If malware hinders your ability to run standard antivirus software, bootable rescue disks can help. These disks allow you to scan your computer without running Windows and frequently https://totalavantivirusreview.com/best-vpn-ratings find files that antivirus software may ignore. Some of them can even scan the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the hard drive, a feature that’s especially useful in eliminating persistent or difficult to clean threats.
These bootable software tools usually use a basic text interface, however they do have customization options, so you can select to scan specific types of files or folders, only sizes or types of files, and many more. The top of these tools offer a graphical interface and support for more advanced threats, such as rootkits and some types of ransomware.
AVG Rescue CD, which has a simple but thorough GUI, and many scanning options, is an excellent example. It’s also one of the few that can provide the full MBR scan which is typically impossible to accomplish with a non-bootable program. It’s not the most efficient program on this list and its user-friendly text-only interface isn’t suitable for everyone.
Kaspersky Rescue Disk is a different top choice that’s fast, has a well-designed UI and supports more advanced viruses. It has features you won’t discover in other bootable antivirus tools, such as the ability to scan boot sector and hidden startup objects, as well as fileless and the entire drive. You can also set exclusions to decrease the time it takes to check for malware. In our tests, it detected all malware samples we had sent it which included some that had evaded detection by other antivirus programs.