Symantec, Kaspersky Using Cloaking Too
Published on 14 Jan 2006 · Filed in Rant · 130 words (estimated 1 minutes to read)I guess Symantec (makers of the popular Norton line of products, like Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security) and Kaspersky (an anti-virus vendor) have decided to employ rootkit cloaking techniques with their products as well, following the lead of Sony and signaling a dangerous trend in the software industry.
Mark Russinovich, who blew the whistle on Sony’s XCP rootkit software, is now criticizing Symantec and Kaspersky for their use of cloaking software as well. Although the extent of the rootkit techniques employed by both companies is far less than Sony’s, Russinovich feels there is no justification for any such use. I, for one, completely agree with him. There is NO reason any vendor should be hiding data, applications, or processes from the user or the rest of the system. Period.