[Discuss] Linux bootable tool to clean Windows NTFS infections?

[blu at nedharvey.com (Edward Ned Harvey (blu))]

> From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss-
> bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of Scott Ehrlich
> 
> What Linux bootable tool do people recommend to help clean a [Vista]
> NTFS bootable system?   I'm aiming for an offline solution - antivirus
> and antispyware.
> 
> Something whose definition files for antivirus and antispyware are
> also kept current.

This is the advice I give everyone:  The job of the bad guys is to find any vulnerability in the OS, and exploit it, in order to steal either from you, or from somebody else under your identity.  The job of the good guys is to get customers to pay voluntarily in advance for protection, to prevent every possible exploit.  Last I knew, antivirus/antimalware was a $3-$4b industry, while credit fraud was a $30-$40b industry.  The job of the good guys is fundamentally more difficult, with less resource.

Whenever somebody hires me to clean their PC, I always successfully clean it.  To the point where every tool I can find indicates it's clean.  But a few hours later or a few days later, it's always re-infected.  Because the bad guys are really clever at *installing* vulnerabilities that let them get back in after it's been cleaned.  I haven't seen a single exception to this in the last 10 years.

There is only one strategy that works:  Keep good backups (I use acronis true image) and at the first sign of an infection, simply nuke the whole computer back to yesterday.

If you don't do the backup strategy, reinstall windows, because it's unfortunately a lost cause.