- Compatible with:
- Windows
- Available in:
- Malwarebytes Device Protection & Antivirus
Rootkits are a type of malware that can infect your device, allowing bad actors to steal data or perform actions, such as changing or removing software. To balance protection, performance, and usability, rootkit scanning is available only through Custom Scans. This lets you include rootkit detection in scans when needed, without unnecessarily increasing scan times for routine scans. For more information, see Create a Custom Scan in Malwarebytes for Windows and Mac.
Note: Scanning for rootkits significantly increases scan time. Because rootkits have become increasingly rare, scan results are also more likely to be false positives.
Scan for rootkits with Custom Scan
To scan for rootkits:
- Open the app.
- On the Scanner tile, click the three dots
, then click Advanced Scan.
- In the Advanced scan pop up, click Custom Scan.
- Under Configure Custom Scan, click the checkbox next to Scan for rootkits.
- Click the checkbox next to C:\. This checks all folders, since scanning for rootkits requires the entire system drive to be selected.
- Finish configuring your Custom Scan by selecting which objects to scan, as well as how PUPs and PUMs are treated if detected. We recommend always treating detections as malware.
- Once finished, click Start Custom Scan.
- The scan will begin automatically.