Getting a virus is bad. Getting a virus that causes your computer to crash when you reboot is even worse. We'll show you how to clean viruses from your computer even if you can't boot into Windows by using a virus scanner in a Ubuntu Live CD.
There are a number of virus scanners available for Ubuntu, but we've found that avast! is the best choice, with great detection rates and usability.
Unfortunately, avast! does not have a proper 64-bit version, and forcing the install does not work properly.
If you want to use avast! to scan for viruses, then ensure that you have a 32-bit Ubuntu Live CD.
If you currently have a 64-bit Ubuntu Live CD on a bootable flash drive, it does not take long to wipe your flash drive and go through
our guide again and select normal (32-bit) Ubuntu 9.10 instead of the x64 edition. For the purposes of fixing your Windows installation, the 64-bit Live CD will not provide any benefits.
Once Ubuntu 9.10 boots up, open up Firefox by clicking on its icon in the top panel.
Conclusion Running avast! from a Ubuntu Live CD can clean the vast majority of viruses from your Windows PC. This is another reason to always have a Ubuntu Live CD ready just in case something happens to your Windows installation!
