Need Free Anti Virus Software Download

[ojisan]

About a week ago 94 year old Mom was on the internet looking for a recipe for how to cook salmon and ended up with a nasty ransomware virus.
It has locked up her computer and if she tries to use it displays porn and a pay us now message.
Mom lives over 100 miles away and is too embarrassed to take it to a repair shop because of what's on the screen.
My plan is / was to download an anti-virus program and go visit Mom so I can fix her computer.
So...
In the past I have been able to download malwarebytes free sample to a clean computer and then move the bytes program to a stick, then move the bytes stick to the infected computer to fix it.
I can't seem to do that now, I tried malwarebytes and Avast and they both don't seem to allow full download to stick...(can download to stick but message box says it will be "missing properties" (still functions without properties ?)

Any suggestions for a free download that is transferable?

Or am I wasting my time trying to do this and she needs to take it to a repair place?

Thanks in advance for any help and insight.

[subscriber]

Have you tried to do a system restore; first booting up in safe mode? Restore to a date before the virus downloaded. Keep the PC running and download Trend micro free virus removal tools. It should be able to identify the virus and help you get rid of it (and the download file that brought it in).

https://www.trendmicro.com/en_ie/forHome/products/free-tools.html

Yes, I have used TM to remove a virus...

[ojisan]

Mom says it starts in safe mode only now and she can't do anything with it.
If she clicks MS Edge, Firefox or Word the virus comes up.
Tough to work with Mom over the phone, she's not computer literate at all.
That's why I think I need to get an anti virus loaded in a stick to get it into her computer.
Can the TM be loaded to a stick?

[subscriber]

I don't know; but assume the download is a portable executable. My suggestion is to contact TM and ask: https://success.trendmicro.com/conta...-north-america

Or, download and try running it on your own PC. Possibly copying it from the stick to your C-drive first. If it works for you, it will probably work for your mother. One aspect is compatibility with the operating system - depending on the age of the PC in question.

If the PC has a CD drive, that might be another option.

[WoodTurner]

That's strange about MB, that was always my go to for helping people out. I'd look into programs that are "portable" meaning they don't have to be installed on the computer itself. You can just put them on the flash drive and run it straight from that.
Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool should be a portable solution, though I've never used it.

[Ivan275]

May be quicker, easier, safer to just to back up her bookmarks , My Documents/Downloads/Pictures/Videos/Music folders and do a full wipe. Reinstall acrobat, skype, teamviewer, chrome/firefox her printer and do all the windows updates. Make sure you have all the passwords.

Have you tried: https://www.malwarebytes.com/techbench I have not but it may be the version of Malwarebytes version you want.

[subscriber]

How does one avoid backing up the virus, so it wakes up on the new machine, Ivan?

[ojisan]

Could not download TM to stick.

I found Norton Bootable Recovery Tool.
It can be put on disc or stick to move to other PCs.
I got it loaded to the stick.
Long list of instructions go with it.
Restores the operating system to normal.
It will not decrypt the files.
The files should be deleted as the virus may hide there.

Fortunately Mom does has Corbomite so we can recover her files from them after the computer is fixed and cleaned out.

I'm going to take a remote hard drive along and if I can get it all back to normal I will make a back up copy on the drive.

Thanks everyone!

[subscriber]

A good plan.

[Ivan275]

How does one avoid backing up the virus, so it wakes up on the new machine, Ivan?

Bookmarks, videos, pictures and documents are easy to scan when you are done and will not spread anything unless you open them in a application that can be exploited.

If this was my computer it will be a pain backing it up because I have all sort of things all over the place. But we are talking about an elderly lady's computer, I don't personally know her but chances are she has very few files/programs that were not part of what the computer came with originally from the store.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Ivan275]

Could not download TM to stick.

I found Norton Bootable Recovery Tool.
It can be put on disc or stick to move to other PCs.
I got it loaded to the stick.
Long list of instructions go with it.
Restores the operating system to normal.
It will not decrypt the files.
The files should be deleted as the virus may hide there.

Fortunately Mom does has Corbomite so we can recover her files from them after the computer is fixed and cleaned out.

I'm going to take a remote hard drive along and if I can get it all back to normal I will make a back up copy on the drive.

Thanks everyone!

Careful recovering files from Corbomite, be 100% sure that the problem you have now was not backed up there.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[ojisan]

LOL at me, it's Carbonite not Corbomite (The secret Star Trek Enterprise self-destruction element).
Mom's files should be pretty simple to deal with as mostly she just writes her memoirs on Word, she does not do any banking or other stuff on the computer.
Mom had let her Carbonite subscription expire but renewed it about a week before the virus hit so the files there should be current and good.
Thanx for the heads-up.

[67Cuda]

Thank goodness she had Carbonite, because it's going to be a complete re-install. No other way to be sure everything is gone.
Not that I'm someone who likes anti-virus software, but I would look at PC Matic.

[Cowboy T]

Since I do cybersecurity for a living, I can tell you that today's malware is very difficult to "clean up". You're generally nowadays looking at a full-blown reinstall.

Would something like Linux Mint or Ubuntu be an option? She'd never have that problem again, and given what she's doing, it seems like this might be a good option for her.