If malware hinders your ability to run standard antivirus software bootable rescue disks may help. These disks allow you to check your computer for malware without Windows and usually find malware that antivirus software could ignore. Certain tools can scan for the Master Boot Record of the hard drive. This is a feature that is particularly beneficial to eliminate persistent or difficult-to-clean threats.

These bootable programs typically use a basic text interface, but they also include customization options so you can choose to scan specific folders or files, just size or type of file, and more. The most effective of these tools will come with a an graphical user interface as well as support for more advanced threats such as rootkits and ransomware.

AVG Rescue CD, with its easy but thorough GUI and a variety of scanning options, is an excellent example. It’s also one of the few that can provide an all-inclusive MBR scan which is normally impossible to do from an unbootable program. It’s not the most efficient program on this list and its text-only user interface isn’t for everyone.

Kaspersky Rescue Disk is a great alternative is quick and has a well-designed UI. It also supports more advanced infections. It offers features that you’ll rarely see in other bootable antivirus applications including the ability to scan boot sectors, hidden startup objects and files that aren’t fileless as well as the entire hard drive. You can also set exclusions to reduce the time it takes to check for malware. In our tests, it found all the data security software malware samples we sent to it as well as some that were able to evade detection by other antivirus programs.