Applies to Sophos Home for Windows
What's happening
Sophos Home detects another Antivirus software (or leftovers of it) is installed on the system and shows the following message:
Third party antivirus
Running two antivirus programs can reduce your security. For maximum protection, we suggest you uninstall <antivirus name> Antivirus.
More information regarding running Sophos Home alongside other AVs:
Can I use Sophos Home with my other security or antivirus software?
What to do
Note: These steps do not apply to Windows Defender, as it automatically adapts to other antivirus programs installed on the system. For more info see: Integration with Windows Security Center
There are 2 actions required:
1 - Removing the third party software
2 - Dismissing the alert after removal
Ensure the third party antivirus has been removed from the computer. If needed, contact their support teams for assistance (some antivirus software requires a removal tool to fully uninstall. You may search the vendor's site for removal instructions).
Find Removal Instructions by Vendor For Mac and Windows
For your convenience, we have made a list of some of the usual 3rd party antivirus software websites. If yours is not on the list, please refer to their website, or use a search engine to locate it.
Mac
Find Removal Instructions by Vendor For Mac
Bitdefender |
Malwarebytes |
Norton |
Panda |
Symantec |
Trend Micro |
CleanmymacX Instructions:
Although not a traditional Third Party Anti-Virus, CleanMyMacX does include a Malware Monitor portion that causes a similar effect to the installation of a second Anti-Virus installation on the computer. The steps to disable the Malware Monitor can be found through the following link:
Windows
Find Removal Instructions by Vendor For Windows
AVG |
Avast |
Avira |
Bitdefender |
Eset |
Malwarebytes |
McAfee |
Norton |
Panda |
Symantec |
Trend Micro |
Webroot |
Removing the alert from Sophos Home:
Once you have completed removing the third party antivirus, click on the x to dismiss the message in Sophos Home:
Related articles
Sophos Home Getting started guide