Although the IT security vendor isn't saying how the software works, the Betanews newswire notes that the software is designed to flag up a number of specific threats such as TDSS, Sinowal, Whistler, Phanta, Trup and Stoned.
These can be, says the newswire, “very dangerous, so having another way to pick them up isn't going to hurt – and the program can also detect hidden services, forged files, MBR changes and other suspicious signs that could indicate infection by a brand new rootkit.”
"TDSS Killer is very easy to use. There's no need to install anything, no jargon to master – just launch the program, click `Start Scan' and wait", says the newswire.
Infosecurity notes that the newswire claims that the software executed in around 14 seconds on their PC. This suggests that the software is looking for specific threats and it not as in-depth as Trend Micro's Housecall online malware checker, for example.
As Betanews observes: "TDSS Killer isn't going to replace specialist antirootkit tools like GMER any time soon. It proved good enough to spot a malware sample on our test PC, though, and the very quick scan times mean you'll have no problems running it on a regular basis."
"It's important not to lose sight of the potential dangers involved in any kind of rootkit removal, though, even with tools as simple as this one: deleting or quarantining a driver can leave your PC disabled, perhaps unbootable", says the newswire.
"And so if TDSS Killer highlights a particular file, then head off to your favourite search engine to find out more about it before you take any action", the newswire adds.