Avira Rescue System

Pros Bootable rescue system scans and removes malware even when you can't boot Windows. To avoid causing problems, scanner doesn't meddle with essential Windows files. System includes browser, Registry editor, file manager, and Linux terminal.

Cons Full scan completely disabled one test system. Tech support not available to help recover disabled system. So-so cleanup scores. Bottom Line The bootable Avira Rescue System will scan and clean malware even when you can't boot Windows, though I expected a more thorough cleanup than I got. Beware; if its cleanup disables your computer, as it did one of my test computers, you'll have to fix the problem yourself.

By Neil J. Rubenking

When malware has taken over your computer and barred you from its resources, it's a little late to start thinking about installing an antivirus utility. Even in less extreme cases, entrenched malware may interfere with antivirus installation or scanning. The free, cleanup-only Avira Rescue System has no problem with Windows-centric malware, because it boots into a custom Ubuntu distro in order to perform its scan. The product does have some limitations, though, and its "repair" rendered one system unusable.

To get started, you download the ISO image and burn it to CD on a clean computer. Then simply boot the problem computer from the CD. The Rescue System loads quickly and its Welcome page immediately offers to scan for problems. Just pick which partitions to scan (typically you'll choose all of them) and set the scan running.

Success, or Not
The antivirus scan takes care of problems as it finds them, so, once it's finished, it's finished. I did note that on almost half of my test systems it reported "The wizard was not finished successfully," and advised checking the scan report. From the report I gathered that the scanner doesn't meddle with malware-infected Windows files, or with files in certain sensitive areas. That does makes some sense, as too-aggressive "fixing" can disable Windows altogether.

For testing purposes, I saved a copy of the scan report to the actual C: drive. I did need to do a little Linux research to figure out where I'd find access to the computer's actual file system. After noting which malware samples were found and saving the report, I rebooted each system back to normal Windows.

Permanent Collateral Damage
Despite the product's attempts to avoid damaging important files, the scan rendered one test system unbootable. Similar to what happened with Panda Cloud Cleaner, the test system went into an loop, logging on and logging off again endlessly.

I booted back into Avira Rescue System and checked my tech support options. There's a very nice built-in support system that includes a variety of access choices; I opted for live chat.

The support agent was very polite, but made it clear that only licensed users of Avira products are entitled to tech support. The agent suggested I install a trial of one of the products; that would get me into the system. Of course, with no ability to boot into Windows I couldn't install anything.

In the end the agent confirmed that even though Avira Rescue System trashed my test PC, the company wouldn't take responsibility for solving the problem. Perhaps I should have read the very first screen more closely; it did say "repairing a system might lead to data loss or damage."

Scanning and cleaning a computer with the Rescue System was wonderfully quick and easy. Under other circumstances, that would have been a five-star installation experience. However, when a product kills your PC in order to cure it, that's a really poor experience. Like Panda Cloud Cleaner, Avira Rescue System earns no stars at all in this category.

Not Directly Lab-Tested
My own tests offer real-world hands on experience, but the big independent testing labs perform a broader range of tests than I can manage. Note, though, that while most of the labs test Avira's technology, they're not testing the Rescue System product itself, so the results aren't directly applicable.

ICSA Labs certifies Avira's technology for virus detection and cleaning; Avira doesn't participate with West Coast Labs. In all of the recent tests by Virus Bulletin, Avira has received VB100 certification.

AV-Comparatives awarded Avira its highest rating, ADVANCED+, in both a simple on-demand scanning test and a retrospective test that attempts to measure detection of zero-day malware. In the company's real-world dynamic test, Avira rated ADVANCED. As for the threefold evaluation performed by AV-Test, Avira scored 12.5 of a possible 18 in the last two tests. That's a bit low. Bitdefender got 17 points both times, and Kaspersky averaged 15.8.

For a more in-depth description of the labs and the tests they perform, see How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

Avira Rescue System lab tests chart

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