If we are troubleshooting a system, it is important for us to have all the necessary tools and software with us which can help us fix problems. One of the problems that we may encounter is an unbootable PC. In this scenario, none of the tools will work as the PC can’t boot into any Operating System. In this situation, a bootable rescue disc comes handy.
- Avast Boot Scan Usb
- Avast Boot Scan Disc For Mac
- Avast Boot Scan Disc For Mac Os X
- Avast Free Boot Time Scan
If you don’t have a good antivirus installed on your system, virus will corrupt your system to the extent that it won’t boot. In this case, you can easily use one of the Rescue ISO files to disinfect the system and make it bootable again.
In this article, we will discuss about the security rescue discs provided by the Antivirus companies. These bootable rescue discs will be able to clean your system from viruses even if your system can’t start.
You can also safely use Avast Rescue Disk to scan and disinfect other Windows PCs, but since virus definitions are always being added, it's better to create a fresh Rescue Disk when needed. Avast evangelist, Bob G. Made a video about Avast Rescue Disk when it was introduced.
Quick Summary
I run 3 scans a week, Avast, Microsoft and Malwarebytes and I know I don't not have a virus. Customer service suggested uninstalling the paid version and installing the free version. I did and the free version ran a scan pre-installation and did not find a virus.I had no problems logging into the internet. Running a Boot-time Scan in Avast 2018 – Boot-time Scan Settings Please note the boot-time scan isn’t happening in Windows but before Windows are loaded. Below you can see the example of how the boot-time scan looks in the Avast antivirus 2016.
- 1 List of Antivirus Rescue CDs
- 3 Creating a Bootable USB Drive
List of Antivirus Rescue CDs
Bitdefender Rescue CD
Bitdefender provides a very simple Rescue ISO image which we can either burn on a CD-ROM or a USB drive, boot from it and scan any system for viruses. The Rescue CD can also update itself automatically but it will require an Internet connection for updating.
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux
Signature Update Method: Online
Kaspersky Rescue Disk
Kaspersky Rescue Disk comes with a file manager, a registry editor and a web browser which you can run while starting your system with Kaspersky Rescue Disk. This gives a power user additional advantage of troubleshooting an unbootable system apart from scanning for viruses.
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux
Signature Update Method: Online and Offline
AVG Rescue CD
AVG Rescue CD is a text based bootable solution to corrupted systems due to viruses. It will even scan inside your archives to remove any threats from an unbootable system.
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux – text based
Signature Update Method: Online
Avast Rescue CD
Avast lets you create a Rescue CD or USB from its own installation. You can’t download it separately. To make a rescue CD, you will need to install Avast antivirus and then create the bootable media of your choice.
To create Avast Rescue Disk, go to Tools –> Rescue Disk and follow the instructions to complete making your bootable rescue CD or USB.
Avira Rescue System
Avira Rescue System scans for malware on a system that is unbootable or generally become unresponsive. It can boot into the system and find viruses and other malware.
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux
Signature Update Method: Online
F-Secure Rescue CD
F-Secure Rescue CD contains the Knoppix derivative of the Linux operating system, which can run completely from a CD and allows access to your PC’s operating system and hard disks.
Once booted, you can check the installed programs and perform more advanced repair and data recovery operations
Avast Boot Scan Usb
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux
Signature Update Method: Online
VIPRE Rescue CD
VIPRE Rescue is designed to disinfect and clean the systems which have no antivirus installed and the virus has made it bootable.
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux
Signature Update Method: Online
Panda Cloud Cleaner Rescue ISO
Panda Cloud Cleaner, in addition to cleaning unbootable systems, can also scan and disinfect VMWare images.
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux command line
Signature Update Method: Online
Dr.Web LiveDisk
If the actions of malicious programs made it impossible to boot a computer running Windows, recover the affected system for free using Dr.Web LiveDisk!
