Best Antivirus Rescue Disks

A majority of the top antivirus providers offer a no-cost bootable recovery disk to disinfect your system after being infected. They are essentially Linux-based programs designed to cleanse the infected system that will not start up or isn’t scanned from a normal antivirus software running in Windows. I suggest the Kaspersky disc due to its ease of use (though it may not work on certain Dell systems).

There are similar features when you purchase the Avira or ESET rescue disks, which feature an interactive interface, but require the use of a USB/CD device to boot. Both of these options can identify and scan for malware on your PC, although their virus definitions don’t get updated as frequently as the Linux-based rescue disks.

The Trend Micro Rescue Disk is another excellent choice. It’s also one of the smallest disks on this list, with just 70MB. It doesn’t have an interface with graphics, but it’s fast and has various options for customization. These include the ability to mount specific files, drive volumes or even individual folders.

The Comodo Rescue Disk is a great choice for a virus scan, but it isn’t as flexible. the same flexibility as the alternatives that run on Linux. It’s a powerful tool to detect and eliminate the types of viruses that are able to hide in Windows files, which prevents detection by normal antivirus software. It is possible to choose either a text-only or full-graphic interface. You can also run a smart scanner or a custom vdr scan.