[SOLVED] Would I get better results making a boot able anti-virus usb

[WINTERLORD]

OK I'm looking at hdd as I will need to make a backup as my backup has failed but first I want to make sure my old hard drive doesn't contain any viruses or root kits as iv seen some inconsistency in the past that make me wonder if there's either viruses or root kits on it that just arnt able to be detected with windows file scans so.....

Is making some sort of boot able anti-virus tool better at finding viruses than say booting into windows and scanning for viruses? Or would my results be basicly the same

Is it ideal when looking for viruses to boot off a USB anti-virus program of sorts if so what he the best tool to use to make a boot able anti-virus usb

 

[USAFRet]

Would I get better results making a boot able anti-virus usb

No.
Why would you think so?

 

[hotaru.hino]

If your system isn't infected and Windows Defender hasn't caught anything, then having something else scan the drive will likely not yield anything different. But if you want for peace of mind, sure, make a bootable anti-virus thing. Just make sure to create one on a trusted computer.

Also of note, unless malware is actually executed as a program, it doesn't do anything. And no, malware in say an image file won't get executed if it's loaded by an image viewer because it's loaded as data, not instructions.

 

[WINTERLORD]

No.
Why would you think so?

<Insulting text removed by Moderator>

I rember the days when alot of things where done off boot or in safe mode most tech guys still do to this day. Is a valid question as viruses have gotten complex normaly I don't really bother but if ima copy to a new drive ima sure make sure is clean to the best of my ability ideally I'd change the motherboard too cause of hard to find root kits in firmware but anyways however Im not exactly rich so isn't always an option

because viruses can be pretty complex and iv redonemy pc a few times in past many years from what i think was a virus and if you knew me ud understand but it would not suprise me one bit if i get hacked from time to time the russians and chinease love me what can i say.

Even the best security practices arnt always enough

i believe in the past it was better to boot of an antivirus program rather than load through windows wasnt sure if with modern software if it still makes a difference

 

[USAFRet]

2 versions of a particular AV tool.
1 installed, 1 bootable.

Except for the booting part, they are the same. Same algorithm, same engine, same virus database.

Now, checking with some other tool may well be a good idea. Always good to get a second opinion.