Previously I’ve written about Kaspersky offering free Rescue Disk to clean virus without booting in to Windows. This is very useful when you have a computer that is unable to boot in to Windows caused by virus. All you need to do is to boot up the computer with Kaspersky Rescue Disk CD and it launch the latest Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2009 to scan your computer.
However, problem with Kaspersky Rescue Disk is it is not updated frequently, unlike the free Kaspersky AVP Tool which is updated few times a day. Kaspersky Rescue Disk was last updated on 11 Jun 2008. I’ve tried to figure out a solution on how to manually update the virus definition but it seemed to be different. The Rescue Disk virus definition file extension is .kvc and the official Kaspersky virus definition is in .avc. Even some of the XML filenames are not identical.
I am definitely not giving up on this but in the meantime, here is another Rescue CD alternative by Avira that can clean unremovable virus without booting into Windows. If you’ve read my research on which is the best Anti-Virus program, Avira AntiVir appears to be on top of the list after Kaspersky.
The Avira AntiVir Rescue System is 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 (contains the current virus definitions VDF) so that the most recent security updates are always available.
Once you’ve booted up your computer with Avira Rescue System, you get a boot option to either boot from hard drive or AntiVir Rescue System. Press the number 2 on your keyboard to boot into AntiVir Rescue System. It will start loading linux and you get to select either deutsch or english. Next, drivers will be loaded, and when it completes, the Rescue System main menu will show.
To scan a computer, select the second option “Scan” and hit enter. You get to select whether to scan all files, only program files or only boot sectors. You can then select either to log scanning events or try to repair infected files. If Rescue System is unable to repair infected files, you have the option to rename the files. Finally, you can select additional file types to scan such as dialers, jokes, games, and security privacy risk software. The whole process simplifies the command-line arguments so you don’t need to manually type the commands.
The open command at the main menu will launch Linux console, not DOS command prompt. Unless you’re familiar with Linux commands, I wouldn’t recommend you selecting that option. If you’ve accidentally got into the linux console, press CTRL+F1 simultaneously to go back to Rescue System Main Menu.
According to the latest report rom AV-Comparatives, Avira AntiVir scored the highest points for Retrospective / ProActive test on May 2008. It has the least false positives and fast on demand scanning speed.
[ Download Avira AntiVir Rescue System ]
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I already had the Kaspersky rescue disk , as I run Avira as my normal AV,I thought I’d give it a try , ,everything went OK till it stalled at/dev/fd0, so will go back to KAV thks anyway Ray
je vous remercie infiniment mon cher confrère
burned the disc but i dont see the option where to change the language to english. also the disc i burned shows the option 2 here on option 1 on the disc link.
can u help?
i use avira rescue cd.. my problem is that, the display of avira will not fit in my screen.. i cannot change it to english language.. after i boot to avira rescue disk.. please help
Having trouble with avira rescue disk, cannot update , because won’t get internet connection, (probably the virus is preventing this too) and too big for me to click on the british flag to translate
to english as I cannot scrol down, you ask: “what is the virus doing to my computer?, I answer: …..my computer is logging right back off when I click on log on, so there’s no way to change my pixels to smaller so I can see the whole Avira page to be able to translate to english and click on (scan).
Having trouble with avira rescue disk, cannot update and too big for me to click on the british flag to translate to english…..my computer is logging right back off when I click on log on.
Didn’t update.
Anyway, here is the ISO link:
dl.antivir.de/down/vdf/rescuecd/rescuecd.iso
Just burn to disk.
PS, other people have said this is good. I don’t like it.
Then again, there is no Live Rescue CD I like.
this is not bootable programe.i weasted 2 cd for this rabish
i burned it and it didnt boot with cd>Some how this Avira AntiVir Rescue System cd is not bootable.
Ray, Thank You Very much
Yes, hello im having a problem with dis, does any1 no y wen i boot this program, i cant even c the full screen. So i cannot change my language or even scroll, cant even use the monitor 2 change it or scroll, anybody no?
The boot disk worked a treat, avg is working and updating as i type, thankyou for your help, i was getting so frustrated!
Avira does not update daily even when asked to do so; but tries for over an hour & then nothing. Does that mean there are no updates?
please help on how to clean virus in my computer
thns Raimond(K)
thx raymond
based on Linus?
does this work on windows?
Much thx :)
well.Chapeau monsieur.La bière attend toujours.
What a waste of time. Two downloads, burned two disks, booted 7 times (4 in German), specified what to scan, log, and repair, then Avira Anticustomerware thumbs it\\\’s nose at me and says DEMO mode(noscan). Anymore of this at 3 in the morning and I will rate Avira right down there with MSFT and D(h)ell. Is there a way to get this to work?
Where i can found the serial number ?
I’m using avg rescue CD but i want to try this one
Realmente é uma grande ideia
My pc was infected with the FedEx email that’s going around. Cannot boot. I burned the Avira AntiVir Rescue System to cd and tried to launch, but said I didn’t have enough memory. Should I just buy some more? It’s only 56mb – so I’m not sure why it’s saying that.
I have Linux cd I’m booting from and am cleaning out my hard drive – moving files to thumb drive, but still haven’t found room!
Anyway, do you think I can remove the virus using the Rescue CD?
Thanks,
Dee Anna
I just found the solution on the Avira forum, which I think you said, Raymond, I just didn’t understand it as clearly:
Just hit the space bar when English is highlighted before you press the return key.
It’s great to read about the Avira AntiVir Rescue CD.
I’m having trouble selecting English, too.
I use the arrow keys to highlight English, then press okay. And every single time it still opens up into Dutch.
Could you help?
best anti virus is norton
You can make selections (languageselection) using arrowkeys / spacebar, and confirm with enter.
Hey Raymond
How I can choose the english language ?
The CD persist to launch the german one !
Thank in advance
scanned with avira rescue, worked good, but definitions are two weeks late, no issue but downloaded the correct update zip, and now wondering how to load these while cd is running, prefer from usb, thanks for your forum, nice
I\\\’ve tried it, but when I select scan and finish it is always said that this is in DEMO mode.
After I read the forum, the serial actually already included in the Rescue CD (iso file), so it seem that there is problem about it.. they will try to fix..
let\\\’s wait..
Once again you\’ve done it.
minta serial number untuk antivirus kaspersky 2009, please send ke email ku yahhhh “yudhie_whois@yahoo.com”
Do you have AVG rescue disk licence file avgelc.dat
Tried that link but when I scan it said it is in demo mode. :(
Edit of my previous post.
I don\’t like this live CD also :(
The update is with file that\’s need to be prepared in advance on CD or the disk, and the report of the scan can be saved only on floppy ??????? why?
Hey Raymond, I know for sure you\’re an expert at this kind of stuff :P I have a question for you regarding antiviruses.
Which is the better one? (In your opinion)
Kaspersky
Avira
ESET NOD32
I tried the Kaspersky live CD, and after little time put it in the garbage. No online updates, not only it tells me it expired, it is also bad user interface.
I like Avira Antivir and think it is very good product. I always used to start it from UBCD4Win live CD which is slow to load and sometimes updates not perfectly working.
I will test this live CD as alternative and hope it\’s a keeper.
Thanks Raymond.
Thank you Raymond
Thanks for this one
Thanks Raymond.
McAfee ~ 87% from Zoo-list
Avira ~ 98% from ZL
Kasp. ~ 99,5 % from ZL
ive used avira and its good but i dont think it gives any security. im using mcafee. its good had no prob with that. what do you think?
Great Post.Thanks Raymond.