Best portable Windows app to scan a PC for any Vulnerabilities?

[squint72]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and just a quick question....I'm trying to find a portable app that I can use on any PC from time to time that does a comprehensive scan for viruses, malware, spyware, ransomware, etc.  It doesn't have to be free.  Thoughts/Suggestions?  Thanks.

[Shimejii]

Windows Defender, And malware bytes.

 

Otherwise what exactly are you doing that you think you are getting them? Are you downloading from suspicious sites? Are you not using an ad-blocker?

[Murasaki]

Autoruns 

[OddOod]

Given the fact that all reputable AV programs operate off the same publicly available database of virus signatures, I rarely find any value in anything beyond Windows Defender

[KnoT]

Windows defender is just crap,


Malwarebytes
HitmanPro
Norton Power Eraser

[KnoT]

2 minutes ago, OddOod said:

Given the fact that all reputable AV programs operate off the same publicly available database of virus signatures, I rarely find any value in anything beyond Windows Defender

Almost any malware that has more than 2 lanes of code will add it self to Windows FW and Defender exceptions, and its a good idea to check as well if there is anything that should not be there

[squint72]

Sorry guys, I probably didn't explain correctly....What I want to do is be able to plug a flash drive into any random PC and do a scan (regardless of what that PC already has installed on it) to see if it comes back clean for any viruses, malware, etc.   "Emsisoft Emergency Kit" on a quick google search seems to come up for a good portable app to do this?   Thanks again....

[David A. Tatum]

Well, I WAS going to recommend Malwarebytes Techbench, but it seems it's not available for personal use; unless you have a B2B account, it's just not available.  And at least locally, Kaspersky's set of portable options are no longer legally allowed to operate, so their scanner is no longer available.  Only other option I have experience with is HitmanPro, which works well but isn't as feature-rich as the others I'm familiar with.

[Mark Kaine]

On 12/5/2024 at 7:58 PM, Shimejii said:

Windows Defender, And malware bytes.

 

Otherwise what exactly are you doing that you think you are getting them? Are you downloading from suspicious sites? Are you not using an ad-blocker?

i think op wants a "portable" app that runs from usb....so they can scan multiple computers without installing anything...?

 

there's definitely programs that can do that... like, ahem, "password finders" etc... but anti-virus might be too dumb?

[Mark Kaine]

On 12/6/2024 at 4:28 AM, David A. Tatum said:

Well, I WAS going to recommend Malwarebytes Techbench, but it seems it's not available for personal use; unless you have a B2B account, it's just not available.  And at least locally, Kaspersky's set of portable options are no longer legally allowed to operate, so their scanner is no longer available.  Only other option I have experience with is HitmanPro, which works well but isn't as feature-rich as the others I'm familiar with.

i think kasperk1 is still legal outside of the US of A the not so free anymore 

 

 

*although i would not recommend it as i see it as russian spyware/malware (always has been) 

[Mark Kaine]

On 12/5/2024 at 9:03 PM, squint72 said:

Sorry guys, I probably didn't explain correctly....What I want to do is be able to plug a flash drive into any random PC and do a scan (regardless of what that PC already has installed on it) to see if it comes back clean for any viruses, malware, etc.   "Emsisoft Emergency Kit" on a quick google search seems to come up for a good portable app to do this?   Thanks again....

i knew it you do the whole bond/spy/matrix movie thing, irl! awesome!  yeah, EMI is reputable afaik.

[David A. Tatum]

42 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

i think kasperk1 is still legal outside of the US of A the not so free anymore 

 

 

*although i would not recommend it as i see it as russian spyware/malware (always has been) 

 

While I am a US resident, Kaspersky isn't JUST banned in the US; there were several other countries and regions that started banning it in 2022 (as a result of the Ukraine invasion).  The US ban is probably the most significant one, however.

The accusations that it's Russian Spyware have always been overblown, however.  Malware... well, it's NEVER been as bad as Norton or McAfee, and its portable removal tools (especially its rootkit remover) were some of the best in the business, back when I was professionally responsible for such things (which was some years back, admittedly).  Probably didn't deserve the ban.

[Mark Kaine]

On 12/10/2024 at 5:05 AM, David A. Tatum said:

 

While I am a US resident, Kaspersky isn't JUST banned in the US; there were several other countries and regions that started banning it in 2022 (as a result of the Ukraine invasion).  The US ban is probably the most significant one, however.

The accusations that it's Russian Spyware have always been overblown, however.  Malware... well, it's NEVER been as bad as Norton or McAfee, and its portable removal tools (especially its rootkit remover) were some of the best in the business, back when I was professionally responsible for such things (which was some years back, admittedly).  Probably didn't deserve the ban.

yeah i never really thought its actual *spyware*, just bad, barely above mcafee... i mean it deleted STEAM and then it deleted MWB... -.-

 

all i needed to know... lol.

 

that said there's definitely a risk now (even if none voluntarily) so i def understand why western countries don't want it.