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux command line
Signature Update Method: Online
Sophos Bootable Antivirus
Sophos has a not so friendly download and installation procedure of its bootable antivirus. You will need additional steps like signing up for a Sophos account in order to get the bootable image.
Trend Micro Rescue Disk
Trend Micro Rescue Disk allows you to use a CD, DVD, or USB drive to examine your computer without launching Microsoft Windows. It can scan hidden files, system drivers, and the Master Boot Record (MBR) of your computer’s hard drive without disturbing the operating system.
Download trend Micro Rescue Disk
VBA32 Rescue
In addition to scanning for viruses, Vba32 allows the user to copy important files from the corrupted system. So if the system remains unbootable even after scanning, you may backup your important data. Some features of Vba32 rescue:
- Free of charge
- 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
Price: Free
Format: ISO
Operating System: Linux
Signature Update Method: Online
Windows Defender Offline
Windows Defender Offline is Microsoft’s own troubleshooting tool which will scan for viruses in a non-bootable Windows installation. There are two different versions of Windows Defender Offline for 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Download the appropriate tool from the below link, run the utility, follow the four steps and create a bootable CD/USB of Windows defender Offline.
Zillya Live CD
Some of the features of Zillya Live CD include:
- With this disk, you can restore the normal operating of Windows system, damaged due to virus attack
- Running an alternative operating system will reopen the files on your computer
- You can transfer all of your important documents on USB-carriers.
- You can scan your computer for viruses and if necessary to clean the infected files.
- Starting the scanning is also possible in safe Windows mode.
- Thus, this software can be used as additional antivirus protection to already installed antivirus on your PC.
Trinity Rescue Kit CD
Some of the features of Trinity Rescue Kit CD include the following:
- easily reset windows passwords with the improved winpass tool
- simple and easy menu interface
- 5 different virusscan products integrated in a single uniform commandline with online update capability
- full ntfs write support thanks to ntfs-3g
- winclean, a utility that cleans up all sorts of unnecessary temporary files on your computer.
- clone computers over the network via multicast.
- wide range of hardware support (kernel 2.6.35 )
- contributed backup utility called “pi”, to automate local machine backups
- easy script to find and mount all local filesystems
- self update capability to include and update all virusscanners + local changes you made to TRK.
- full proxyserver support.
- run a samba fileserver (windows like filesharing)
- run a ssh server
- recovery and undeletion of files with utilities and procedures
- recovery of lost partitions
- evacuation of dying disks
- full read/write and rpm support
- UTF-8 international character support (select keyboard language from the scrollable textmenu at startup)
- 2 rootkit detection uitilities
- most software updated to recent versions
- literally thousands of changes and bugfixes since version 3.3
- elaborated documentation, including manpages for all commands
Note: Trinity Rescue Kit has not been updated since 2011 so I would not recommend using it at least for virus scanning.
Comodo Rescue Disk
Comodo Rescue is a free bootable antivirus program which can clean your system from viruses, rootkits and other malware. It supports heuristics scanning, options to skip large files for quick scanning and can scan archives.
eScan Rescue Disk
eScan Rescue Disk provides you with a Windows based clean environment that not only helps you to scan and clean the system but also to fix the Windows registry changes done by viruses.
ESET SysRescue
ESET SysRescue Live is a malware cleaning tool that runs independent of the operating system from a CD, DVD, or a USB. It has direct access to the disk and the file system, and therefore is capable of removing the most persistent threats.
Download ESET SysRescue ISO (Direct download link)
G DATA BootMedium
The G DATA boot medium is a practical aid for detecting viruses that have already embedded themselves on your computer prior to installing the antivirus software.
Norton Bootable Recovery Tool
Norton Bootable Recovery Tool is Symantec’s tool for disinfecting systems that are not bootable due to viruses.
PC Tools Alternate Operating System Scanner
PC Tools Alternate Operating System Scanner is not only a bootable antivirus, it can act as a data destroyer, data recovery tool, a system shell and a file manager.
