I am surprised by the fact that there are hardly any reviews about high-quality antivirus programs for the Macintosh, despite the fact that only 5% to 10% of global users have personal computers that run on this operating system.
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However, even that 5% to 10% is quite a lot, particularly when one considers the number of global PC users.
Keeping this in mind, I have decided to write this Sophos antivirus for Mac review. Anybody using computers knows pretty well about the popularity of Sophos, and consider its antivirus software amongst the leaders in the field.
Is Sophos A Good Antivirus for Mac?
This Sophos Mac review 2020 will also go a long way in addressing the queries of individuals who have doubts about this program.
After you read this review in depth, you will find it easier to recommend this antivirus program to others as solid protection for the Macintosh; thereby helping to answer the question “is Sophos good for Mac?” Read on to know more.
Free Download and Trial
You do not have to believe those naysayers to discover the power of Sophos, as the developers offer you the option to pay no money for Sophos antivirus Mac download.
Be ready for a surprise, as the company offers you a free 30 days trial for their “Sophos Home Premium” software. You only have to fill up their online form with your name, email address, and password to create an account with Sophos in order to download the premium version.
Once completed, you will receive a Sophos Mac download link on the email ID you provided. Click on that link to initiate the download process. Once downloaded, click on the installer to install Sophos Mac.
There is no need for you to worry if you do not purchase their program within this period, as the software reverts to the free version at the end of the trial period. We shall discuss the differences between the free and premium versions later in this Sophos for Mac review 2020.
I would like to point out at this juncture that no other antivirus developer offers a premium version of their program for free. Sophos is able to do so because they are confident about the capability of their program.
Statistics reveal that more than 95% of people who opted for the free Sophos Mac download, ended up purchasing it within a week, rather than waiting for the 30 days trial offer to end.
No doubt, some other vendors too offer free versions of their antivirus programs. However, most of them pale in comparison to the Sophos anti-virus for Mac home edition, as this program is rich with bonus features that you will not find in any other antivirus program for the Macintosh.
Amazing Features
The remote management feature from the home page of the vendor allows you to check your computer plus nine others linked to your account. This is an awesome feature when you want to manually perform certain tasks such as scanning your other Macintoshes when you are not at home.
Manage Security Remotely
You have to log into your account on the website of Sophos using the email and password you had used to register yourself prior to downloading the program.
Before I proceed further, let me point out that Sophos anti-virus Mac is much more than a vanilla antivirus tool. It contains all the goodies you would expect from a top grade antimalware tool.
Parental Control
The Sophos home edition Mac also contains powerful parental controls. Only two other antivirus programs for the Macintosh contain this feature; however, those programs do not have many other powerful modules and features for the Mac like Sophos has.
The extremely powerful and useful parental control of Sophos virus protection for Mac, apart from keeping track of every attempt from a linked Mac to an unapproved site, allows you, the administrator, to block individual linked computers from visiting entire categories of websites.
This awesome tool ensures that your kids or employees cannot visit sites you do not want them to.
You can also tweak the controls to allow unrestricted browsing on the connected Macintoshes… the difference being that that computer will note and inform you about the user's attempt to log on to a restricted site. This alone acts as a deterrent and prohibits others from visiting sites that they should not.
No Bundled Plugins?
Unlike the competitors, Sophos does not pack browser plugins that flag potentially dangerous sites. However, you can download these plugins for free from antivirus manufacturers such as Kaspersky, Bitdefender, and Avast.
What Sophos will do is that it will alert you that the website you are about to visit is dangerous. It will protect you from these sites that inject viruses through the browser.
Thus, you cannot ‘accidentally' visit malicious websites with this program.
Uses Less System Resources
I was very impressed with the low resource usage by the Sophos for Mac home while writing this review. I had previously tried some other antivirus programs in the past, and all of them ate a lot into my computer's resources and slowed it down significantly. This was not the case with Sophos. In fact, most users will not notice any difference in speed after installing Sophos.
