Tech

Top 10 Bootable Antivirus Software Rescue Disks For Severely Infected Computer

Most Trusted AntiVirus Products of 2018

April 4th, 2019   |   Updated on June 28th, 2022

Virus attacks in today’s scenario are as common as any other event happening in a person’s life. Unfortunately, once they happen the chances of your data remaining safe are very slim.

The least left for you to do then is to lament not implementing any strong changes at that time. For your rescue, we bring you a list of 10 Free Bootable Antivirus Tools.

These tools are unique and have the optimal features that are needed to keep in kind of virus attacks away from your computer.

You can choose any one as per your device’s ability and hopefully manage to save yourself from any kind of untoward attention trying to make its presence felt.

All these tools are free of cost and not an additional burden to you when it comes to keeping your budget in mind.

With them installed you can rest and work on important tasks without wondering whether there are any viruses waiting to attack you.

 

1. Anvi Rescue Disk

Anvi Rescue Disk

Considering all the cyber attacks and malware infections that you are exposed to when using an Internet connection, standard antivirus programs may fail to detect and clean various spams, especially boot-sector viruses, which are also known as ransomware.

Ransomware typically acts as a trojan but the main difference between this and any average virus is that once it gets onto your system, it will restrict the access to your computer by encrypting all your personal files on the hard drive.

What’s more important to know is that, if you will ever get infected with these kinds of trojans, you will lose total control over your system.

Features:

  • Has a familiar, graphical interface
  • Can scan custom folders
  • Scan the Windows Registry to repair changes made by malware
  • Supports a quick scan and full system scan
  • Dedicated section for quarantined files
  • Download size is only around 100 MB

Download Now

Review: cnet

Anvi Rescue Disk was designed to be used when regular antivirus software fails in detecting and cleaning a system of various infections.

The ISO can be burned on a CD/DVD using your disc burner or choice. It can also be placed on a bootable USB device and launched from there. Here’s how it works: set your system to boot from the CD / DVD/ USB device, insert the disc or the stick and restart the system.

After a quick loading process, you are acquainted with the interface of Anvi Rescue Disk. You simply select the scan or repair button to fix the ransomware viruses on your PC.

The Rescue Disk then delivers a report of all malicious objects found in your system, such as viruses and Trojans, but also adware and other similar software.

Infected files can be quarantined, disinfected, or removed. In conclusion, Anvi Rescue Disk is a great way to remove threats that can’t be cleaned by standard antivirus solution.

It requires quite the amount of effort (burning the CD / DVD/USB drive), but it succeeds where other security solutions fail.

Read Full Review Here



2. Bitdefender Rescue CD

Bitdefender Rescue CD

Bitdefender Rescue CD is just what it sounds like: a free bootable antivirus program you can use to fix your computer if it has been corrupted from a virus infestation.

You can update the program and scan any file or folder you want, without having to check entire partitions for viruses. For its full version and additional security features, simply visit Antivirus.Best.

Features:

  • Virus definitions can be updated easily
  • Graphical interface is simple to use
  • Full control over what you’re scanning
  • Supports advanced scan options

Review: SOFTPEDIA

Repairing damage caused by virus infections and restoring the system to a working state is often a difficult task which should be left to professionals.

In case you want to take matters into your own hands and try to fix things yourself it’s best to be prepared and resort to the most appropriate tools for the job.

One of the solutions that is built especially for the above-mentioned purpose is BitDefender Rescue CD, a complete environment that is well equipped for cleaning up the mess made by malicious programs.

Read Full Review Here

3.  Avira Rescue System

The Avira AntiVir Rescue System a linux-based application that allows accessing computers that cannot be booted anymore.

Thus it is possible to repair a damaged system, to rescue data or to scan the system for virus infections.

Just double-click on the rescue system package to burn it to a CD/DVD. You can then use this CD/DVD to boot your computer.

The Avira AntiVir Rescue System is updated several times a day so that the most recent security updates are always available.

Features:

  • Regular, graphical user interface
  • Updates are performed automatically before every scan
  • Scans compressed files
  • Includes other free tools
  • A web browser to help you search for additional solutions or help
  • Windows registry editor to help roll back changed entries
  • Disk partitioning tool to manage broken, infected, or damaged sectors

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Review: PCMag

When malware has taken over your computer and barred you from its resources, it’s a little late to start thinking about installing an antivirus utility.

