Exploiting the Rootkit Paradox with Windows Memory Analysis

Rootkits are malicious programs that silently subvert an operating system to hide an intruder's activities. Although there are a number of tools designed to detect rootkits, these programs are competing with the rootkit for system resources and allowing the rootkit to actively evade detection. By taking a memory image of the system, a forensic examiner can conduct a more thorough search for rootkits and even without discovering one directly, infer the presence of one. This paper explores how an examiner can create such a memory image and use the inherent properties of rootkits to find them in those memory images. Background