The Interface
The interface windows of Sophos AV Mac allows you to check the status of your PC and permits you to perform scans on demand. However, the actual fun lies in the vendor's web interface.
The interface on the installed computer has an “exception” button. On the one hand, clicking on it displays the exemptions you have set for files, applications, and websites. On the other hand, you can visit the web interface or the cloud interface by clicking on the “Home Dashboard” on the main screen.
This permits you to conduct remote scans, set up exceptions, alter scanning preferences, and configure parental controls.
As you receive information about sites visited through the other computers, users of the same will be in for a shock when they next try to access a website that you have just blocked.
Many of you, reading this Sophos home for Mac review, might be seeking additional protection for your business. I would strongly suggest that you opt for this as it also includes the Sophos Endpoint Protection Mac, which offers all the features of the antivirus along with many advanced features such as malware protection, exploit protection, and more… ideal for small businesses and enterprises.
Free Antivirus For Mac Sophos
In short, this is simply why the company has coined its software as one with ‘Business-grade cybersecurity' that is ‘Now available for home users'.
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I would like to point out in this Sophos antivirus Mac review 2020 that the home edition includes the endpoint protection.
What does this mean? It simply means that even though it is the Sophos home edition Mac, with endpoint protection included, you get the same protection that businesses and governments have worldwide.
So, are you looking for the Sophos Endpoint Mac? You'll also get it in the home edition. This gives you absolute protection against any type of malware, including the latest variants of the dreaded Cryptoware, to a level not available on any other antimalware tool available for the Macintosh.
You do not need to worry as the Sophos Mac OS X detects these dangerous bits of code once you perform a system scan, and asks you what to do with them. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you should perform a manual scan once a week to ensure that your computer is free of any types of malware.
This is no big deal, considering the blistering speed at which this program scans the hard disk drive of your computer.
On certain occasions, the program will request you to switch off the protection module when it detects that manual intervention is required to remove certain malware. Do not worry if your Macintosh reboots during this process, as it is natural.
Multiple Scans
Unlike other antivirus programs, Sophos does a thorough job of finding and cleaning malicious bits of code. Once it completes a scan cycle and removes viruses and other malware, it will scan your PC once again. Do not be surprised if you see this program detect additional pieces of malicious code.
Certain antiviruses and malware hide behind other viruses, making it difficult for an antivirus program to detect and remove them.
The multiple scan system integrated with Sophos virus removal tool mac ensures that it effortlessly removes the cloaked virus after removing the virus covering it… offering your computer foolproof security.
You Will Simply Love These Features
There are occasions when people accidentally visit malicious sites that inject viruses and malware via the browser. Sophos has incorporated a special feature that displays a large message, alerting you that the site you are about to visit is dangerous for your computer.
It further checks all the outbound links on sites you visit, and warns you if any of these links lead to potentially dangerous sites. This is a special feature I did not find on any other program of this class.
Most other AV software alert you after you have visited a website containing malicious content. Sophos alerts you even before you visit it, virtually doing away with the chances of you visiting such sites and getting your computer infected with the malware they contain.
A Word of Warning
Free Vs Premium
Remember, although the free version I am basically covering in this Sophos antivirus home edition review is good enough to detect and quarantine most threats, I strongly suggest that you opt for the paid version because that is where the goodies lie.
Remember, you get access to advanced features such as advanced ransomware shield, and mic & webcam protection with the free version. These features will stop working after 30 days from the date of installation.
Apart from this, the free version offers protection to three devices (although this is a Sophos antivirus for Mac home edition review, I would like to point out that you can also protect Windows-based computers by downloading and installing the Windows installer along with the Mac installer).
Pricing
The premium version costs only $60 and provides protection for 10 devices while the free version offers protection only for three devices. I would strongly suggest that you opt for the premium version which works out to just $6 per device per year and is the cheapest protection available.
Customer Support
Did I forget to mention that the premium version also entitles you to receive support via email and live chat, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm (ET)? This is extremely vital in case you are unable to remove a detected threat and require the help of experts.
