Windows Defender Offline is a bootable virus scanner from Microsoft that sports a full user interface. Since the most serious of viruses cause damage to the parts of your computer that allow it to start, a bootable antivirus tool can often be a powerful weapon at your disposal for getting the virus removed and your computer back up and running.Īfter trying all the bootable virus scanning tools I could find, this list represents my favorites.ĭownloads as an EXE file instead of directly as an ISO However, with one of these scanners, you create a special flash drive or disc from a working computer and then use it on the infected machine to scan the hard drive for viruses-all without needing to start Windows! It'd be hard to count how many times I've been relieved to have a couple bootable antivirus discs on hand. Why are these tools so important? If you've ever had such a terrible virus that your computer won't start at all, it's hard to know what to do next because, well, your system won't boot up! If you don't know what these are, they're simply virus scanners that start from a disc or flash drive instead of from your computer's hard drive. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.Below is a list of all the best free bootable antivirus programs I could get my hands on. The Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License.

Microsoft and the Window logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. Alexa and all related logos are trademarks of, Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. Android, Google Chrome, Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google, LLC. Firefox is a trademark of Mozilla Foundation.

or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. NortonLifeLock, the NortonLifeLock Logo, the Checkmark Logo, Norton, LifeLock, and the LockMan Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NortonLifeLock Inc. LifeLock identity theft protection is not available in all countries. The Norton and LifeLock Brands are part of NortonLifeLock Inc. Use your Norton product to optimize and improve computer performance Wait for the scan to complete and follow the on-screen instructions. When you see a prompt to restart the computer, click Restart. If you want to include the Rootkit scan, click Settings, and under Scan and Log Settings, toggle the option Include Rootkit scan (requires a computer restart) and click Apply.

In the Norton Power Eraser window, select Full System Scan, and click Run Now. Norton Power Eraser checks for and automatically downloads the new version if available.

If you have already accepted the license agreement, you will not be prompted again. Read the license agreement and click Agree. If the User Account Control window prompts, click Yes or Continue. Press Ctrl + J key, to open the Downloads window in your browser, and double-click the NPE.exe file. Norton Power Eraser is compatible with Windows 7 SP1 and newer operating systems.

Portable norton security scan and clean