

Ask HN: Live CD virus scan? - billpg

Hi everyone. I was reading about the recent AV news and I was thinking about my ideal AV product.<p>A big problem (IMO) with AV software is they run inside a running OS. I've been reading about some of the clever things that some rootkit malware does to hide itself away and the AV has to compete on the field.<p>What I'd like instead is to be able to boot the machine with a live CD and have it check out the files on the hard disk before any malware gets to run and hide itself away. The software on the CD would have to download the latest AV signatures and start scanning the dormant files without anything getting in the way.<p>Does such a service exist?<p>Many thanks.
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johng
In for any advice on this, interested as well.

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pinksoda
CD's are not typically rewritable, you can put files on them once and that's
it. CD-ReWritables do exist, but they require additional drivers/software to
be loaded to function- which means loading the OS.

You'll also need the OS loaded for updates via the internet.

