Sophos today announced the availability of a free Mac anti-virus product for consumers, available to download at no charge, with no time limit, and requiring no registration. Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition for Mac is available free to Mac home users worldwide, protecting them against all known malware, including both Mac- and Windows-specific threats including Trojan horses, viruses, worms and spyware.
Based on Sophos’s flagship security software, Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition for Mac has been released in response to growing concern about Mac malware. A recent Sophos investigation into attitudes about Mac security surveyed 640 people, which revealed that 95% expect Macs to be increasingly targeted by malware in the future (September-October 2010). Although malware is far more common on Windows than it is on Mac, Sophos says that Apple’s growing market share makes Mac an increasingly attractive platform for malware authors and hackers to target.
“While most businesses recognize the importance of protecting their Mac computers from malware threats, most home users do not,” said Chris Kraft, product management vice president at Sophos, in the press release. “By offering free industrial-strength security to home users, we aim to protect Mac users against today’s and tomorrow’s Mac threats. Everyone knows that Macs are beautiful computers – Sophos wants to lend a hand to keep them that way.”
Past threats to Mac users have included:
• Websites that pose as legitimate-looking software vendor sites, but whose downloads are really Mac malicious code.
• Malware disguised as pirated software available for download from P2P file-sharing networks.
• Online video links that urge users to install a plug-in to view the content, but contain a Mac Trojan horse.
• Popular Twitter accounts, such as that belonging to former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki, who have tweeted out links to websites designed to infect Mac computers.
• Windows viruses, which come in via email, web or USB drive, either being passed on to Windows-using friends or colleagues, or infecting virtual installations of Windows installed on a Mac.
“Most people don’t know that Apple acknowledged the malware problem by integrating rudimentary protection against a handful of Mac Trojans in Snow Leopard. But 95% of those surveyed are convinced that more is on the way,” explained Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, in the press release. “Wise Mac users will secure their computers now, outwitting malware authors – if we make their jobs of infecting Macs difficult, they will go elsewhere to make a quick buck.”
Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition for Mac provides automatic on-access detection that runs in the background, which means Mac users don’t need to run any manual scans to be protected against the millions of viruses, worms, spyware and Trojans in existence. Furthermore, strong disinfection capabilities make it easy to clean-up an infection should malware already be in place.
Requirements:
• Mac with Intel or PowerPC processor
• 256 MB of memory
• 150 MB of available disk space
• Mac with OSX 10.4 (Tiger), 10.5 (Leopard) or 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Source: Sophos
More info and download link here.
MacDailyNews Take: The first hit (to your CPU cycles) is free.
The first hit (to your CPU cycles) is free.
Who cares! With the power of my latest Mac, I have cycles to spare.
The first hit (to your CPU cycles) is free.
Who cares! With the power of my latest Mac, I have cycles to spare.
I’d like to scan my computer just for fun, but I’m afraid of all the hits generated from the Adobe and Microsoft malware I have installed.
I’d like to scan my computer just for fun, but I’m afraid of all the hits generated from the Adobe and Microsoft malware I have installed.
I’ll have 3 please.
I’ll have 3 please.
I’m not wasting those cycles on virus protection.
I’m not wasting those cycles on virus protection.
Sophos has always come with home use rights for employees of organizations that use it.
It is a good product, when you have mixed networks it is a good idea. I have found pc viruses lurking in files on our macs that people had been emailed. I like them the most out of all the for profit AV firms..
Sophos has always come with home use rights for employees of organizations that use it.
It is a good product, when you have mixed networks it is a good idea. I have found pc viruses lurking in files on our macs that people had been emailed. I like them the most out of all the for profit AV firms..
“…released in response to growing concern about Mac malware.”
Growing concern from whom, the anti-virus product producers?
“…released in response to growing concern about Mac malware.”
Growing concern from whom, the anti-virus product producers?
So … basically … this is to clean my system of Windows malware my friends have sent me that I don’t want to pass along to other unfortunate (Windows-using) friends. Not really to protect MY computer at all.
OK. Now I understand it.
I keep telling people on all three major platforms they ought not do user computing on their Admin account, so many return a blank stare. A rather small price to pay for a whole lot of protection.
So … basically … this is to clean my system of Windows malware my friends have sent me that I don’t want to pass along to other unfortunate (Windows-using) friends. Not really to protect MY computer at all.
OK. Now I understand it.
I keep telling people on all three major platforms they ought not do user computing on their Admin account, so many return a blank stare. A rather small price to pay for a whole lot of protection.
@ silverhawk
No dumb dumb, growing concern from WinBlows converts who are having a hard time giving up their security blanket. They probably still sleep with the light on too. Eventually they will realize that they boogie man can’t get them anymore.
Cheers
@ silverhawk
No dumb dumb, growing concern from WinBlows converts who are having a hard time giving up their security blanket. They probably still sleep with the light on too. Eventually they will realize that they boogie man can’t get them anymore.
Cheers
@G4Dualie
You don’t know what you’re talking about.
@G4Dualie
You don’t know what you’re talking about.
I already have a Mac Anti Virus program. It’s called OS X.
I already have a Mac Anti Virus program. It’s called OS X.
95% are convinced theres malware.
Ok… people power somehow generates a virus from the wild…
not sure how that works
95% are convinced theres malware.
Ok… people power somehow generates a virus from the wild…
not sure how that works
@Silverhawk
I’m concerned, for one.
Charlie Miller said it best,
“Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town.”
I never go into the bad part of town, but the crooks are starting to move into the suburbs.
Anyone who stumbles upon my place would probably make themselves right at home while I’m away (from my senses). It only takes one drive-by-download to become a victim and without that Sixth Sense, how would I know?
I’m not concerned about viruses, it’s the possibility of malware keyloggers and phone-home software that troubles me. Also, Apple’s monumental push to for intercommunication is unprecedented and could be exploited as easily as those slimey school IT officials did, who were caught spying on students.
I own Little Snitch and I am simply amazed at how many online entities have an ongoing relationship with my computer, many of whom I hardly recognize, who come and go at all hours of the day. Google has to be my computer’s biggest fan!
It’s not the incoming traffic that bothers me as much as it is the outgoing and Little Snitch catalogues all incoming and outgoing traffic.
Call me paranoid, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get me.
@Silverhawk
I’m concerned, for one.
Charlie Miller said it best,
“Mac OS X is like living in a farmhouse in the country with no locks, and Windows is living in a house with bars on the windows in the bad part of town.”
I never go into the bad part of town, but the crooks are starting to move into the suburbs.
Anyone who stumbles upon my place would probably make themselves right at home while I’m away (from my senses). It only takes one drive-by-download to become a victim and without that Sixth Sense, how would I know?
I’m not concerned about viruses, it’s the possibility of malware keyloggers and phone-home software that troubles me. Also, Apple’s monumental push to for intercommunication is unprecedented and could be exploited as easily as those slimey school IT officials did, who were caught spying on students.
I own Little Snitch and I am simply amazed at how many online entities have an ongoing relationship with my computer, many of whom I hardly recognize, who come and go at all hours of the day. Google has to be my computer’s biggest fan!
It’s not the incoming traffic that bothers me as much as it is the outgoing and Little Snitch catalogues all incoming and outgoing traffic.
Call me paranoid, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get me.
@Saldin
Prove it.