Chapter 1: Tools

Overview

This chapter stresses the importance of building and saving the tools required for rootkit development. Building a full-featured rootkit toolkit before you begin development enables you to research, design, develop, test, and package your rootkit without distraction. In addition, saving the tools, utilities, samples, scripts, and even the failed experiments enables you to pick up where you left off at any time. As an example, the rootkit presented in this book was originally developed and forgotten several years ago, but came to mind when I was contacted by Wiley, the publisher. Having the code, the scripts, the utilities, and a copy of the toolkit used to develop the rootkit, all in one convenient archive, turned an otherwise complex project into a delightful experience.

This chapter includes the following:

• What must go into a rootkit toolkit

• What should go into a rootkit toolkit

• How to verify the usefulness of your rootkit toolkit