Portable Software

[Bigaldoc]

This may be an unusual request but I am about to be presented with the laptop of a friend (tomorrow) that seems to be almost inoperable due to malware or virus.

I need a lead to a portable malware program and one for virus elimination please. Locally, I use Avast and Malwarebytes but I'm 99% sure that neither has a portable version. I don't know for sure that I'll need them but just in case... I don't know until I see it if the machine is infected badly enough to prevent installation of new software.

Any recommendations, please?

[HansV]

See Portable Anti Spyware Malware | Portable USB Pen Drive Applications and Portable Antivirus – Ultimate List of Best USB Anti Virus.

[Goshute]

Included on Hans first list is SAS portable, which I'd probably lead with. The F-Secure Blacklight Portable Rootkit Tool and the Kaspersky Portable Virus Removal Tool also look promising.

[Bigaldoc]

Thanks very much, Hans! Reading and downloading as I write.

[Bigaldoc]

Included on Hans first list is ...

Thanks, John. I DID go for the SAS and for virus, there's a thing called ClamWin that Hans' link sez is the best, so I've grabbed a copy.

I don't know what I'm gonna be faced with as it's a staff friend at the nursing home and one of their sysops has been "working on" the laptop unsuccessfully. So, I'm not too hopeful, but a challenge is a challenge...

[wasbit]

IIRC MBAM (the free version of malwarebytes) has to work in normal mode whilst other scanners need to be run in safe mode. Perhaps that is why there is no portable version.

Depending on the nasties, sometimes the scanner .exe has to be renamed so that the malware no longer recognises it.

Another option would be a Linux/Rescue cd which seem to be offered by the main antimalware players.

Anyway, good luck.

[HansV]

IIRC MBAM (the free version of malwarebytes) has to work in normal mode whilst other scanners need to be run in safe mode. Perhaps that is why there is no portable version.

Also, MalwareBytes Anti-Malware currently needs Visual Basic Runtime to be installed.

[Bigaldoc]

Funny thing about the MB topic. While I was cruisin' around the web looking at and looking for "portable" anti-malware apps, I came across a forum discussion about portability. One of the participants was the "CEO" of Malwarebytes. The gist from him was that a portable version should be coming soon.

Somewhere in the thread, someone reported having a successful "workaround" of some kind and this CEO seemed very upset by that, so the poster removed his thread out of either fear or decency!

[stuck]

there's a thing called ClamWin

which still works with Win 9x

Ken