The District is moving away from the current antivirus product, Sophos Antivirus. Over the coming weeks the District will be migrating to a new antivirus product provided by Microsoft. There is a version of this product available to home users called Microsoft Security Essentials. If you are currently using the District provided Sophos Antivirus product on your home computer, it is recommended to replace with Microsoft Security Essentials. Below are instructions on how to remove Sophos Antivirus from your computer and how to install Microsoft Security Essentials.

How to remove Sophos Antivirus

1. Click the Start Menu and select the Control Panel option.

2. Windows XP Users: Double-click the “Add or Remove Programs” icon.

     Windows Vista/7 Users: Click on the Programs and Features icon.

    *Note: You may need to change the view to list small icons in order to see all options.

3.  There are three components to the Sophos application, and they should be removed in a specific order.

a.       Click on the “Sophos AutoUpdate” listing and select the “Remove” (Windows XP) or “Uninstall” (Windows Vista/7) button.
              
  Windows XP View

            
 Windows Vista/7 View

b.       Click “Yes” to confirm removal.

c.       Click the “Sophos Anti-Virus” listing and selecting the “Remove” (Windows XP) or “Uninstall” (Windows Vista/7) button.
               
Windows XP View

       Windows Vista/7 View 

d.      Click “Yes” to confirm removal.  Click “No” when prompted to restart your computer.

e.      Click the “Sophos Remote Management System” listing and selecting the “Remove” (Windows XP) or “Uninstall” (Windows Vista/7) button.
               
Windows XP View


 Windows Vista/7 View

f.        Click “Yes” to confirm removal.

1.       4. Restart you computer to complete the removal process.

How to install Microsoft Security Essentials

1.      Open your favorite web browser.

2.      Type the following web address: http://www.microsoft.com/Security_Essentials/ and click "Free* download." Microsoft Security Essentials supports Windows XP (32-bit), Windows Vista/Windows 7 (32-bit), and Windows Vista/Windows 7 (64-bit).

3.      When prompted, click the “Save” option and save the file to your desktop.
 

4.      Double-click the downloaded file on your desktop.

User Account Control (UAC) will prompt you if you are installing on Windows Vista or Windows 7. Click "Yes"  or “Run” to allow the program to make changes.

5.      Click "Next" on the Welcome screen.

6.      Accept the End User License Agreement (EULA).

7.      Choose whether you would like to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program (your personal choice).

8.      Click the “Next” button to enable your firewall (highly recommended).

9.      If prompted, Click "Validate" to make sure your copy of Windows is a genuine copy.

10.  Click "Install."

11.  After the install completes, Microsoft Security Essentials automatically updates your virus and spyware definitions to the latest release and performs a scan to make sure your computer is virus free.

Additional information regarding the Microsoft Security Essentials including help and support questions may be found here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials/support.