Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses from spam and viruses, today announced the release of Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X, a product designed to protect computers running Macintosh operating system 10.2 and above from all known viruses.
Ideal for multi-national organizations, Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X is available in five languages: English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese. It allows users to perform on-demand scanning of files and folders and its on-access scanner safeguards computers by detecting and disinfecting both Macintosh and non-Macintosh viruses. Any file that is identified as being infected will not be allowed to run, ensuring that the computer remains virus-free.
Keeping anti-virus protection updated is critical and Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X enables the automatic updates of all desktops, whether they are connected to a local area network or to the internet. Remote users can ensure that their systems are up-to-date, even if they cannot access the network, with automatic updates from their company’s website. Reporting can also be sent to a remote location. Sophos Anti-Virus uses Mac OS X’s own SMTP client to send alert messages, therefore if a user is disconnected from the network, messages will queue until a connection is found, ensuring no alerts are lost. This also allows the administrator to be kept abreast of all updating activities and virus incidents.
Unlike anti-virus products from other vendors, Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac OS X offers a central configuration of updating and anti-virus settings, including the ability to manually administer virus identity files. Administrators can create a central installation source and install to all networked Macs automatically using XServer tools such as Network Install to provide automatic updates as needed.
“Despite the popular misconception that Mac users aren’t affected by viruses, Apple customers need to take the virus threat seriously,” said Phil Wood, product manager for Sophos Anti-Virus in the press release. “Sophos’s latest anti-virus solution ensures that all Mac users are protected, whether in the office or on the road, and it also allows third-party developers to incorporate virus-scanning into their own products.”
Users who choose to access the Unix operating system directly on Mac OS X will benefit from the availability of a command line version of Sophos Anti-Virus, allowing administrators to run it through the Mac Terminal utility.
The enhanced security model prevents end users from disabling their anti-virus software. Users need to have administrative rights in order to install and/or remove Sophos Anti-Virus or change any of the System Preferences, including enabling and disabling InterCheck.
More info here.
MacDailyNews Take: In related news, Sophos will also release specialized air traffic control software designed to track pigs in flight in order to better protect flight corridors worldwide.