Depending on how your version of Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac (referred to as 'SAV for Mac' for short) is managed, the process for uninstalling it varies slightly. This article guides you through the uninstall process step-by-step.
Note: You cannot uninstall the program by dragging it from the Applications folder to the Trash - you have to run the removal program. Don't worry if you have deleted the removal program as this article includes what to do for that situation too.
Applies to the following Sophos product(s) and version(s) Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home EditionSophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X
In order to successfully remove the program you must know which version of SAV for Mac you have. You may have paid for the software, installed the free version directly from Sophos.com, or 'got it free' from your work or college. However you got it, if you are not 100% sure of the version: go to article 112457, confirm the version and then proceed to step two.
If you just need to uninstall the program from one computer proceed straight to step three below.
When you have a big network of Macs you may want a way of removing the program that doesn't need you to actually go to each computer - if so see article 14179.
To uninstall SAV for Mac from a single computer you need to run the removal application. You will have confirmed the version installed in step one - you must know this before proceeding.
The Home Edition version differs from all other SAV for Mac versions as its uninstaller is located in a different place. However, it is important to confirm the version you have installed as getting it free from work or college is not the same as the free Home Edition.
The removal program for the Home Edition is located in the Applications folder. This means Spotlight can find the program for you. On the keyboard, press Cmd (⌘) + Spacebar to open a Spotlight search, type 'Remove Sophos'. If the program exists (i.e., you haven't moved it to Trash) Spotlight will find it and you can press enter to run it. Example (click to enlarge):
Proceed through the wizard to uninstall the program - step four below explains about the password you are prompted to enter.
If the program is not found, open a Finder window, browse to the 'Applications' folder, and look for 'Remove Sophos Anti-Virus'. If it's not there, either you don't have the Home Edition of SAV for Mac or you deleted the application manually. Follow the instructions below to see if you have a business version of SAV for Mac installed, or if not, how to remove the program with the remove tool.
All business (paid for) versions of SAV for Mac have the removal tool located in the /Library/Sophos Anti-Virus/ folder. The following animation (which is on a loop so wait for the black introduction screen) shows how to locate the removal program.
Double-click the program to run it and proceed through the wizard to uninstall the program.
If you don't see the removal program - and you are sure you don't have the Home Edition as described above - then go to step C.
Don't worry if you have 'lost' the local removal program. We have made a removal tool that you can download from article 121206.
During the removal process you will be prompted to enter your user password. This is the same password that you entered to install the program - or any program that needs to 'install' rather than be dragged to the Applications folder. It's also the same password used to unlock the padlock that you see on System preferences windows and make changes to the computer's settings. Here's an example of the prompt:
Only you will know this password so we can't tell you what to enter. By knowing and entering the correct account details, the installer knows you are allowed to remove programs from the computer.
If you are trying to remove the business version there is a chance you'll see a 'Tamper Protection' password prompt before you are asked for your user account password, this may appear as soon as the removal program is started. The prompt will look like this...
Tamper Protection is a feature of the business version which is designed to prevent end users, who may be admins of other things on the computer and hence allowed to change most things on the Mac, from removing the antivirus protection. If you see this prompt and don't know the password contact your IT administrator or Helpdesk. If you are the IT administrator then you'll know how the endpoint software is managed. Hence see either article 119175 or for Enterprise Console see the Help documentation to allow an uninstall of endpoint software when Tamper Protection is enabled.
Once the uninstall has successfully removed the program you'll see the success screen. Example:
If you see the screen above then the uninstaller has successfully removed the program, you can click 'Close' and that's it - you're done. If there was a problem uninstalling the program go to step 6.
We do love feedback, so if you aren't re-installing, please use the article feedback form and tell us what you thought of the program and why you decided to remove it.
If there was a problem with the removal process you'd like to get it fixed and so would we!
If you're in a hurry you can download the removal tool from article 121206 and run that. However it's not 100% guaranteed to get around whatever was causing a problem for the regular uninstaller. We'd recommend that you post your install.log file to our community and we'll go from there. Watch the video on our YouTube channel about viewing the install log in the Console app and filtering the log.
Every comment submitted here is read (by a human) but we do not reply to specific technical questions. If you need technical support please post a question to our community. Alternatively for licensed products open a support ticket.