As the proud owner of a costly Macbook, you should install Sophos Macbook, to protect your costly device against viruses and malware.
Firewall to Protect You Against Hackers
The Sophos firewall Mac boasts of a dual AV scanning engine that blocks viruses embedded in websites, in email attachments, and in file downloads too.
Sophos blocks these harmful pieces of code at the gateway before they can access your computer and attack it. This software is available for free and is an important part of your protection armory.
What Are You Waiting for?
Instead of waiting any longer, log on to the website of Sophos here, and receive the link for Sophos Home Mac download. You may need to fill up a short form by providing your first and last name, your email ID, along with a password.
Note down this password and keep it in a safe place, as you will require it to log onto their server for remote controlling additional devices.
You will receive a Sophos Antivirus for Mac home edition download link on the email address you provided. Click on that to download the installer, and start the installation process.
Alternatively, you also have the option to directly purchase a one/two year license of the Premium version by clicking on the “Buy Now” button. The 2-year license costs $90 while the 1-year license costs $60.
Complete the process by making the payment via their secure online payment gateway, then download and install Sophos antivirus Mac. You can now surf the net with peace of mind, knowing that your computer is being protected by the best available antivirus and antimalware for the Mac platform.
Sophos is a UK tech company offering two versions of their Mac security software. Macs are already well protected, but there are some extra features in the package worth taking a look at.
An unnecessary extra step
Sophos offer their proprietary antivirus software for Mac with ransom-ware protection and cloud-based configuration. You might not need it, though.
The latest antivirus software for Mac, from Sophos, comes in two flavors. They offer Sophos Home Free and Sophos Home Premium. Both versions get you real-time antivirus, parental controls, and their remote web-based management application. The paid version also gets ransom-ware security software and basic privacy tools. As en extra bonus there’s live, daytime chat and email access to their support team. You can also protect up to ten devices with the premium edition, as opposed to three with the free version.
Sophos Free Download Mac Os X
To configure the software you access the controls through a web-app. This cloud-based system has several advantages. You can configure your system protection remotely. Also, updates to virus libraries and ransom-ware watchlists install on the interface without the need for a download.
Apple has a solid reputation for protecting their devices, and it’s debatable whether this product is necessary. All Mac OS X versions from 10.6.7 come with built-in malware detection. They update their database daily, so it’s difficult to see what advantages Sophos provides.
Tests have shown that the virus detection is less than perfect. In one basic trial, it failed to recognise the EICAR file, an industry-standard virus test. This is worrying because the in-built Mac protection will pick this up every time on a standard directory scan.
Where can you run this program?
Sophos runs on all Mac OS X from 10.11 onwards and all Windows from Win7 up.
Is there a better alternative?
Yes. The Mac comes out of the box with most of the protection that this package offers. McAfee offers similar protection but at a higher cost per device. Whether it’s necessary is another matter altogether.
Our take
This is a well-priced product if you need to protect a large number of Macs. Apple technology is subject to viruses and malware attacks like other devices, but they are better equipped straight out of the factory, to deal with them.
Sophos Home Free Download
Should you download it?
No. If you’re looking to expand on the protection on your Mac, you should consider looking elsewhere.
1.1.3
Sophos Free Mac
I love free software, and like most of you, I hate paying subscription fees. So, I was very excited to find out another free antivirus for Mac – Sophos Home and decided to test whether it’s a good alternative to other well-known solutions.
I installed the app on my MacBook, tested it on my favorite malware samples, and below is my Sophos Home Free program review.
While one can use Sophos Home antivirus for free on Mac, the free software is significantly limited in useful features. Considering the below-average malware detection on macOS, at about 70% rate, compared to other free antiviruses, it’s worth going with other antimalware products.
Honestly, I was kinda surprised with my findings, so let me walk you through the good and bad stuff.
I will start with good things first.