Quick Heal Emergency Disk
Quick Heal Emergency Disk provides its users with a Windows environment to troubleshoot the system and scan for viruses.
You can download the appropriate zip file and follow the instructions to create the Live CD.
Creating a Bootable CD-ROM
Almost all the above mentioned downloads are ISO image which either need to be burned on a CD/DVD or on a USB drive. You will need a third party app in order to burn the ISO image to the CD-ROM. Here are the step by step information for doing this easily.
I will use Infra Recorder for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. You can also use other popular tools like ImgBurn, CDBurnerXP, BurnAware or Nero etc. Here are the steps:
- Download InfraRecorder from here.
- Insert a blank CD into the CD/DVD drive
- Open InfraRecorder and choose Write Image. A browser window will appear
- Go to the location where you have saved the ISO file
- Select the file and click Open. A configuration window will display the recommended settings for the current task
- Click OK. The CD is ejected after the writing process finishes
- Go to the infected computer and boot it with the CD you have just created
Creating a Bootable USB Drive
There are quite a few tools that can create bootable USB drives from ISO images. I will use Stickifier here as it is free and open source.
Just follow the steps below to create a bootable USB drive with one of the above mentioned antivirus ISO files.
- Download Stickifier from here.
- Insert the USB drive into any USB port.
- Open Stickifier. It will give you two options: Either you can download the ISO directly from the Internet or you can browse to the ISO file you want to burn into the USB drive.
- Click Next and select the USB drive letter.
- Clicking on next starts the installation process.
- When the installation is complete, click Finish.
I hope now you will be able to select from one of the Live CDs and troubleshoot your system. If I have missed anything, please let me know and I’ll fix it as soon as possible.
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(Last updated on July 14th, 2019)
Windows Defender or Avast, which antivirus software is a better pick in 2019?
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Overall, Bitdefender is our #1 antivirus software for 2019 (and beyond), because of its excellent, flawless performance in all independent lab evaluations, particularly those conducted by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives.
Right now, we think that Bitdefender Total Security 2019 (currently at 50% off) is the best antivirus package available in the market. Apart from providing excellent anti-malware protection, it offers all the advanced premium features and utilities that must be there in a high-end package -- and best of all, it offers excellent value for money. You can protect up to five devices (PCs, Macs, or smartphones) with just one license.
If you need protection for more than five devices, we highly recommend Bitdefender Family Pack 2019. It will cover all the internet-capable devices in your household with the Total Security suite, so your family is protected no matter what goes wrong.
In this guide, we’ll compare Windows Defender and Avast in a head-to-head battle. We’ll examine the strengths and weaknesses of both software and show you which software is a better option.
In a rush? Check out the rundown below to find out which software wins in each category.
Avast Boot Scan Disc For Mac
A Quick Rundown of Winners in Each Category
1. Features
Winner: Avast. Windows Defender comes with all the essential features, but Avast’s security products – especially the high-end ones – have all the advanced features and utilities you can expect to find in modern antivirus suites.
2. Malware Protection
Winner: Tie. Both software are neck and neck in terms of malware protection, as evidenced by two different independent evaluations.
3. System Performance
Winner: Avast. Independent tests show that Avast is exceptional in terms of impact on system performance, whereas Windows Defender failed one key performance test.
4. User-Friendliness
Winner: Avast. Avast’s interface is intuitive and straightforward; everything can be accomplished with just a few clicks. Windows Defender’s interface could be improved.
5. Pricing
Winner: N/A. Since Windows Defender doesn’t have a paid upgrade, so there’s no comparison between both software in this category.
Short Verdict
Avast is the winner as it offers more security-enhancing features and extra utilities in its security suites than Windows Defender. Also, independent tests prove that Avast is better than Windows Defender in terms of both malware detection and the impact on system performance.
