But it can also be used to hide something, like info.
Ofcourse there are also many other ways to hide info, in files or somewhere
in the registry.
And many ways to hide processes: what about a trojan called notepad.exe
that shows up in taskmanager like, guess what, notepad.exe.
As mentioned, you can check for ADS with the tools above.
And (quoting the article John mentioned above):
"a third party file checksum application can effectively maintain the
integrity of an NTFS partition against unauthorized Alternate Data Streams."
I would rather claim to be a security-novice than an expert, but in my eyes
ADS, while it is used by some malware, does not pose too much of a threat.
The bulk of malware doesn't use it and you can protect yourself against the
ones that do with AV-apps, if you really think you need to.
In any case it is better from a security view to use NTFS, especially XP
Pro. To quote the summary of the article that John himself mentioned:
"the security features of NTFS far outweigh this potentially dangerous
vulnerability."
I hope that e.g. Aaron can shed more light on this, but I pray:
Let's keep this thread short.
Were supposed to discuss freeware here.
