Sunbelt Software has released a free command-line version of its popular VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware utility.
This scanner, intended for use on systems where malware interferes with GUI-based security products, runs in a Windows 2000/XP/Vista command prompt or in Safe Mode with Command Prompt. It uses the same scanning engine and malware definitions as the full VIPRE product. To ensure up-to-date definitions users should download the product anew before each use.
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Where many similar products are only free for non-commercial use, VIPRE PC Rescue is billed as "an effective choice for consumers and system administrators". The tool can perform a deep scan, remove rootkits, log removal events, or schedule a boot-time scan for the next system reboot. Sunbelt states that directions for creating a bootable rescue CD "will be available shortly". I hope the company will consider releasing a downloadable ISO image like that of the free Avira AntiVir Rescue System.
Just to be clear -- in case you need this tool, chances are you'll also need access to a second PC to make sure you can download the most recently updated version.
I took the product for a spin to see just how it works. I was somewhat surprised at the size of the download -- over 130 Mbytes! That seemed high for a utility with no graphical user interface, especially considering that the Norton Internet Security 2009 install package is barely 60 MB. Sunbelt says it has new technologies in development that will bring the download back down to the 60-MB range in a month or so.
I copied the download to a USB key and transferred it to a test system in which malware had disabled Command Prompt, MSCONFIG, REGEDIT, and various other tools. I rebooted the system into Safe Mode with Command Prompt and launched the rescue tool. It installed quickly and went right to work scanning the system. In just a couple of minutes it completed the scan and reported success. After booting back into regular Windows, I checked to see how well it cleaned the system. Malware no longer interfered with system commands, but my analysis tools showed that the cleanup was incomplete.
I ran the rescue tool again in a Command Prompt window and it quickly found more threat traces to remove. I rebooted the system, as it requested, and the boot-time scanner removed still more traces of malware. This time, on running my analysis tools, I found all executable malware traces gone.
While my evaluation wasn't exhaustive, it demonstrated that VIPRE PC Rescue can indeed clean up in a situation where full-scale security software may not be able to install. Keep it in mind if ever you run into a system so gummed-up with malware that ordinary solutions won't work.
Source Citation
"Hands On with VIPRE PC Rescue." PC Magazine Online 12 Mar. 2009. Computer Database. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
Document URL
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Gale Document Number:A195524311
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