Even in less extreme cases, entrenched malware may interfere with antivirus installation or scanning.

The free, cleanup-only Avira Rescue System has no problem with Windows-centric malware because it boots into a custom Ubuntu distro in order to perform its scan.

The product does have some limitations, though, and its “repair” rendered one system unusable.

Read Full Review Here



4. AVG Rescue CD

Everyone knows the consequences of computer crashes or virus infections, along with the wasted hours trying to restore lost files or recover the contents of damaged documents.

AVG Rescue CD can be of great use in these cases, as it provides you with the proper tool for retrieving your folders.

Depending on your necessities, you can download a dedicated version for a CD or for a USB stick, depending on the type of media you want to use.

Basically, if you want to burn the application of a disc, you need to download the ISO file, whereas running it from a bootable flash drive requires the files from the archive file.

Once you have burned or copied AVG Rescue CD to the chosen media, you can directly boot the PC to the main AVG menu which allows you to effortlessly scan the computer for viruses or analyze the last scan results.

Features:

  • Anti-virus – protection against viruses, worms and Trojans
  • Anti-spyware – protection against spyware, adware and identity theft
  • Administration toolkit – system recovery tools
  • Midnight Commander – a two-panel file manager
  • Windows Registry Editor – simple registry editor for more experienced users
  • TestDisk – powerful hard drive recovery tool
  • Ping – to test the availability of network resources (servers, domains, IP addresses)
  • Common Linux programs and services – vi text editor, OpenSSH daemon, ntfsprogs etc.

Download Here

Review: filehorse

AVG Rescue CD (For CD creation) repairs system crashes and returns your systems to operating at full capacity.

If malware gets past your security software, you can quickly get your PC back up and running smoothly.

AVG resellers have been using this same solution to recover their customers’ infected systems and now it’s available to your business, free of charge. It’s a clean bill of health for your system – without the bill.

Read Full Review Here

5. Kaspersky Rescue Disk

Kaspersky Safe Kids helps you safeguard your kids in the digital jungle. Plus it helps protect them in the real world, too.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk is a software suite with tools like a free bootable antivirus program, a web browser, and a Windows Registry editor.

The virus scanner lets you scan any file or folder on the computer without requiring you to scan the entire hard drive, which is a very useful feature.

Features:

  • Has a friendly graphical user interface
  • Scans compressed files
  • Easy to run scans and updates
  • Lets you scan specific files/folders
  • Supports more advanced scan options
  • Includes other free tools
  • Options of the network configuring (including Wi-Fi and Wi-MAX) has been enhanced.
  • Computer loading from a USB-drive has been improved.
  • Boot speed of a distributive has been improved.
  • Work in the graphic and text modes has been improved.

Download Now

Review: SOFTPEDIA

Kaspersky Rescue Disk is a virus removal solution for critical situations.

It was designed to be used when regular antivirus software fails in detecting and cleaning a system of various infections.

If you own Kaspersky Antivirus or Kaspersky Internet Security, the Rescue Disk can be recorded directly via these products.

If not, the ISO can be burned on a CD/DVD using your disc burner or choice. It can also be placed on a bootable USB device and launched from there.

Read Full Review Here



6. Panda Cloud Cleaner Rescue ISO

Panda Cloud Cleaner Rescue ISO is a tool which allows you to scan computers or VMWare images which, due to virus infections, will not start correctly.

This disinfection tool included in the ISO is Panda Cloud Cleaner.

Follow the instructions below to create and scan your computer with a Panda Cloud Cleaner Rescue ISO.

Features:

  • Runs as a regular program with a standard user interface
  • Updates are downloaded automatically before scanning
  • Works with Windows XP through Windows 10
  • Relatively small download size (~180 MB)
  • You can perform scan of any particular file, folder, or entire partitions as per your wish
  • Standard graphical interface makes it extremely easy to use

Review: PCMag

If you put off installing antivirus software until after your system is pwned by malware, you may find yourself in a bind.

Some malicious programs target antivirus installers, preventing you from installing protection or running a scan.

Others, called ransomware, take over the whole computer and demand money before they’ll release it.

The free Panda Cloud Cleaner is specifically designed to address those situations, clearing out problem malware and allowing you to install ongoing protection.

In testing, though, its aggressive cleanup techniques did some collateral damage.

Read Full Review Here

7. Sophos Bootable Anti-Virus

The Sophos Bootable Anti-Virus (SBAV) tool allows you to scan and clean up a computer infected with malware without the need to load the infected operating system.

