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.
Please. This crap that hackers don’t do Mac because of the relative obscurity is just that….. Crap.
If that’s so then explain why Mac OSes prior to 10 got infected routinely?
Hmmmm?
Please. This crap that hackers don’t do Mac because of the relative obscurity is just that….. Crap.
If that’s so then explain why Mac OSes prior to 10 got infected routinely?
Hmmmm?
Something you don’t need is free. I guess there is some justification for the price anyway.
However I see a bill for $20 or so this time next year to renew your license. I can see the pitch now. After a year malware free, are you willing to go without protection?
How about the 25 years I was malware free before you gave me your wonderful software?
Something you don’t need is free. I guess there is some justification for the price anyway.
However I see a bill for $20 or so this time next year to renew your license. I can see the pitch now. After a year malware free, are you willing to go without protection?
How about the 25 years I was malware free before you gave me your wonderful software?
I don’t want to hear about the supposed decline in performance because AV is running in the background. That’s bullshit. While it may have degraded the performance of the 68k and PPC machines, AV software runs imperceptibly on my Intel Mac.
I push the limits of my Mac when rendering 3D models/animations and there is little difference whether ClamXav is running or not.
I just scanned a folder containing 3 thousand files consisting of 400MB and the percentage of CPU cycles never climbed above 1.9 percent. While idyll, ClamXav averages 0.1 percent in CPU cycles.
Personally, I believe some of you are just perpetuating a myth about AV software.
You don’t need it, that’s fine. But don’t begrudge me because I choose to use it.
You really think you get more done in a day than me because you don’t use AV software?
You really think you’re safer than me because you don’t use AV software?
You really think you’re smarter than me because you don’t use AV software?
I say, if you have no need for AV software then more power to you. But why drag out your tired rhetoric every time the topic of AV comes up?
Your righteous and indignant attitude about how you aren’t stupid enough to answer the door should a vector come knocking smacks of whistling through the graveyard.
You know what it also sounds like? Those who think wearing a condom is a complete waste of time because they’d never choose to sleep with a partner who’d give them a dose.
Hey Saldin, where the fuck are you, you chicken shit? You got something to say to me?
I don’t want to hear about the supposed decline in performance because AV is running in the background. That’s bullshit. While it may have degraded the performance of the 68k and PPC machines, AV software runs imperceptibly on my Intel Mac.
I push the limits of my Mac when rendering 3D models/animations and there is little difference whether ClamXav is running or not.
I just scanned a folder containing 3 thousand files consisting of 400MB and the percentage of CPU cycles never climbed above 1.9 percent. While idyll, ClamXav averages 0.1 percent in CPU cycles.
Personally, I believe some of you are just perpetuating a myth about AV software.
You don’t need it, that’s fine. But don’t begrudge me because I choose to use it.
You really think you get more done in a day than me because you don’t use AV software?
You really think you’re safer than me because you don’t use AV software?
You really think you’re smarter than me because you don’t use AV software?
I say, if you have no need for AV software then more power to you. But why drag out your tired rhetoric every time the topic of AV comes up?
Your righteous and indignant attitude about how you aren’t stupid enough to answer the door should a vector come knocking smacks of whistling through the graveyard.
You know what it also sounds like? Those who think wearing a condom is a complete waste of time because they’d never choose to sleep with a partner who’d give them a dose.
Hey Saldin, where the fuck are you, you chicken shit? You got something to say to me?
@Big Al
How about the 25 years I was malware free before you gave me your wonderful software?
That’s right, and you don’t buy insurance because you don’t have accidents and you’re so careful in all that you do, right? Imagine giving thousands of dollars away (for free) to insurance companies who may, or may not, make good on their promise!
That doesn’t stop you from giving them your money does it?
@Big Al
How about the 25 years I was malware free before you gave me your wonderful software?
That’s right, and you don’t buy insurance because you don’t have accidents and you’re so careful in all that you do, right? Imagine giving thousands of dollars away (for free) to insurance companies who may, or may not, make good on their promise!
That doesn’t stop you from giving them your money does it?
The first time it’s revealed that a malicious vector has infected thousands of Macs as a result of permissions escalation you’ll probably start looking into an investment of some sort of AV software.
When you’re ready, come to me and I’ll give you the scoop on which software packages and their respective companies offer the best value for the money.
Or you could always ask one of your Windows friends, who live with this threat every second of the day.
The first time it’s revealed that a malicious vector has infected thousands of Macs as a result of permissions escalation you’ll probably start looking into an investment of some sort of AV software.
When you’re ready, come to me and I’ll give you the scoop on which software packages and their respective companies offer the best value for the money.
Or you could always ask one of your Windows friends, who live with this threat every second of the day.
Many businesses & institutions require AV software on your Mac in order to connect it to their network. The choice is put AV on your Mac or use their Windoze she8.
No Brainer, right?
I use Intego and it works very well.
Many businesses & institutions require AV software on your Mac in order to connect it to their network. The choice is put AV on your Mac or use their Windoze she8.
No Brainer, right?
I use Intego and it works very well.
Speaking of troubled Macs, an alert notice appeared on my screen earlier stating that I disconnected a firewire device improperly!
Next thing I know, the MyBook (WD) 500 gigger drive stopped working, just like that. It’s jam packed with stuff and it suddenly stops working. Bummer.
Nothing worked to revive it until I reconnected it using a USB cable. I tried a new known-good firewire cable and still no woiky. That tells me the Oxford 912-Bridge is broken.
Have you ever copied 500 gigs of data over USB 2.0? It’s unbearably slow. I’m 130 gigs in and Finder says I still have 3-hours to go.
Shit happens!
Speaking of troubled Macs, an alert notice appeared on my screen earlier stating that I disconnected a firewire device improperly!
Next thing I know, the MyBook (WD) 500 gigger drive stopped working, just like that. It’s jam packed with stuff and it suddenly stops working. