Online Virus Scanning The easy way, using Knoppix live CD By Carl Weisheit

Why would you need a Live CD and an antivirus website to scan your system? If your OS is damaged by malware you will need a rescue disc to check it out or back up important data. The website is always free, updated and ready. Other antivirus packages (F-PROT etc.) on other live disks must be installed and/or updated online anyway. This is one of the simplest methods to check out your damaged Windows or Linux system.

Boot up with Knoppix CD and start Mozilla web browser Select Mozilla here, may be Firefox or Ice weasel depending on distro.

Goto Select “free scan”

Agree to terms of use Select here

Housecall will download a kernel to scan the system If it gives you a kernel error just return to free scan page and begin again. Housecall will automatically try a different kernel when you get back to this point. They have several different kernels to work with different platforms.

Run the scanning software Select run

Select where to scan I recommend you select scan complete system

Choose to add Adobe Flash Player when prompted or you will miss important graphical information Follow prompts for download

Housecall will start scanning your system Notice the status gauge and estimated time to completion

View Results Select Results tab here to see what was found Listing of virus and spyware found

Check out the online encyclopedia for info on any virus or spyware found Select tab here

Choose to delete or isolate suspicious files The “are you sure?” box demanded by lawyers

After scanning: Some malware cannot be removed by the website, so take note of their location and remove them manually. You may have to use your original OS disc (XP etc.) to replace damaged or missing files. Use your Live CD to back up important data first!

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