How to install Sophos Antivirus for Linux in Ubuntu

February 3, 2019

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PC security is top notch priority these days due to ever increasing malware threats across all operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Android, and Linux.

Windows is highest affected in this list, whilst Linux the least. However, I think every Linux user should also install Antivirus software because of cross-platform data transfer between the operating systems. Though Windows virus can’t infect a Linux PC, you don’t want your beloved Linux PC to be a medium of transferring infected files to other PCs.

Installing Free Sophos Antivirus for Linux in Ubuntu/Linux Mint/elementary OS

When it comes to PC security, Sophos is a highly respected and popular brand. They have made a free version for Linux that comes with a virus scanner and a removal tool. What more, it also includes a real-time scanner which can detect threats on the fly. Let’s check out how to install it on your P. This guide is tested on Ubuntu 17.10, but should also work on older versions too.

Step 1) Go to the Sophos website and download the latest copy of the Sophos Antivirus for Windows. You may have to accept their terms and provide an email ID during free registration.

Download Sophos Antivirus for Linux

Step 2) The downloaded package is a compressed archive file. It should look like sav-linux-free-9.tgz. The version number may be different based on when you download it. I’m assuming that the downloads are going here. In case it’s different in your case, simply navigate to it in the terminal using ‘ls’ and ‘cd’ command.

Launch ‘Terminal’ and propagate to the ‘Downloads’ directory.

Use ls command to list all directories to know where to navigate.

ls

Step 3) Use the cd command to go inside ‘Downloads’ directory.

cd Downloads

Step 4) Again ls command to see contents of ‘Downloads’ directory.

ls

Step 5) Use the tar command to extract the contents of the .tgz file. Replace the filename after -xvzf with your downloaded file name.

tar -xvzf sav-linux-free-9.tgz

Step 6) You should see the list of extracted content in the Terminal. Use ls command to see inside the extracted content.

ls

Step 7) Use the cd command to propagate into the sub-directory.

cd sophos-av

Step 8) Use the following command to run the sh installer.

sudo sh ./install.sh

Step 9) Press and to scroll to the bottom of the super long agreement and enter ‘Y’ to confirm installation.

Step 10) You will see a prompt whether to install Sophos in /opt/sophos-av directory. That is typical to Linux directory structure. Go ahead and press .

Where do you want to install Sophos Anti-Virus? [/opt/sophos-av]

Step 11) Next it will ask if you want to enable on-access scanning. This is a great feature which will detect malware on the fly when transferring files. It will consume some RAM in the background, but it’s worth it.

Do you want to enable on-access scanning? Yes(Y)/No(N) [Y]

Enter ‘Y’ and press

Step 12) Choose what type of updating you want. I chose ‘s’.

Which type of auto-updating do you want? From Sophos(s)/From own server(o)/None(n) [s]

Step 13) Key in ‘f’ to select free Sophos Antivirus which will have no support.

Do you wish to install the Free (f) or Supported (s) version of SAV for Linux? [s]

Step 14) Enter proxy info if needed. I have none, so I entered ‘Y’.

Do you need a proxy to access Sophos updates? Yes(Y)/No(N) [N]

Step 15) Installation complete!

Fetching free update credentials.
Installing Sophos Anti-Virus....
Selecting appropriate kernel support...
When Sophos Anti-Virus starts, it updates itself to try to find a Sophos kernel interface module update. This might cause a significant delay.
Sophos Anti-Virus starts after installation.

Installation completed.
Your computer is now protected by Sophos Anti-Virus.

Using Sophos Antivirus for Linux

Sophos Antivirus for Linux is a complete command-line tool. There is no GUI for it. Therefore, you need to know the following commands to start using it.