Many of the top antivirus providers provide a free bootable rescue disk for disinfecting your system after an infection. These are essentially Linux-based software created to clean up an infected PC that won’t start up or isn’t examined by a standard antivirus software program running on Windows. For ease of use, I recommend the Kaspersky disk (though it will not work on some Dell systems).
There are similar features using the Avira or ESET rescue disks, which come with visual interfaces but require the use of a USB/CD device to boot. Both of these options can identify and scan for malware that is on your computer, however their virus definitions aren’t updated as frequently as Linux-based rescue disks.
The Trend Micro rescue disk is a good alternative and is among the smallest of this list at just 70MB. It doesn’t have a graphical interface, but it’s fast and comes with various options for customization. These include the ability to mount specific files, drives, or even individual folders.
The Comodo Rescue Disk is a good option for a virus scan, although it does not have the same flexibility as Linux-based alternatives. It’s a highly effective tool to detect and eliminate the kind of viruses that can hide in Windows files, preventing detection by normal antivirus software. You can choose between either a text-only or a fully graphical interface as well as the option of running the smart or custom scan.
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