Live CD with antivirus tools?
 

All,
I am looking for a Live Linux CD dirstro that has the ability to remove a virus from a compromised Window Machine. I am a PC support Tech for a non-for profit company and would like to find an open source product that I could use. I thought I read that there is something like this, but cannot remember the name. Any suggestions or direction where to look would be great.

I don't think such a thing exists. As you know, Windows is not open source, and I'm skeptical that an open source, GPL'ed Linux app exists that could repair infected Windows files, also considering that writing to a Windows partition from within Linux is still in its experimental stages. What you may be thinking of is the ability for a Live CD to be used to recover data files from machines that otherwise cannot be booted in the first place. In that scenario, suppose you had a PC that contained a lot of important documents, photos, etc, that you couldn't bear to lose, but that the PC was so badly damaged by infection (or other reason) that it just couldn't boot. You may be able to rescue all or at least some of those important files by using a Live CD. (The key concept here is the ability of a Linux system to read from a Windows partition.)

You could boot the hosed PC under Knoppix (for example), mount the Windows partition, save the important data files, then reinstall Windows. After also reinstalling your AV app (Symantec, or whatever) and making sure it's fully up to date, you could then restore the saved files from your backup media back into your Windows system. Keep in mind though that those saved files could still be infected, so you should scan them first.

I had to do this myself once on a Windows box that was just totally screwed up, and Knoppix came through like a champ. It doesn't contain built-in Windows anti-virus software though. You can get Knoppix here: www.linuxiso.org Good luck with the project. -- J.W.

qennster, this might be what you are looking for:

http://www.knoppix-std.org/
http://www.knoppix-std.org/tools.html
clamAV : virus scanner. update your signatures live with freshclam

Holy Cow!! I had no idea Knoppix also did all this. My previous post obviously should be ignored, sorry.

twilli227 - *great* info. Learning about this is definitely the activity of the weekend. Thanks for the tip. -- J.W.

Thank you twilli227- I knew about Knoppix but not Knoppix STD.
Cool stuff.

What about ...
 

Helix? - Don't know about it's suitability for disinfecting a Windows system, but the no-impact nature of it will at least ensure you do no further damage to the data/filesystem

Or, if you want a Windows solution, why not try a Windows-based solution, such as BartPE?

Linux Defender by Cebit is windows antivirus on a Linux liveCD and it works great

windows-linux antivirus
 

nixiepixel has a video on how to remove a windows virus using a ubuntu linux live cd.The title is "How to Cure a Windows Virus with Ubuntu Linux" Essentially you can install a linux anti virus program with a live cd and scan partitions for a virus. For another method, you can use Trinity Rescue kit to virus scan your pc with the program clam-tk. The nixiepixel video is on youtube. I apologize I cannot post the link because this is my first post and the site will not allow it.

Avira AntiVir Rescue System. I use this all the time.

SystemRescueCd also includes ClamAV.

http://www.rasyid.net/2009/02/08/usi...us-in-windows/
http://www.sysresccd.org/System-tools

slax。
http://www.slax.org
and clamav(KlamAV, Frontend) modules could be found here:

http://www.slax.org/modules.php?search=clamav&category=