[dencorso]

I'm aware if the AVG Rescue Linux CD, freely available from the AVG site.
I'm also aware of the MS Standalone System Sweeper tool, although I don't know how good is it. Please advise.
Now I ask, what other solutions exist, that can be used instead of those two above?

[jaclaz]

dencorso, on 15 October 2011 - 01:04 AM, said:

Now I ask, what other solutions exist, that can be used instead of those two above?

*any* PE with an antivirus of your choice.
jaclaz

[dencorso]

Sure.
When one has a clean machine and knowledge about how to make a PE and how to add an anti-virus to it, that's fine.
Now, seriously, I'm asking about, fully legal, ready-for-use .ISOs a common user may download, burn and use, possibly creating a bona-fide scanner from his/her only machine, which would probably be already infected.

[allen2]

Like MacAffee cleanboot.

[JorgeA]

dencorso, on 15 October 2011 - 10:02 AM, said:

Now, seriously, I'm asking about, fully legal, ready-for-use .ISOs a common user may download, burn and use, possibly creating a bona-fide scanner from his/her only machine, which would probably be already infected.

dencorso,

Here are the ones I use:

Panda SafeCD Bootable Disc
Acronis Antimalware CD (they use a version of Bit Defender)
The Ultimate Boot CD contains the Avira AntiVir scanner (at least it did when I downloaded it several months ago, the CD contents on their website seem to change often).
Spybot Search & Destroy Personal Edition is a Windows 7 PE CD, but you have to pay some $$$ to get it. It comes in the mail "ready to wear," in a nice CD case Seems to work well, though.
Finally, if you have a subscription to a Norton product you're entitled to download and burn the Norton Bootable Recovery Tool, which includes a malware scanner.

The first three of these work off Linux live CDs. I also have an ISO for AVG, but haven't gotten around to burning and trying it.

Note: The Panda and UBCD scanners even work on my Windows 98 tower!

Hope this helps! In appreciation of all that you've done for me, I'm glad to be able to be the one supplying you with an answer for a change.

--JorgeA

This post has been edited by JorgeA: 15 October 2011 - 10:53 AM

[jaclaz]

dencorso, on 15 October 2011 - 10:02 AM, said:

Sure.
When one has a clean machine and knowledge about how to make a PE and how to add an anti-virus to it, that's fine.
Now, seriously, I'm asking about, fully legal, ready-for-use .ISOs a common user may download, burn and use, possibly creating a bona-fide scanner from his/her only machine, which would probably be already infected.

Well, you started it :

dencorso, on 15 October 2011 - 01:04 AM, said:

I'm also aware of the MS Standalone System Sweeper tool, although I don't know how good is it. Please advise.

If you were actualy aware of it (in the sense of not "being aware of it's existence only"), you would have known that you "build" a PE 3.x out of it, which of course assumes -at least theoretically - that you have a clean and fully working OS.

However, JFYI :
http://reboot.pro/14487/

Many anti-virus vendors provide a "boot CD" for free, another two examples:
http://support.kaspe...uses/rescuedisk
http://rescuedisk.ka...disk/updatable/

http://www.bitdefend...cue-CD-627.html
http://download.bitd....com/rescue_cd/

but still there is the logic loophole, you need ANYWAY a computer capable of:

• accessing the Internet dowload page
  
• burn the .iso to CD
  
• ad this system should be - at least theoretically - "clean" from virii or malware

Like (on a "non clean" system *somehow* still apparently working):

• dowload the .iso
  
• a virus corrupts it
  
• you burn the .iso
  
• the antivirus in it will be corrupted or won't work because of main .exe checksum
  
• loop to #1 AFTER having had access to a surely "clean" machine

jaclaz

[dencorso]

allen2, on 15 October 2011 - 10:24 AM, said:

Like MacAffee cleanboot.

Yes!
However, it being based on PE requires a clean machine for creation...
Can you say anything about how good is it?
It's been more than 10 years since I stopped using McAfee products.

[dencorso]

jaclaz, on 15 October 2011 - 10:55 AM, said:

Like (on a "non clean" system *somehow* still apparently working):

• dowload the .iso
  
• a virus corrupts it
  
• you burn the .iso
  
• the antivirus in it will be corrupted or won't work because of main .exe checksum
  
• loop to #1 AFTER having had access to a surely "clean" machine

Well, now you're nearer what I initially meant:
My idea is more like being able to offer people a "second opinion" so I was thinking of a machine which has a working anti-virus solution, or is a tightly secured environment, like herbalist's defaut-deny machine (much less common and difficult to find in the wild). So it should be free, and easy to set up, and I cannot think of anything easier than burning an .ISO that just works. Of course, if the system is infected and the virus (or whatever) is paranoid enough to corrupt .ISOs, that would be that. It's probably easier (an more perverse) to infect any executable from optical media burning software, BTW, and prevent it from working or corrupt the created CD, while letting the .ISOs alone.
I don't think .ISO corruption is all that common (but I may be wrong, and I know you're going to correct the "error of my ways" right away, if that's the case)

[allen2]

dencorso, on 15 October 2011 - 11:36 AM, said:

Yes!
However, it being based on PE requires a clean machine for creation...
Can you say anything about how good is it?
It's been more than 10 years since I stopped using McAfee products.

