As more of a casual user if don't run into rootkits much. I first heard of rootkits because of Sony slipping them into their products years ago. The thing is, when Sony got called out on it, I think they had already done it a couple of years earlier and got away with it! Back when the Playstation was geting started there was an emulator called Bleem. Sony hound them out of business in court. They didn't win in court, but the drove the company out of business due to the costs of litigation (sound familiar?). When Bleem came out you ran the install disk loaded a Playstation game and playe it on your PC just like a console. Soon after they started the court case if you loaded a Playstation disk produced later, Bleem wouldn't work! Even earlier titles that had worked before wouldn't. Only way to get them to work again was to reinstall your OS! I looked back on this years later and thought, Hey, that's a rootkit. I believe I'm right but I'm not sure. All I know for sure is it turned me from a LONG time fan of Sony into someone who has boycotted their products ever after!