Good anti-bug boot disc?

[teckneeculler]

My W7 Ultimate system seems to have be become infected with a hard-to-find bug that got past my Malwarebytes Premium sub.
It got to the point where I couldn't update Malwarebytes and finally couldn't even reinstall it.
Fortunately, I run regular System Restores as well as Macrium Backups, so I've got the thing at bay for the moment, with MB up and running again. OK, this app isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but it suits me because I can over-ride it when ever it gets too protective

Anyone able to recommend a bootable malware hunter\killer app, for USB or DVD? I'd run Eset's but their offering apparently won't run in W7 now, according to the webpage.

Thanks

 

[file3456]

Hiren's Boot CD has some anti-virus software.

If you're ever infected your best to just backup your data, format (or wipe, depending on the malware) and reinstall the OS.

There are many types of malware that will escape a scan. So just know that...

 

[Alejandro85]

Anti bug???? Don't you mean antivirus?
Remember that bug and virus are completely separate things in computing.

Now to the important part.
I'm interested in how did you conclude that you're infected with a virus? Sometimes they're not easy to spot, specially if you say that you're "infected with a hard-to-find bug". What's the exact problem you're having?

In case it turns out to be a virus, the first step is to forget about antiviruses (they're obsolete things of the past that should no longer exist in 2023 anyway). It's time to take your backups and completely wipe your hard disk and reformat and install Windows from scratch, then use your backups to restore your data. Reason for this is that viruses, once allowed to run, can make any arbitrary change in your system, including hidding themselves and installing further malware. Since you have no way at all of knowing what it really did, the only possible option to a known-good state is a clean install.

Continuing using an infected system in any way (even after a "cleanup") is a security risk. If you don't have proper backups in place, extract any data though bootable media, then reformat.

 

[alfredinio]

Additionally, after cleaning your system, consider updating your operating system and software to the latest security patches, as using an outdated operating system like Windows 7 can leave you more vulnerable to security threats over time.

 

[file3456]

Highly, highly doubt it. I've been running unpatched Windows operating systems for years and years and never magically got infected or hacked insert crap here _____. I don't even use an anti-virus software. I have other things that I do...

If however you browse the Internet like an Internet slob, or you know next to nothing about computers, then by all means pay homage to the Microsoft patch Tuesday god.

Anyway, I'm not going to debate this. That was your first post and seems likely you're wanting to steer the thread in a different direction or are a possible spammer who'll come back latter to spam.

 

[teckneeculler]

F22: Thanks for your input. Help forums like these are invaluable but there's always someone who'll skim your question then launch their own opinion on a theme you didn't ask about.
Doctors have a code of conduct which begins with something like 'First, do no harm.' The equivalent metric for computer help forums should be something like, 'First, read and understand the question, and if you can't provide a relevant answer, say nothing and move on'.
I was, and still am, looking for a bootable anti-virus app with the ability to update its database before (preferable) or after boot launch, then scan the target system, reporting its finds without deleting anything without input from the user as to which files should be either removed or just quarantined.
I'd happily pay a reasonable fee for such an app, but AFAIK, there's none such that does exactly what I've described. The closest I've found was a recent 30-day trial of Bitdefender Total Security, which, while not being bootable, offered a very thorough scan. However, and this is its most important failing, after running for several hours with no sign of stopping, it had run up a total of 57 items that it had labeled 'Resolved' (which I took to mean it had removed them) as distinct from the 46 items it labeled 'Unresolved' (which I assumed I'd be consulted about).
So I shut down the operation and rebooted. My W7 Ultimate system restarted OK but I have a sneaking feeling it's not entirely healthy.

 

[samuria]

Best is to run a online scan or download any AV makers scanner when it happens and cd you may be well out of date but online is bang up to date