This is useful if the state of the computer’s normal operating system – when booted – prevents cleanup from by other means, or the Master Boot Record (MBR) of the computer’s hard drive is infected.

Other SBAV articles assume you want to run the tool from a CD or DVD drive, but you can also use the SBAV tool from a USB pen drive.

Features:

  • Download and extract the SBAV program
  • Create the SBAV ISO
  • Format the USB pen drive with correct file system
  • Copy the SBAV tool to the USB pen drive
  • Make the USB pen drive bootable
  • Booting the USB pen drive
  • The pen drive needs to have at least 1GB capacity.
  • Sophos Bootable Anti-Virus cannot scan encrypted disks.

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Review: PCMag

PCs get viruses, Macs don’t. You know it’s true—you saw it on TV! Alas, the reality is a bit different from that.

Yes, Windows is more popular with malware coders around the world, because it offers more of an attack surface. You’d be nuts to go without antivirus protection on your Windows boxes.

But Macs need protection too, especially from ransomware. If you’re willing to protect your Macs with antivirus but don’t want to lay out cash for that purpose, consider Sophos Home Free (for Mac), especially if you need to manage protection for others.

Read Full Review Here



8. VBA32 Rescue

Vba32 Rescue is a basic piece of software that is designed to help you clean your computer after a virus or malware attack.

The utility comes with two modules, namely vba32rescue and vba32rescue2ram, which enables you to load the image file using your computer’s RAM resources.

The application does not feature a typical installer as it comes packaged as a bootable ISO image. This means that you can easily burn a bootable CD and DVD, as well as create a bootable USB drive.

Features:

  • Fast bootup
  • Ability to scan with individual settings
  • Media release mode
  • Automatically configures the network environment
  • Ability to update without downloading full image
  • Ability to save updated image to the USB-drive
  • Ability to create bootable USB-drive in Windows, Linux and Vba32 Rescue environment
  • Contains mhdd and memtest utilities

Download Now

Review: lifewire

VBA32 doesn’t support a graphical interface but it makes up for it in its detailed settings.

There are plenty of options in this program, like choosing which drives to scan, defining a set of file types to scan, choosing to scan inside archives, and deciding a default action when a malicious file is detected.

You can also adjust the heuristic scan settings and update virus definitions directly from the CD or USB drive.

The obvious downfall to VBA32 Rescue is that you must use it in a text-only mode, unlike most of these other tools that have a regular, graphical interface.

Read Full Review Here



9. Zillya! LiveCD

 Zillya! LiveCD
Malicious software may render computers unbootable and in such a case a different type of tools need to be used to clean the system and attempt various repairs.

Zillya! LiveCD has been developed as a solution for accessing the data on the system and check for malicious infiltrations that could cause the issue.

Features:

  • Scan files on hard disks and the detection of all types of malicious programs;
  • Treatment, removal, quarantining malware;
  • Connect to the Internet and download any files and save them to disk;
  • Manipulating files and folders on the disks of your computer (create, copy, move, delete).

Download Now

Review: download3k

Zillya! Antivirus is a system security utility for protecting your computer against potential malicious software programs.

This antivirus is proficient in detecting and eliminating almost all types of viruses, worms, rootkits, Trojans, and other malware that may corrupt your computer, delete important data or cause hindrance in its performance.

It has a separate module to detect and disarm malicious programs, which makes it even more reliable and effective in guarding a computer from such threats that are hidden to steal personal information or to display adware.

Read Full Review Here



10. Windows Defender Offline

 Windows Defender Offline

Windows Defender Offline is a powerful offline scanning tool that runs from a trusted environment, without starting your operating system.

This topic describes how to use Windows Defender Offline in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7.

Features:

  • Real-time protection
  • Cloud-based protection feature
  • Exploit protection shield protects from undiscovered threats
  • Offline scanning for stubborn malware
  • Built into Windows 10
  • Powerful Additional Features

Download Now

Review: TechNadu

In this article, we present an in-depth review of the Windows Defender antivirus software.

The antivirus space is dominated by several software, which makes the task of choosing a tool an incredibly difficult one.

What makes the task even more difficult is the fact that most software makers also offer free versions of their antivirus tools, which makes matters more complicated.

However, there’s no denying the fact that this has only served to benefit us, consumers!

Read Full Review Here