network interfaces, including checks for listening applications.
rkhunter has been written to be as generic as possible, and so should run on most Linux and UNIX systems. It is provided with some support scripts should certain commands be missing from the system, and some of these are Perl scripts.
Key Features
- Compares MD5 hashes of important files with known good ones in online database.
- Searches for:
- Default directories of rootkits.
- Wrong permissions.
- Hidden files.
- Suspicious strings in kernel modules.
- Special tests.
Website: rkhunter.sourceforge.net
Support: Mailing Lists
Developer: Michael Boelen
License: GNU General Public License
rkhunter is written in Perl. Learn Perl with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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