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Does Open Source Encourage Rootkits?
An anonymous reader writes "NetworkWorld reports that security vendor McAfee places the blame for increased numbers of rootkits squarely on the shoulders of the open source community. Others, however, do not agree. From the article: 'Rootkit.com's 41,533 members do post rootkit source code anonymously, then discuss and share the open source code. But it's naïve to say the Web site exists for malicious purposes, contends Greg Hoglund, CEO of security firm HBGary and operator of Rootkit. "It's there to educate people," says Hoglund [...] It's a great resource for anti-virus companies and others. Without it, they'd be far behind in their understanding of rootkits."'"
Lets also remember that some of the people associated with this site were the first to notice the Sony DRM RootKit. The research that has been done on this site has really made it hard for rootkit developers to install their wares unnoticed - if you have the right tools. I could be wrong, but I think that Mark Russinovich from sysinternals has been there contributing to this site. It has led to the development of some really great tools such as the SysInternals RootkitRevealer - a really great tool by the way (http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/RootkitReve aler.html)