Macintosh Antivirus Software: Uninstall Existing Antivirus Software
Important Notes
Macintosh users running the Tiger (OS X.4) operating system should make sure they are running at least OS X.4.3 before installing Sophos. To determine the version of your operating system, go to the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, and look just under the bold Mac OS X. For instructions on updating your operating system, see the next step of these instructions.
Already have antivirus software?
You are not required to use the Simmons antivirus product (Sophos Anti-Virus), but we recommend that you do. If you are relying on the antivirus software that came installed on your computer, be aware that it is likely to expire within a year of your purchase. If you purchased antivirus software separately (i.e. you have a CD with the software on it, and installed it yourself), you may choose to continue to use your own antivirus software; just be sure you have configured it to download updates at least once a week, and to scan your computer daily. If you are sure that you do not want to install the Simmons antivirus software, please go to the next step on this Disinfect & Protect web site and install Windows Defender.Prepare to install the free Simmons antivirus software by uninstalling any other antivirus software
Please note: as indicated in the Terms of Use, faculty, staff and students of Simmons College may only install the antivirus software that Simmons provides on one computer. If you have more than one computer, please purchase and install separate antivirus software for that computer.
IMPORTANT: You must uninstall any other antivirus software on your computer before you install the free antivirus software provided to Simmons students by Simmons College. If your computer has more than one antivirus package installed at the same time, you will encounter serious problems when their scans interfere with one another.
Common virus scanner products include Symantec's Norton Antivirus and McAfee's Virex. Before you install Sophos AntiVirus, you must remove any other antivirus software. If you have Virex installed, you will need to run the Virex uninstaller that came on your Virex CD.Symantec or Norton Antivirus
If you have Symantec or Norton Antivirus installed (from Simmons last year, for example), you will need to run the Symantec Uninstaller.
- First you need to download the free Symantec uninstaller from the Simmons web site: Download Symantec uninstaller. Your Mac may automatically decompress the file. Otherwise locate the symantec_uninstaller_102.sit file on your hard drive and double click on it to decompress (typically your machine will default to using the free StuffIt Expander to open the sit file).
- Now double-click on the Symantec Uninstaller icon. A window opens; it shows you the list of Symantec products that are installed. Click in all of the boxes under the "Delete" column so that a check appears in each box. Click Uninstall to uninstall the software.
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A window pops up showing the steps that the uninstaller took to remove the software. Click Close to continue.
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A new window opens, informing you that you must restart your computer to continue. Click Restart to restart your computer. When your computer is back up, return to these instructions to install Sophos.
