Problem Report?

What happens when you run the removal app from the Applications folder?

http://openforum.sophos.com/t5/Mac-tools-help/Remove-uninstall-Sophos-Anti-Virus-for-Mac-Home-Edition-the-free/td-p/14271

As far as I can tell, the application doesn't exist anymore at all.
I've used the Sophos Removal tool, the dialogue box still shows up.
I tried to download Sophos again, and the box is still there.
It's been running in the background for a few days now because I can't afford to go without my computer, but I can't get it to go away.
(I'm sorry I'm such a newbie at this.  I honestly am at a total loss.)

Possibly give the script a go at the bottom of the thread I linked to previously.

Same link: http://openforum.sophos.com/t5/Mac-tools-help/Remove-uninstall-Sophos-Anti-Virus-for-Mac-Home-Edition-the-free/td-p/14271

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lilv wrote:

As far as I can tell, the application doesn't exist anymore at all.
I've used the Sophos Removal tool, the dialogue box still shows up.
I tried to download Sophos again, and the box is still there.
It's been running in the background for a few days now because I can't afford to go without my computer, but I can't get it to go away.
(I'm sorry I'm such a newbie at this.  I honestly am at a total loss.)

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Clearly your Sophos Removal Tool didn't remove everything, Lily. That effectively makes it an unreliable dud, of course.

That's not encouraging from an outfit that positions itself as a trustworthy guard dog.

Have you tried other 'deep' application removal tools for OSX like e.g. AppCleaner?

When I use that to trash an application by dragging it to the AppCleaner icon, and then look into the trash it often turns out that to uninstall one application in reality many hundreds, even thousands of tiny, but interacting, files get removed! In that forest one or a couple files intentionally left behind is rarely noticed. Unless there's a bug in that buried code that shows up on screen as that dialogue box of yours that betrays that it's still there. Sloppy work by the coder/hacker. Happens all the time. :smileyhappy:

The uninstaller does work - most of the time it seems.  If it didn't this forum would be flooded with posts asking for what to do.  As things are: there are one or two posts from the millions of users.  Not bad, but we don't rest and we want to keep improving the program itself and the removal app too.

We don't recommend any third-party removal tools.  Some mac users will swear by them and I'm sure they may do a good job on certain applications.  However bear in mind that Sophos Anti-Virus isn't a simple application - it's worlds away from Chrome, Firefox, FillZilla, Final Cut Pro X, etc. in that it's not a 'drag it to your Applications folder and it's there to use/drag to Trash and it's gone' program.  It's got an on-access scanner and kexts etc. etc. so it is a complex program that has to get low-level access to the filesystem.  Hence AppZap et al are not going to work properly - there are in fact threads on here about AppZapper messing up the uninstall.

If you run the removal app and it doesn't work have a look in install.log and see if there is an error.  More information: http://openforum.sophos.com/t5/Mac-tools-help/Why-does-the-removal-of-SAV-for-Mac-fail/td-p/18239