Sophos – Sophos Antivirus
Sophos is a suite of programs which protects your data from viruses, spyware, malware and even theft. Sophos is unique in the antivirus field in that it offers data encryption. It a 30 day free trial where you have full access to the software’s robust features and support, so you don’t just have to take it on its good graces and superb references. Prices start at GBP £133.00 (USD $350) and work up to GBP £232.50 (USD $610) for their small business software. Is the more expensive package really worth it? Sophos do not target the consumer market place at all, there is no single user licensing (the least you can purchase is five seats), but this is very good software for networked infrastructures.
Okay, so you’re going to buy Sophos, but what do you buy? Since it offers no free virus protection packages you can try, nor does it offer any sort of totally free spyware removal (mind the free trial)! Well, it does come highly recommended, with a wonderful free trial, but who needs that when enterprises such as Cisco, Toshiba, Lockheed Martin, and Marks & Spencer all use Sophos Anti-Virus and have had nothing but good things to say about it. First of all, the pricing is for five users for a year, so that’s about $70 USD per seat for the basic version. We’ll start there, for the basic version, you get simplified management, hourly virus, spyware, malware, and miscellaneous updates, protection for both Macs and Personal Computers, and real time stoppage of viruses, spyware and adware. This is probably fine for most users, but what if you want (need) more? Well, then you should check out their more expensive Security Suite, which is about $122USD per seat. This package offers everything I just mentioned plus a firewall, application hijacking protection, protection for your mail servers by stopping viruses and malware early on, and it blocks confidential and inappropriate contend in the e-mail body and attachments.
Installing Sophos was a breeze, the setup screens are very verbose (informative) and they have phone numbers on them should your installation go awry, the cds do include monthly installation notes and guides. For the desktops, in the corporate environment, installations are taken care of over the network where the server has already acquired the latest updates and patches, so the workstation’s versions are patched, updated, and ready to go. Using the software was a breeze too. It detected all of the threats on my test computer and took care of them for me without giving me links to external references about how to remove them. This is a definite plus, especially at this price point.
In closing, if you want a corporate solution with state of the art file encryption, look no further than Sophos, it’s a brilliant program with loads to offer. The 30 day free trial means you can try this software before you buy it and trust me, once you try it, you’ll be hooked. With its ease of installation and robust online support, it was very quick to get the right configuration the first time.
Have you used Sophos Antivirus? What did you think? How did it compare to free virus removal tools? Leave your comments below!
