Endpoint Protection

My laptop is infected with some type of virus that has eluded just about every free anti malware and spyware I could find. I would like to scan my laptop using my desktop so that the virus cannot restart the laptop in the middle of a scan as is the usual practice and so I can do it in safe mode. How can I do this?

Hmmm, This is something difficult to achieve. If it was not a laptop I would have suggested you to take the HDD, connect it to the desktop and scan it. But this is not possible, Why don't you do this, run a Full scan in safe mode with Networking.

You could try mapping C:/D:/etc from the laptop as a network drive, and scanning it said mapped drive from the desktop that way, though I personally would be more than a little hesitant to do that, given you have not identified with what you have been infected (and therefore don't know the infection vector).

If it's eluding scans it may be either boot-sector (old school, but making a comeback) or rootkit (in which case it may be impossible to identify all security changes it's made). (There are probably more possibilities I can't think of.) I'd suggest trying a scan without being booted into Windows, from a bootable disk.

If you're an enterprise (corporate) customer, this is available to make a bootable scan disk:

How To Use the Symantec Endpoint Recovery Tool with the Latest Virus Definitions
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH131732

If you're a consumer customer, you have this option:

Downloading the Norton Bootable Recovery Tool for your Norton product
https://www-secure.symantec.com/norton-support/jsp/help-solutions.jsp?ct=us&docid=kb20100820160545EN_EndUserProfile_en_us&layout=Retail&lg=en&product=home&pvid=f-home&q=Norton+bootable+recovery+tool&version=1

Good luck...!

sandra

Hmm...You can map all the drives of your Laptop and then initate a scan from your dekstop on that Shares/mapped drive of the Laptop.

Hi doubtitin2000,

If that desktop machine is runnign SEP 11 or SEP 12.1, this forum is likely to have members who can help.  If you are asking specifically about Norton 360, here's the best forum for that product:

http://community.norton.com/t5/Norton-360/bd-p/Norton_360

Hope this helps!