Once a system is infected with malware it becomes difficult to remove that malware as it is already embedded in the system and has control over many components which are key to the system’s operations. Malware, like rootkits, use system components to hide themselves and prevent other software from detecting or removing them. Besides just hiding, malware can also block the execution of other security applications. If you cannot install or run a security application in the first place then you cannot scan and detect the malware. The best time to remove this malware is when it is not running, but malware often starts Windows is booted up. The only way to scan and clean the virus without booting in to Windows is by using Rescue Disk provided by some antivirus companies.

Best Antivirus Rescue CD
The first Rescue CD that I got to know was Kaspersky. Then came Avira, BitDefender, F-Secure, and the list goes on. I have all of the emergency rescue disk burned to CDs and honestly I really don’t know which one to use because running a full scan with one rescue disks can take hours. Today I’ve put all 13 rescue cds to the test to see which one is the fastest and most effective in scanning and removing virus.

All tests are done on 4th December 2008 and using the latest virus definition IF it supports updating of signatures. The Rescue CDs will be tested to see if it is able to detect 11 virus that I planted on the test computer and also the time spent to do a full scan. Other than that, I will also be checking if it has other tools and extra options.

1. Avira Rescue System v3.4.4 avira rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 46.8MB
Signature Update: Doesn’t support online update but can update signatures via CDROM or from hard drive.
Scan Time: 4mins 44secs to scan 34460 items
Scan Options: Will try to repair and if fail, will rename the virus filename.
Virus Detection: 10 out of 11
Download Avira Rescue System v3.4.4

2. BitDefender Rescue CD v2 bitdefender rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 228MB
Signature Update: Updates automatically but no progress meter. Can update definition from file as well.
Scan Time: 7mins 25secs to scan 22738 items
Scan Options: Will try to repair and if fail, you get to determine what to do with the infected files when the scan has completed.
Virus Detection: 10 out of 11
Download BitDefender REscue CD v2

3. Dr.Web LiveCD v4.44 drweb rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 65.1MB
Signature Update: Updates online from menu selection.
Scan Time: 1hour 27min 54secs to scan 35959 items.
Scan Options: The text scan only detects but didn’t clean/repair the 10 detected threats. If you run Dr.Web Scanner from XOrg, you will be able to cure and delete the infected files.
Virus Detection: 10 out of 11
Download Dr Web LiveCD

4. F-Secure Rescue CD v3 f-secure rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 155MB
Signature Update: Updates automatically without progress meter and using external USB drive.
Scan Time: 19mins 54secs to scan 10,000+ items
Scan Options: Rename virus filename
Virus Detection: 8 out of 11
Download F-Secure Rescue CD v3

5. Kaspersky Rescue CD v8.8.1.18 kaspersky rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 103MB
Signature Update: Supports online update
Scan Time: 8 mins to scan 11543 items
Scan Options: You can configure to prompt for action after finished scanning
Virus Detection: 11 out of 11
Download Kaspersky Rescue CD v8.8.1.18

6. Norton Recovery Tool rescue cd
Base: Windows Vista PE
ISO File Size: 241MB
Signature Update: Automatically update online
Scan Time: 5mins 45secs to scan 19911 items
Scan Options: Will automatically try to repair. If fail, you get to determine what to do with the infected files when the scan has completed.
Virus Detection: 10 out of 11
Other Information: Requires product key
Download Norton Recovery Tool

7. VBA Rescue v3.12 vba32 rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 72.6MB
Signature Update: Automatically update online
Scan Time: 22mins 37secs to scan 21494 items
Scan Options: Can configure action to take when a virus is detected
Virus Detection: 10 out of 11
Download VBA Rescue v3.12

8. Panda Safe CD panda rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 56.4MB from Panda’s website and 62MB when created from Panda Internet Security 2009.
Signature Update: Not supported
Scan Time: 5mins 13secs to scan 36868 items
Scan Options: Can only scan but unable to remove on NTFS partition.
Virus Detection: 2 out of 11
Other Info: You can download SafeCD from Panda’s website which is slightly outdated or you can install Panda Internet Security 2009, go to Services tab, and click Rescue disks to create an updated one.
Download Panda SafeCD

