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[Neon]

The Windows operating system expert who exposed Sony BMG Music Entertainment's use of "rootkit" cloaking techniques last year is now criticizing security vendors Symantec and Kaspersky Lab for shipping software that works in a similar manner.

Mark Russinovich, chief software architect with systems software company Winternals Software, says that the techniques used by Symantec's Norton SystemWorks and Kaspersky's Anti-Virus products are rootkits, a term usually reserved for the techniques that malicious software uses to avoid detection on an infected PC.

There is "no good justification" for the use of such techniques, Russinovich says. "If the vendor believes that the implementation of their software requires a rootkit, then I think they need to go back and re-architect it."

Both Symantec and Kaspersky concede that they have shipped software that hides information from system tools, but tell IDG News Service they disagree with Russinovich's use of the term rootkit, saying that because their software was not designed with malicious intent, it should not be lumped into the same category.

Still, both companies appear sensitive to Russinovich's criticism

[Sphere]

Kaspersky has given full insight on their sourcecode to Russinovich, showing they didn't use a rootkit like piece of code in their software. This should've been confirmed by Russinovich if I'm not mistaken....