Remove Tenable Nessus

Required user role when using Tenable Nessus Manager: System Administrator

This topic describes how to uninstall Tenable Nessus in different environments.

Uninstall Tenable Nessus on Linux

Use the following procedure to uninstall Tenable Nessus on Linux.

Before you begin:

  1. (Optional) Export your scans and policies.

  2. Stop Tenable Nessus.

  3. Uninstall Tenable Nessus using the following steps:

To uninstall Tenable Nessus from Linux:

  1. In Tenable Nessus, verify that any running scans have completed.

  2. From a command prompt, stop the nessusd daemon.

    The following are examples of Tenable Nessus daemon stop commands:

    # /etc/init.d/nessusd stop

    # /sbin/service nessusd stop

    # /etc/rc.d/nessusd stop

  3. Run the remove Tenable Nessus command specific to your Linux-style operating system.

    The following are examples of Tenable Nessus remove commands:

    # dpkg -r Nessus

    # yum remove Nessus

    # dnf remove Nessus

    # sudo zypper remove Nessus

  4. Using the command specific to your Linux-style operating system, remove remaining files that were not part of the original installation.

    Examples: Nessus Remove Command

    # rm -rf /opt/nessus

Uninstall Tenable Nessus on Windows

Use the following procedure to uninstall Tenable Nessus on Windows.

Before you begin:

  1. (Optional) Export your scans and policies.

  2. Stop Tenable Nessus.

  3. Uninstall Tenable Nessus from the Windows user interface or the command line using the following steps:

To uninstall Tenable Nessus from the Windows user interface:

  1. Navigate to the portion of Windows that allows you to Add or Remove Programs or Uninstall or change a program.
  2. In the list of installed programs, select the Tenable Nessus product.

  3. Click Uninstall.

    A dialog box appears, confirming your selection to remove Tenable Nessus.

  4. Click Yes.

    Windows uninstalls Tenable Nessus.

To uninstall Tenable Nessus from the Windows CLI:

  1. Open PowerShell with administrator privileges.

  2. Run the following command:

    msiexec.exe /x <path to Nessus installer package>

    Note: For information about optional msiexec /x parameters, see msiexec in the Microsoft documentation.

Uninstall Tenable Nessus on macOS

Use the following procedure to uninstall Tenable Nessus on macOS.

Before you begin:

  1. (Optional) Export your scans and policies.

  2. Stop Nessus.

  3. Uninstall Tenable Nessus from the macOS user interface using the following steps:

To uninstall Tenable Nessus from the macOS user interface:

  1. In System Settings, select Nessus at the bottom of the sidebar.
  2. On the Nessus screen, select the lock icon to make changes.
  3. Next, enter your username and password.

  4. Click the Stop Nessus button.

    The Status shows as Stopped.

  5. Close System Settings.

  6. Remove the following Tenable Nessus directories, subdirectories, and files:

    • /Library/Nessus

    • /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.tenablesecurity.nessusd.plist

    • /Library/PreferencePanes/Nessus Preferences.prefPane

    • /Applications/Nessus

  7. To prevent the macOS from trying to start the now non-existent service, type the following command from a command prompt to disable the Tenable Nessus service:

    $ sudo launchctl remove com.tenablesecurity.nessusd

    If prompted, provide the administrator password.

  8. Remove the Tenable Nessus package receipt:

    $ sudo pkgutil --forget com.tenablesecurity.Nessus.Preferences

To uninstall Tenable Nessus from the macOS CLI:

  1. Open Terminal.

  2. Stop and unload the Tenable Nessus service:

    $ sudo launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.tenablesecurity.nessusd.plist

  3. Remove the Tenable Nessus directories and files:

    $ sudo rm -rf /Library/Nessus

    $ sudo rm -f /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.tenablesecurity.nessusd.plist

    $ sudo rm -rf "/Library/PreferencePanes/Nessus Preferences.prefPane"

    $ sudo rm -rf /Applications/Nessus

  4. Remove the Tenable Nessus package receipt:

    $ sudo pkgutil --forget com.tenablesecurity.Nessus.Preferences

Remove Tenable Nessus as a Docker Container

When you remove Tenable Nessus running as a Docker container, you lose the container data.

To remove Tenable Nessus as a docker container:

  1. In your terminal, stop the container from running using the docker stop command.

    $ docker stop <container name>

  2. Remove your container using the docker rm command.

    $ docker rm <container name>