9. PC Tools Alternate Operating System Scan rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 8.07MB
Signature Update: Via USB drive containing the most recent refdb.dat file
Scan Time: 11 mins 5 seconds to scan 10098 items
Scan Options: UNSURE
Virus Detection: 0 out of 11
Info: Scans registry and uses Spyware Doctor 4 database. This project has not been updated for a long time so no surprise that it didn’t even detect any of the 11 virus that I planted on the test computer.
Download PC Tools Alternate Operating System Scan

10. Quick Heal Native Boot Scan quickheal rescue cd
Base: Windows PE
ISO File Size: 66.5MB
Signature Update: Not supported
Scan Time: 2mins 50secs to scan 10063 items
Scan Options: Will try to repair and if fail, will delete the virus
Virus Detection: 11 out of 11
Extra Info: Quick Heal rescue cd is created from the antivirus client via Tools > Emergency CD. You will need to enter your Windows XP or 2003 installation disc to create the rescue CD.
Download Quick Heal Antivirus

11. avast! BART CD v2.0 avast rescue cd
Base: Windows PE
ISO File Size: 172MB
Signature Update: Not supported
Scan Time: 4mins 50secs to scan 10078 items
Scan Options: Lets you decide what to do with infected file after finished scanning
Virus Detection: 10 out of 11. Missed one pretty old virus, but in VirusTotal, avast! detects it as Win32:VB-EHR
Other Info: Shareware cost $149.95. Includes a lot of other useful tools such as registry cleaner, data shredder, registry editor, event viewer, networking, map network drive, ping, text editor, file manager.
avast! BART CD v2 website

12. Rising AntiVirus Software for Linux rising rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 36.8MB
Signature Update: Not supported
Scan Time: 29mins to scan 35735 items
Scan Options: Can configure action to take when a virus is detected
Virus Detection: 10 out of 11 using definition on October 23.
Extra Info: According to Rising representative, only Chinese version of Rising Antivirus can create Rescue CD. It will be made available to English versions in future.

13. G DATA AntiVirus BootCD Gdata rescue cd
Base: Linux
ISO File Size: 109MB
Signature Update: Supports online update, takes very long (about an hour) to download 572 AVC files.
Scan Time: 6mins 54 secs to scan 10062 items
Scan Options: Action to be taken after finished scanning
Virus Detection: 11 out of 11
Extra Info: G Data BootCD is in German language and there’s no configuration. G Data 2009 is a multi-engine antivirus that uses BitDefender and avast! engines. So no surprise that it found all 11 viruses. The previous GData 2008 uses Kaspersky and avast!.
[ Download G DATA AntiVirus BootCD ]

14. AVG Rescue CD avg rescue cd
AVG Rescue CD is a shareware that cost $149.95 for 1 user license with 1 year subscription. I’ve contacted AVG to provide me with a trial license for testing purposes but they did not even reply my email. I read on the Internet that support for AVG is very bad and I believe so because I couldn’t even find a telephone number or support email on their site. Shame on you for being such a big company but with such bad support. Every AVG user should switch to other free antivirus such as Avira or Rising.

The best Rescue CD must have the fastest scanning speed, able to detect all 11 virus that I planted in the computer, no maintenance on virus signatures via online update and lets you decide on what to do with the virus after finished scanning. So far only Kaspersky and Quick Heal able to detect all 11 virus and if compared between this two rescue CD, I’d say Kaspersky Rescue CD is the winner because it is free, supports signature updates and flexible configurations. Quick Heal’s advantage is only the super fast scanning speed but what I don’t like about it is it auto deletes the threat if unable to repair, no updates, no configuration, and it’s not free since you need to create from Quick Heal desktop antivirus.

[tags]rescue, emergency, livecd, antivirus, repair[/tags]