How to install Sophos on Mac
Compared to other free antiviruses, it is relatively easy to install Sophos on Mac.
First, google “sophos free for Mac” and go to their website.
On the main page, click on the “Download now” button under “Sophos Home Free.” Don’t download Premium. The free version comes as a trial of the Premium, so if you end up liking the product, you can always upgrade later.
Start Sophos Installer from the Downloads folder.
Follow installer wizard instructions, i.e., click on Next and Install buttons as appropriate. The app will ask for the admin password to install a helper tool. It’s alright; you can enter it. Almost all antivirus productions ask for a password when installing.
One other thing you have to do manually is open Security Preferences and click on the padlock in the bottom left corner in order to proceed with configuration and enter your password again.
In the “Allow apps downloaded from:” section click on Unblock button. You have to jump through all these hoops because the internal Mac security (Gatekeeper and XProtect) is designed to keep you from installing malware from the internet.
Sophos Home Free Mac
Now, in the same System Preferences panel, click on the Privacy tab.
Scroll down and click on the Full Disc Access line.
From the installer window, drag the Sophos icon and drop it into the Full Disc Access folder.
Restart your Mac.
All of this may sound too complicated, but believe me, it’s one of the easiest installation processes for free antimalware. The exception is Bitdefender, which is the only virus scanner that can be installed from Apple Store.
How to uninstall Sophos on Mac
Free Sophos comes with uninstall program. If you want to use to uninstall the antivirus, start Spotlight Search on your Mac (use Command and Space keys), and type “remove sophos home”. In the drop-down list, click on the app icon to start it. Follow the uninstall steps. Enter the admin password when required.
However, the uninstall process is not very clean. If you go to System Preferences -> Full Disc Access, you will find its system extension still present.
There is a cleaner way to do it. I use CleanMyMac X to uninstall all apps.
Sophos for Mac Review
Unfortunately, those were all positive findings. And now let me tell you about the negatives.
CPU Usage
I was testing on a MacBook Pro with eight cores. Normally, it can handle most programs. But, when I installed Sophos, all CPU cores were busy for hours doing something. Basically, I wasn’t able to do any work on my laptop and decided to let it stabilize overnight.
To make sure that MacBook does not shut down from overheating, I lifted its back and put it on top of the book. This allowed some airflow which cooled down the CPU.
User Interface
Sophos Free Mac Download
The worst part of Sophos is its user interface.
You can access the app UI from the top bar by clicking on the app icon. However, if you want to make any changes, the program will open a browser and direct you to their website.
Just think about this workflow:
- You click a button on your Mac.
- It opens a browser with your account (you have to log on with a username and password).
- You make a change over the internet in their database.
- The program on your Mac will pull the configuration from their database over the internet.
- And then, the configuration will be changed on your Mac.
Do you see a problem?
What if you are not connected to a network?
In case of an attack, one of the first things to do is disconnect to contain the threat, right?
Of what if you experiencing issues with WiFi? You know that in order to enable Real-time protection, in case if it was disabled, you still have to go to Sophos site, enable it there and hope that the program running on your Mac without network access picks it up.
On the other hand, once logged on, you can find a lot of configuration options. I’d say even way too many options. I guess 99% of Mac users wouldn’t know which features to turn on or off.
I think I know why this is a case. Originally, Sophos was developed as a security endpoint for corporate users. In company settings, IT experts will know what which settings means, and they, in fact, appreciate the granularity of config options.
I just don’t understand why they keep all this complexity for the Home edition.
Sophos Virus Scans
I could live with the underwhelming interface as long as the program was effective in one thing – removing malware.
Let’s see how Sophos handles it. I always test three scan types: fast, full, and custom.
