Lavasoft is pleased to launch a new Project ECO Tool, the ARIES Rootkit Remover, to get rid of the rootkit developed by First4Internet used by Sony BMG to hide their DRM (Digital Rights Management) software.

The ARIES Rootkit Remover developed by Lavasoft provides the means to locate and permanently remove the Sony rootkit from the system and disable the rootkit's ability to run once more after reboot. This standalone tool is a reliable, trustworthy, and safe way of removing the rootkit--unlike Sony's own rootkit remover that has been known to cause blue screens.

This primarily protects consumers and ensures privacy. The tool is developed by Lavasoft in line with our common goals to steer computing environment towards better standards.


The Lavasoft ARIES Rootkit Remover removes only the ARIES rootkit; it does not touch the DRM software from Sony. Once the ARIES Rootkit is removed, you can put the CD from which the rootkit was originally installed on your PC into the CD drive, and the ARIES rootkit will not be installed again.

Removal will definitely neutralize the ARIES rootkit. However, in some cases the removal tool may report traces of the rootkit after the next startup. This is due to how the Sony DRM software works and does not indicate any risk, unless the tool reports: "Aries rootkit module detected". In this case, please report this behavior to Lavasoft Development Team.