The Best Free Bootable Antivirus Tools

Norton, the makers of popular antivirus software, offers this free bootable recovery tool. It scans your computer for security risks and removes them automatically or lets you decide how to handle potential risks.

There’s a file retrieval option to help you copy data from your computer to another drive, like a removable hard drive. If you need a method to copy files, this might be a good choice.

This tool offers a full desktop experience, allowing you to use your mouse for navigation. It also includes a terminal window for running commands and the Opera web browser if needed.

Norton has directions for putting this ISO file on a DVD or USB device if you need help.

ESET SysRescue is a free bootable virus scanner available for use from a CD, DVD, or USB device. It comes from ESET, which sells security software for home users and businesses. 

This tool offers a full desktop environment, so if you’re uneasy with text-only interfaces, this should be comfortable. It features a start menu, desktop items for tools like GParted, a file browser, and a shortcut to ESET SysRescue. 

The virus scanner is easy to use and doesn’t require customizations. From the On-demand scan page, select Smart scan to check common malware locations, or choose Custom scan for an in-depth scan of any drive area, including the entire drive. 

You can adjust advanced settings if desired. Scan settings include selecting object types to scan, such as files, symbolic links, email files, archives, self-extracting archives, and boot sectors. You can also enable heuristics, detect potentially unwanted programs (PuPs), exclude specific file extensions, and set limits on file scan sizes. 

A helpful feature when running the program is checking for errors on the disc or in memory. You might find something else is wrong, not just a virus; it’s worth checking! 

Microsoft Defender Offline (formerly Windows Defender Offline) is a bootable virus scanner from Microsoft with a full user interface. It’s built into Windows 11 and Windows 10, and you can download it for older Windows versions or if the computer won’t start.

A key feature is that its definitions (the rules for finding threats) can be updated directly from the disc, which many bootable virus checkers can’t do. You can also view quarantined files and exclude files, folders, and extension types from scans.  

This program supports quick virus scans, full scans, and custom scans, allowing you to choose which folders and drives to scan.

Use the link below to download this tool or, if it’s built-in to your version of Windows, find it in Settings.

Here’s where to find it in Windows 11: Settings > Privacy & security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options > Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan).

Adaware offers this free bootable antivirus scanner that’s easy to use, featuring a full user interface similar to desktop-based programs. 

You can run multiple types of scans, whether a quick check for a boot sector virus or to find malware in specific folders or the whole computer. 

Dr.Web LiveDisk is a feature-rich free bootable virus scanner for Windows and Linux.

Dr.Web LiveDisk offers many configurable settings, allowing you to choose actions when it finds infected, suspicious, or incurable files. You can also decide what should happen if it detects issues like adware, dialers, jokes, hacktools, and riskware. 

You can exclude directories from scans, set a file size limit for exclusion, and define a maximum duration for scanning a single file.

Like Microsoft’s tool above, Dr.Web can check for virus definition updates directly from the program, allowing future use by simply updating it before a scan.

This AV program works from a USB device or a disc, with the ISO file being over 800MB.

Hiren’s BootCD PE includes fix-it tools that are indispensable when you can’t boot into your computer. It includes virus scanners from four companies—ESET, McAfee, Kaspersky, and Malwarebytes—along with hard drive recovery and backup tools, system info utilities, and network scanners.

This bootable rescue suite allows you to use your mouse to navigate a desktop interface, similar to Windows. It’s easier to use than text-based programs and includes other Windows programs, like Command Prompt.

You can browse your hard drive, making it easy to delete known viruses or copy files from your computer if needed, like for backups. 

This is an ISO file, and the download page lists all the included programs. 

Panda Rescue ISO uses Panda Cloud Cleaner to scan a computer without any other running processes that could potentially shut it down and prevent a virus scan.

Here’s how it works: Boot to this disc to prepare your computer for running Panda Cloud Cleaner. Next, the computer reboots into Windows but launches the cleaner before any other applications start. All other processes are shut down, reducing the risk of program termination by a virus. 

A problem with this tool is it may not work if a virus has deeply infected your computer, preventing Windows from booting. In this case, try other tools on this list that don’t require Windows to start.

F-Secure Rescue CD is a basic bootable antivirus program. It lacks a graphical user interface, which might cause confusion. 

There are few options or user inputs, except pressing the Enter key to begin a scan.

Anvi Rescue Disk is a simple bootable virus scanner. There are only three main scan buttons, two sections to the program, and no custom settings. 

You can perform a quick smart scan, a full system scan, or a custom scan to search for malware within one or more specific folders.

There’s a section for finding and correcting corrupt registry issues that may have been altered by a virus. 

One downside to Anvi Rescue Disk is that you must scan the whole drive at once; you can’t choose to scan single, specific files like with regular antivirus software. 

Any of the tools listed above this one are preferable since the software is less up-to-date than its competitors. It might find some viruses but won’t catch everything. 

Zillya! LiveCD can scan entire drives or whole folders only, so it won’t scan just single files. There’s an option to check for viruses in potentially dangerous file types like executables so that you’re not scanning every single file type, which could take a long time.

A utility called Zillya! MBR Recovery is available from this bootable disc, which can scan the MBR for viruses and attempt to fix boot issues caused by a corrupt MBR.

I appreciate the included settings and its easy-to-use interface. However, unlike the first several items in this list, Zillya!’s software is outdated and shouldn’t be your first choice. 

You’ve probably heard of AVG. This rescue CD is a text-only free bootable antivirus program. It can check for potentially unwanted programs, scan cookies, find hidden file extensions, and even scan inside archives. 

Before scanning, you can choose to check a folder of your choice, just the boot sector, only the registry, or any locally attached hard drive. 

Unfortunately, since AVG Rescue CD lacks a graphical interface, navigating the menus can be challenging. 

VBA32 doesn’t support a graphical interface, but it makes up for it in its detailed settings.

The program offers many options, such as choosing drives to scan, defining file types, scanning inside archives, and setting a default action for malicious files. 

You can adjust heuristic scan settings and update virus definitions directly from the CD or USB drive. 

The main drawback to VBA32 Rescue is requiring text-only mode, unlike most tools that have a regular user interface. 

Trend Micro Rescue Disk is a free bootable antivirus tool that doesn’t have a graphical interface, requiring navigation in text mode with the arrow keys. 

You can run a quick scan or a full scan, depending on what areas you’d like checked.

Trend Micro is a long-established cybersecurity software company, but this program hasn’t been updated since 2020, placing it low on this list.