MALWARE RECOVERY DISCS

One of malware’s nastiest tricks is to cripple your PC so it’s virtually impossible to clean. The malware typically suppresses known security tools from running, plus locks down your system in various ways, such as restricting which websites you can visit, barring access to Registry Editor, and even crippling Safe mode, inside which most antimalware tools can at least attempt to clean up the mess. To be fair, Windows 10 makes it hard enough to access Safe mode these days, so we’re not sure why malware bothers, but we digress.

The solution here lies in visiting your security vendor’s site to locate recovery media that includes a special version of your antimalware product that has network access to update itself, then focuses on detecting and cleaning malware. Depending on the tool and the infection, you should find any collateral damage has also been repaired, although tools such as Windows Repair ( www.tweaking.com) and Complete Internet Repair ( www.rizonesoft.com) can be used in Windows proper after the malware has been scrubbed if this doesn’t prove to be the case.

These tools are completely free to use, so you don’t need to be a paying purchaser of a particular package to use it. Just download the ISO file to the hard drive of a clean, working PC, then right-click it, and choose “Burn disc image” to burn a DVD from it, or use a tool such as Rufus (https:// rufus.akeo.ie) to create a bootable USB flash drive from the ISO’s contents, if the vendor in question doesn’t provide a live CD/ USB creation tool.

Major antimalware vendors offering bootable recovery discs include Kaspersky ( https:// s up port.k as per sky. co.uk/4162), Norton (https :// security. symantec. com/nbrt/nbrt.aspx), ESET ( www.eset.com/int/ support/sysrescue), and AVG ( www.avg.com/wwen/download.prd-arl). Just Google your antimalware vendor and the words “recovery disc” or “rescue disc” to see if it’s covered.