MALWARE MANAGEMENT THROUGH KERNEL DETECTION

A system and method for managing pestware on a protected computer is described. The method in one variation includes starting a boot sequence that includes a period when boot drivers are initialized, initiating a kernel-level monitor during the period when boot drivers are initialized, monitoring events with the kernel-level monitor during the boot sequence and managing pestware-related events with the kernel-level monitor before a period in the boot sequence when native applications are capable of running. In variations, a pestware management engine is initialized after an operating system of the protected computer is initialized and the pestware management system both receives an event log of the monitored events and compiles the set of behavior rules utilized by kernel-level monitor.