Using Linux to Disinfect Windows

by Gene Liverman

Are you responsible for one or more Windows computers? If yes then the odds are really good that you have had to deal with cleaning viruses and malware. Did you know F-Secure offers a free Rescue CD built on Knoppix for just this purpose? Let's take a look at how easy the F-Secure Rescue CD is to use.

Like with most everything, the first step is knowing where to download what you need... in this case that is from www.f-secure.com/en_EMEA/security/tools/rescue-cd. Once you download the ZIP and then burn the ISO it contains, stick your new disk in the infected computer and reboot. Upon rebooting you should be greeted with a screen like this:

F-Secure Rescue CD Boot Screen

After hitting enter you will see your basic malware removal warning...

F-Secure Warning Message

Next it will try and update itself from either a USB drive or the internet.

F-Secure Internet Update

Once it has the newest version of everything it will present you with a list of all the partitions it sees and let you choose which ones to scan.

F-Secure Partition List

After you select what you want to scan it will show you the progress and allow you to see what is being scanned and what malware has been found.

F-Secure Scan Screen

The report that follows will show you any errors that were encountered and will also show you a summary page with the scan's results.

F-Secure Summary Page

That's it. Linux has once again made life simpler. The system should now at least be clean enough that you can use traditional tools that run inside of Windows to finish up.

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