Virus rescue disks can be used in situations where your antivirus program has stopped working. They’re available for a number of different antivirus providers and are easy to use, offering users a range of customizable options for the way they want the program to check the system.

Certain applications provide a more familiar desktop environment, whereas others offer users a range of bonus tools. Kaspersky’s Rescue Disk for instance, is based on Xfce Linux and includes Firefox, Thumar File Manager, and a couple of other applications that are useful for additional purposes. The rescue disk also comes with a feature that allows you to select specific files to be scanned by the service, or specify if Read Full Report you want it to skip files that exceed an amount of size.

Other rescue disks are less sophisticated, such as Trend Micro’s which doesn’t come with a graphic interface and requires you to navigate with the arrow keys. This simple rescue disk compensates for the lack of features by being small and displaying a solid track record in finding malware during AVComparatives‘ real-world protection testing.

ESET’s SysRescue Live is a great choice for those looking for an easier-to-use interface. It is one of the most polished and refined interfaces on this list. It runs the same antivirus engine that is the basis of the full-featured software offered by the company. The user-friendly interface lets you choose a range of customisation options, such as a smart or custom-designed scan, exclusions and whether to perform a quick or a deep scan.