Fast Scan
As with any security software, the goal of the fast scan is to check limited number of folders on the computer – places where the malware is most likely be hiding. Since the number of folders is limited, the process is supposed to be quick. Here are the locations that Sophos checks during fast scan:
- /System/Library/LaunchAgents/
- /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/
- /private/var/root/Library/LaunchAgents/
- /System/Library/StartupItems/
- /Library/StartupItems/
- /Library/LaunchAgents/
- /Library/LaunchDaemons/
- /private/var/run/
- /private/var/tmp/
- /private/etc/
- /private/tmp/
- ~/Public/
- ~/Desktop/
- ~/Documents/
- ~/Downloads/
- ~/Library/Application Support/
- ~/Library/Preferences/
- ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
- /Applications/
The fast scan completed in about 10 minutes. The results, however, were underwhelming.
I copied 117 malware samples to Desktop. Sophos was able to detect and quarantine only 84 of them, or 72%.
It missed a whopping 33 malware files!
For comparison, Avast, another free AV, missed only two threats in a similar test.
The only AV with a similar result was the free Bitdefender scanner. However, the paid Bitdefender detects more than 90% of threats. Let me remind you that the Sophos version I was testing was technically a trial of Premium and not a separate product as in the Bitdefender case.
Full Scan
The next test is a full scan. Usually, you perform the full scan only sparingly, first when you install the software and once in a while when you suspect that your Mac was infected. I ran the scan twice.
The first time, the process was aborted (I don’t know why) after 30 mins. The second run finished in about 2 hours, which is not too bad. For comparison, it took McAfee more than 24 hours to complete the same hardware.
The results of the scan were the same – 33 threats undetected.
Custom Scan
The custom scan is important because you often want to check a hard drive or a flash drive quickly before copying files to your Mac. I’d say I will not use antivirus without the ability to scan external devices.
Unfortunately, Sophos does not allow to chose a custom folder to scan.
Why?
Because their entire interface is hosted on their website, and as a result, they don’t even know which folders you might have on Mac.
Another strike against the product.
Quarantine and False Positives
Now, you can see how one bad decision (not building native UI for the Mac version) causes multiple problems.
Let’s assume that you ran the AV, and for some reason, it identified one of the files you are working with as a potential threat. Antimalware sometimes flags good files as threats. It happens all the time, and this phenomenon is called false positive.
That’s why antimalware products have a feature called Quarantine. The app temporarily moves the potential threat into a special location where the file can not cause any problems. A user can later review the list of files in the quarantine and decide whether the positive was false or true.
Sophos has quarantine history too, but as you probably guessed it, it is hosted on their website. So, you have to log on, review the list, whitelist it and wait for the program on Mac to pull the list from the network. Again, if your Mac is not connected, then you are out of luck.
Audio and Video Protection
As I mentioned earlier, Sophos has a lot of features. Among them are audio and video protection.
The idea is good. You want to signal users when the microphone or camera is active so you don’t get caught when someone is spying on you.
However, the implementation is underwhelming again.
To know whether audio or video is active, you have to click on the Sophos icon, and in the drop-down menu, you will see the warning. But this is not helpful at all. I don’t want to remember constantly checking the status. I want a proactive notification similar to Little Snitch.
So why was this feature implemented in such a useless way? Because the UI is on the company site, that’s why.
Sophos Free vs. Premium
Although I tested the so-called free version, technically, it was a trial of the Premium edition. After 30 days, it gets downgraded to free, which is limited.
When downgraded, you lose the following features: ransomware protection, audio, and video protection, and premium support (which is expected).
Also, with the free version, you can only have three devices (Mac or Windows) compared to 10 with Premium.
Sophos Free Alternatives
Sophos is not the only free antivirus. There are other alternatives are:
I reviewed them all in my best free antivirus for Mac post.
Is Free Sophos Worth It?
So, time to make some conclusions. Here’s my honest opinion on whether free Sophos is worth it for Mac or not.
Overall, free Sophos for Home’s malware detection rate on Mac stands at 72%, which is below 100% industry standard. This performance and the requirement to use the company site to configure features make Sophos less competitive than other free Mac antivirus alternatives. The complexity of configuration makes Sophos more appropriate for corporate users rather than regular Mac users.