rootkitEtymologyFrom root + kit.nounA set of software tools used by a third party to gain unauthorized access to a computer system and control the system while concealing itself from the user.verbTo infect (a computer system) with a rootkit.“Given crackers' propensity for "rootkitting" systems — installing altered system binaries to facilitate future access — systematic integrity checks using message digest algorithms or one-way hash functions can be an important detection safeguard.”