Antivirus applications are considered as one of the “must-have” programs for any computer. They help in securing your PC (and the data on it) against all kinds of viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Now, if you have a capable antivirus program installed on your computer, then there’s nothing to worry about. But what if you are work on another PC (e.g. a computer in a public library), that doesn’t have antivirus software installed? Well, that’s where the portable antivirus software comes into the picture.
Take a quick look at the best portable antivirus from the list below. You can click on the link below and move to the corresponding program. After that, you can go through some important pointers to find the best software.
Let’s discuss a couple of key points that you should keep in mind before depending on the portable antivirus software.
Now, that we’ve learned about the portable antivirus software, let’s take a look at the best portable antivirus software you can use in 2020.
Best Portable Antivirus Software for Windows
1. Microsoft Safety Scanner
Microsoft security scanner is a scanning tool that’s designed to provide on-demand scanning to help remove spyware, viruses, and other bad stuff. Unlike a traditional program that’s installed on your computer, the Microsoft Safety Scanner is just an executable file that you can load in your USB drive.
Cons
- Expires after 10 days
Download Microsoft Safety Scanner (Free)
It’s not the lightest thing out there, but Emsisoft Emergency Kit packs in some serious punch for removing all kind of viruses, key-loggers etc. from any computer. Unlike other scanners in the list, this one requires a quick installation, as it extracts from program files. Once done, you can quickly jump into the scanning process.
- Lightweight and portable
- No installation required
- Both GUI and command-line interface
- Detects malware and keyloggers
- Quarantine support
- Disk Access
- Batch Scan
Cons
Download Emsisoft Emergency Kit (Free)
Zemana AntiMalware is a popular antivirus that is portable and lightweight. You can install it on your PC within seconds and get started with virus removal. Unlike other portable antiviruses, this one does not skip on any kind of malicious programs. It looks for both malware as well as spyware on your system, and has powerful abilities to remove them. On top of that, it also detects rogue browser add-ons, adware, unwanted apps, and more.
Pros
Download Zemana AntiMalware (Free trial for 30 days, Premium plan starts at $25/year)
Generally, people use portable antivirus to scan an infected computer by isolating it and connecting the system through another recovery environment. If you are also one of those users then you can try out Hiren’s BootCD PE (HBCD). It’s one of the most popular recovery environments that offer you all sorts of tools to rescue your computer.
It comes with two antivirus programs: ESET Online Scanner and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, and you can use them to remove malicious programs without even booting your PC. Also, the best part is that you can flash HBCD on a USB drive and boot into a secure environment to perform all sorts of rescue operations without the fear of data loss. I know it’s by no means a lightweight program to recover your system, but it gets the job done.
Download Hiren’s BootCD PE (Free)
McAfee GetSusp is a new toolkit developed for enterprises, but general consumers can also take advantage of this portable antivirus. It allows you to quickly look for malicious programs that are otherwise not detectable through traditional antiviruses. It uses a combination of clever heuristics and queries McAfee’s online database of suspicious files to detect harmful programs.
Download McAfee GetSusp (Free)
6. Avast Rescue Disk
Similar to Hiren’s BootCD PE, you can create a Rescue Disk using Avast. You will be able to completely isolate the infected system and remove malware using the Avast Rescue Disk. You just need to install Avast Antivirus on any other computer and from there you can create a Rescue Disk on a USB drive.
- Lengthy process
Create Avast Rescue Disk (Free)
Norton, as you all know, is a popular name when it comes to antivirus software, and the Norton Power Eraser is no exception. It’s a lightweight, standalone utility that can quickly detect and remove even the most aggressive of the viruses. In addition, it can get rid of unwanted applications of root-kits.
- Powerful virus removal
- Uses Norton cloud definition
- Signature-based detection engine
- Can be booted from USB drive
Download Norton Power Eraser (Free)
McAfee Stinger is a simple yet powerful tool that can scan (and remove) root-kits, registry modules, boot sectors and a lot more. The standalone program can be configured to execute different actions (remove, repair etc.), as required.
Download McAfee Stinger (Free)
The lightweight and portable version of Dr. Web CureIt antivirus software weighs around 175MB, and it is yet another tool that’s worth checking out. Despite its size, you don’t have to go through any installation process with Dr. Web CureIt, unlike Emsisoft Emergency Kit. You can click the downloaded file and get started with the scan.
Dr. Web CureIt! runs an express scan to find different kinds of viruses, adware, and more. Once the scanning is done, Dr. Web CureIt! also gives you an option to “Neutralize” the threats, which is really handy as it eliminates the need to delete the files manually.
Download Dr. Web CureIt! (Free)
Looking for a powerhouse anti-malware application for using on the go? Comodo Cleaning Essentials is all you need. It can scan (and remove) everything from viruses to bad registry keys to root-kits, and integrates with Comodo’s cloud scanners to provide real-time safety reports about unknown processes.
Download Comodo Cleaning Essentials (Free, Paid plan starts at $17.99 per year)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What’s the Need for Portable Antivirus?
Portable antivirus is generally used by users who want to quickly scan a system before using it (like libraries and internet cafes). It’s also used to find malware and suspicious programs on a heavily infected computer. Since you can’t install a traditional antivirus on an infected system, these portable antivirus programs help you find the root issue and allow you to remove them without even turning on the system.
If you want to improve your PC’s security then I would recommend you to regularly update the virus definition of the antivirus you are using. And turn on real-time protection. For most users, the native Windows Defender is quite good, but if you are not satisfied with it then you can find the best antivirus for Windows 10 from our detailed list.
The process to use a portable antivirus program is different for every tool, but generally, you just need to scan the system and remove the threats if the tool supports it.