Why does a McAfee download require one to remove Spybot? Are they direct competitors, or something? What if I had Norton anti-virus installed, too (for double-protection)? Would they each claim I had to remove the other’s software?
Which McAfee product? While it’s fine to run anti-virus specific software and also anti-spyware scans, two antivirus products on the system can be a recipe for disaster.
(Editorializing: …or just one McAfee or Norton product can be a disaster, too.)
I found this thread on the subject at Safer Networking (home of Spybot)
It looks as though it’s an anti-competitive thing, thinly veiled as a compatibility worry.