We have reviewed and rated most (if not all) antivirus software packages out there, and we think that Bitdefender Total Security 2019 (currently at 50% off) is the best antivirus package you can buy right now. You can protect up to five devices (PCs, Macs, or smartphones) with a single license of this suite.
If you have more than five devices, Bitdefender Family Pack 2019 is the best option for you.
If you're just looking for Mac-specific protection, we recommend Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac 2019 for complete peace of mind.
Now, let’s go into the details.
1. Features
One of the best ways that we can distinguish antivirus software from each other is by looking at the features and utilities included with each package on offer.
First, let’s see what’s included in Windows Defender.
Windows Defender comes built-in on almost all PCs that run on Windows operating system. You can’t uninstall or remove the software, unfortunately, but it automatically turns off when you install a third-party antivirus program.
The best feature included in Windows Defender is the firewall that keeps your computer secure against malicious traffic. It maintains a watchful eye on all the incoming and outgoing network connections and denies unauthorized access.
Like most antivirus software, the software has a signature-based scanner that regularly checks for all sorts of digital threats. The software’s definitions (or signatures) are routinely updated to provide immediate protection against new and emerging threats — thanks to Microsoft’s cloud-based malware database.
Also, there’s the Find My Device function that lets you track down your computer if it’s been lost or stolen; this is particularly useful for laptops. You can also erase your data or lock your computer if you think that your sensitive data is in danger of being stolen.
Further included with Windows Defender is a suite of parental controls. You can use it to monitor the web activity of your children, restrict screen time with automatic timers, and block your kids from visiting certain sites or apps that are not appropriate for their age.
Now, let’s take a look at what Avast offers.
Avast offers different products for Windows and macOS. We’ll cover the Windows-only products first.
Avast Free Antivirus is the first product offered by the company. This suite protects against different types of digital threats, but you will not find any advanced security-enhancing features or utilities jammed into the suite. The freeware is better than having no protection at all, but Avast’s premium options are far more superior.
Next up is Avast Internet Security, the company’s first premium offering. This suite offers comprehensive anti-malware protection, plus an excellent firewall that is capable of protecting you from all sorts of threats and a junk email filter; this will keep your inbox neat and tidy and help you avoid having to wade through annoying spam and phishing emails.
Avast Boot Scan Disc For Mac Os X
Another useful addition in the Internet Security package is the Sandbox Mode. This feature allows you to run suspicious files or apps in a secure environment, without putting the health of your computer in jeopardy. The Real Site feature that prevents fake DNS routing from taking place is there as well.
Another level up is Avast Premier. This package includes everything that’s jammed into the Internet Security suite, plus you get a file shredder utility; this allows you to permanently delete any sensitive files that you don’t want to risk being taken by a hacker. Webcam protection software that stops people from spying on you through your webcam is also part of this suite.
Finally, there’s Avast Ultimate – the all-inclusive premium offering from the company. This comes with everything found in the previous suites, plus a full-blown password manager that allows you to store all your passwords in a digital vault, a VPN utility that lets you anonymously access content that is restricted in your geographic area.
The Ultimate suite also comes with the useful Cleanup Premium utility that cleans junk files, optimizes the performance of your PC, and fix annoying problems.
For macOS, the company offers Avast Security for Mac. It comes in two versions: Free and Premium. The freeware provides anti-malware protection, along with web and email protection and WiFi network protection, while the Premium version takes things to another level by adding several advanced features and tools, such as multi-layered ransomware protection and the WiFi intruder alert feature.
If you’re interested in Avast’s business-specific products, click here for more information.
Winner: Avast. Avast offers more security-enhancing features and utilities than Windows Defender.
2. Malware Protection
Malware defense is critical when it comes to antivirus software. After all, it’s the reason why antivirus software exists!
Let’s examine the recent lab evaluations conducted by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives to see which software has better anti-malware capabilities.
AV-Test’s recent evaluations were held in April 2019. During the evaluations, all antivirus software were tested in three different categories: Protection, Performance, and Usability.
