Find & Eliminate Rootkits with the Free Tizer Rootkit Razor
I’ve come across few independant antirootkits in the market nowadays; most antirootkit module are incorporated into so-called internet security. For example, the antirootkit module of famous antirootkit GMER, is actually integrated into Avast!. Even though there are some free antirootkit such as Panda Antirootkit, Sophos Antirootkit and Blacklight from F-Secure, few of them are full-featured and compatible with all versions of Windows. The only antirootkit that works substantially is UnHackMe, also a freeware (with paid upgrades available) despite it slowing the boot process significantly.
Tizer Rootkit Razor is not necessarily a new kid on the block, but since the company is quite low-profile, very few users really do know this antirootkit. Nevertheless, the company has one of the more impressive independent antirootkit i ever came across. Here are some of the goods about this antirootkit:
1. Rootkit Razor‘s GUI is dead simple
The antirootkit’s layouts are simple to navigate and are all functional; People who asks for simplicity and nothing too fanciful about GUI design will be attracted to this program; Well, it’s supposed to be designed to do what it does anyway: find and terminate rootkits!
2. Rootkit Razor is feature-packed
Most antirootkit only revolves around the basics: processes, registry and services. Not for Rootkit Razor, though. This little baby has all sorts of scanning features: processes, registry, kernel modules, services, files and folders, network ports…pretty complete set that i’ve seen. Even though the website doesn’t state this benefit, Rootkit Razor actually does not require a services process to run, and therefore, can be executed in Windows Safe Mode, where services process are usually prevented from running.
3. Rootkit Razor is highly compatible with modern OS
The previous chart image should explain everything: Rootkit Razor integrates seamlessly with contemporary versions of Windows spanning from XP to 7: and it really does; i’ve installed Rootkit Razor on all versions of OS; none of them had any installation errors or running errors. Uninstallation of Rootkit Razor also works fine, though there are some registry leftovers that will require the aid of registry tools to clean it up.
4. Rootkit Razor is moderately lightweight
Okay, so antirootkits are supposed to be easy on PC resources, since they are just simpler programs designed to do specific tasks (eliminating rootkits). Rootkit Razor are not exactly light on resources when active, but when idle, they are pretty easy on resources. Maximum CPU cycles used on smart scan hits 45 out of 100 and memory of up to 5000K is utilized. On idle, CPU drops down to 0 CPU cycles, though the memory sometimes stays at 5000K or even higher or lower after a scan.
There are also some bads as well:
1. No Real Time Protection or Boot-time Scan?
Perhaps i’ve been biased, but after using UnHackMe Antirootkit, it has become a must of mine that good antirootkits are supposed to have real-time bootwatch modules, or at least a scheduled boot-time scan. Rootkit Razor can only be functional when Windows is fully logon into desktop mode.
2. No User Interface for Novices?
Not all PC users are computer-savvy, so why no summarized interface, like what F-Secure did with Blacklight (the one-click module)? I love how Rootkit Razor presents all its features which suits an advanced PC user like me, but i’ll bet that begginers will be turned off by the advanced knowledge of PC required to work with Rootkit Razor – if any beginners took interest in this antirootkit in the first place. The image above says it all: manually searching for rootkits in the registry? That’s not going to attract much novice…
3. Not supporting x64 bit OS?
I do not have this tool tested on x64 bit OS, but from general feedbacks and comments i could get around the web, Rootkit Razor does NOT support x64 bit operating system. Soon and very soon, 32-bit OS will extinct with the launch of Windows 8 and 64-bit and 128-bit OS will be the mainstream architecture of modern OS. Are the developers aware of this upcoming trend or not?
Still, Rootkit Razor is a decent antirootkit that you can keep with your 32-bit PC and periodically executes it to scan for rootkits. If you are an advanced user who are IT-knowledgeable and have experience working with the likes of advanced-level antirootkits such as GMER and TrendMicro HijackThis, then Rootkit Razor‘s the tool for you.
Download Tizer Rootkit Razor here.
Visit Tizer Rootkit Razor‘s Main Page here.