I tried first versions and they were ok. Didn't try the 2.x so i can't say.
You'd need at least a computer to burn the iso and that's what MacAfee provide there (if you read the usage instructions).

Quote

# In the Download column, click CLEANBOOT200ML_237.zip (or higher).
# Select Save File and click OK.
# If you have CD/DVD image burning software, use this to burn the CleanBoot ISO image file to a CD.
If you do not have image burning software or are unfamiliar with how to burn an ISO image, see the Related Information section.

[jaclaz]

Yep , the idea of a "secured" machine is nice , but then an IODD/CDEMU/ZM-VE200 (or something the like) could be even "handier" (you even avoid to "burn" the .iso, just download it to the device).
Of course the idea of the malware corrupting the .iso (or the burner) is purely theoretical, and it depends greatly on the kind of malware whether you would be able to download and burn the .iso properly on the "affected" machine.
Something I do wonder is why these nice peeps of the QAntivirus firms do not provide a MD5 or SHA1 checksum of the .iso image (most probably the contents of the various .iso's are "self-authenticated", but having a fast and clean way to check whether the download was successful and being able to check quickly if the .iso had modifications seems to me like a handy feature).

jaclaz

[dencorso]

Let's up the ante!
Sometime in the past jaclaz told me "if one has to register, even if for free, then it's not really freeware", or something in that sense.
While I don't necessarily agree with that statement for every case, when there are good alternatives that don't ask for any registration, they're surely preferable.
So, adding a "no registration whatsoever" constraint and a "pre-made .iso" (which one can burn with whatever burner one happens to have or like) constraint, the number of possibilities thins...
The following solutions do meet these further constraints:

1) The AVG Rescue CD
2) The Kaspersky Rescue Disk
3) The Acronis Antimalware CD
4) The BitDefender Rescue CD

I wasn't able to download the Panda Safe CD from the given link, which for me is unreachable at the moment... has it perhaps changed? Moreover, I admit I've not yet followed every link you all provided, but from those I did follow I downloaded the .ISO, burned it to a Mini CD RW and tested the resulting bootable CD. If asked to register or offered anything different from a ready-made .ISO, I've skipped that solution and went on.
I wish to wholeheartedly thank all the participants in this thread for joining this discussion and contributing to it.
You all rock!
My idea is to provide a list of ready-to-use antivirus solutions that can be downloaded on-demand and be put to use fast.

[e-t-c]

BTW: (It's in german, but) some collected Links ... http://www.essential...hp?f=30&t=13519

cheers
e-t-c & ^L^

This post has been edited by e-t-c: 17 October 2011 - 01:51 AM

[jaclaz]

dencorso, on 16 October 2011 - 08:35 PM, said:

Sometime in the past jaclaz told me "if one has to register, even if for free, then it's not really freeware", or something in that sense.

Yes, free can mean BOTH free as in freedom and free as in free beer.

IMHO whenever someone is asking you to register, it is NOT anymore free (as in free beer) as you actually pay the software by giving away some personal information.
And it is not of course "free as in freedom" as you have to register.

As an example, my half-@§§ed scripts are free, I don't want to know who you are, what is your e-mail, and you don't even have to respect the suggested Careware license:
http://jaclaz.alterv...s/careware.html

Quote

Important Note: if you don't like this idea, just ignore it -- you can have this anyway.

Though I understand the reasons why someone which produces also Commercial products is interested in your data and actually there is nothing "bad" in asking for them, and in giving them as well, still it is not "free".

jaclaz

[dencorso]

dencorso, on 16 October 2011 - 08:35 PM, said:

So, adding a "no registration whatsoever" constraint and a "pre-made .iso" (which one can burn with whatever burner one happens to have or like) constraint, the number of possibilities thins...
The following solutions do meet these further constraints:

1) The AVG Rescue CD
2) The Kaspersky Rescue Disk
3) The Acronis Antimalware CD
4) The BitDefender Rescue CD
5) The Panda SafeCD
6) The Avira AntiVir Rescue System

Thanks a lot, e-t-c, for the pointer to that fantastic thread!