In the Protection test, Windows Defender scored a perfect 6 out of 6, showing excellent anti-malware capabilities.
Avast scored a 5.5 out of 6 in the test, which is still a good score.
AV-Comparatives is another independent organization that regularly run several excellent tests to evaluate the performance of different antivirus software. In their recent Real-World tests, both Windows Defender and Avast earned the second-best ADVANCED award, which represents good overall performance against all sorts of malware. Bitdefender and Kaspersky were among the products that got the highest ADVANCED+ award in the test.
Winner: Tie. It’s a tie in this category as both software have comparable results from two independent sources.
3. System Performance
Any antivirus software that slows your computer down isn’t worth your money. Good antivirus software provide excellent malware protection without putting a significant impact on system performance.
Again, we’ll examine the recent lab tests conducted by independent labs to see how much impact both Windows Defender and Avast put on system performance.
In the AV-Test’s April 2019 evaluations, Windows Defender scored a 5.5 out of 6 in the Performance category.
Avast scored a perfect 6 out of 6 score in the same evaluation.
In the recent performance evaluation conducted by AV-Comparatives, Avast earned the highest ADVANCED+ award, due to its exceptional impact score. On the other hand, Windows Defender’s performance was extremely disappointing; it came last among the 16 products that participated in the test and received the STANDARD award, which is the lowest possible award offered by the company.
Winner: Avast. Independent evaluations confirm that Avast is better than Windows Defender in terms of the impact on system performance.
4. User-Friendliness
Another important aspect that we can look at is user-friendliness. Let’s directly compare both software’s user interfaces and see which one is better.
Windows Defender has a simple, minimalistic visual aesthetic. Opening the software requires several clicks; you have to jump through several hoops before you can reach the Windows Security Center, which is the primary dashboard for controlling the software’s features and operations.
The interface is neat and clean, and everything is laid out well. The left-hand grouping allows you to reach various modules and operations.
There’s no option to schedule scans, which may be frustrating for some people, but you can run different types of scans.
Avast’s interface is simple and intuitive, dominated by dark colors. Even those who aren’t computer literate will be able to effectively utilize everything that Avast has to offer.
When you open the software, you’ll probably see a large green checkmark in the center, which indicates that everything is okay. The checkmark will change to a red exclamation point if there’s something wrong. Beneath the indicator icon is a quick scan button that allows you to immediately begin a smart scan of your computer.
The left-hand rail organizes all the major features and into four self-explanatory categories: Status, Privacy, Protection, and Performance. All the major features of the software are just a few clicks away from the main screen.
In addition, there are customization options available if you like to fine-tune your experience. For instance, you can schedule scans to work around your schedule or lower the number of automatic scans to free up processing speed for other tasks.
Winner: Avast. Overall, Avast’s interface provides a better user experience than Windows Defender’s.
Avast Free Boot Time Scan
5. Pricing
Avast offers a full suite of antivirus products, including a limited freemium option, while Windows Defender is a free program with no paid-for upgrades. So, there’s no real comparison between both software in this category.
Avast Free antivirus is just like Windows Defender in that it doesn’t cost you a penny. However, this freemium software offers minimal value. Avast Internet Security, the company’s first premium offering, costs $59.99 per year for one PC. Avast Premium, the next step up, costs $69.99 per year for one PC license. Avast Ultimate, the highest tier of protection from Avast, also gives you one PC license for $119.99 per year.
| Avast Security Products | Prices |
|---|---|
| Avast Pro Antivirus | Check Price |
| Avast Internet Security | Check Price |
| Avast Premier | Check Price |
| Avast Ultimate | Check Price |
| Avast Security for Mac | Check Price |
| Avast Business Products | Check Prices |
Winner: N/A. There’s no comparison between both Avast and Windows Defender in this category.
Final Thoughts
Plus, it comes with premium customer support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
If you have more than five devices, Bitdefender Family Pack 2019 is the best option for you.
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