How to install Sophos Antivirus for Linux in Ubuntu
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, navigate to it in the terminal using ‘ls’ and ‘cd’ command.
Use ls command to list all directories to know where to navigate.
ls
Step 3) Use the cd command to go inside the ‘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 the 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 <enter> and <space> to scroll to the bottom of the super long agreement and enter ‘Y’ to confirm the installation.
Step 10) You will see a prompt whether to install Sophos in /opt/sophos-av directory. That is typical of the Linux directory structure. Go ahead and press <enter>.
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. It is a great feature that 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 <enter>
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!
How to check if on-access scanning is active?
Enter the following command in the ‘Terminal.’
/opt/sophos-av/bin/savdstatus
How to start on-access scanning?
Use the following command to enable and start the on-access scanning, if found that service is inactive.
/opt/sophos-av/bin/savdctl enable
/etc/init.d/sav-protect start
How to run an on-demand scan?
Just enter the following command to start scanning your computer.
savscan /
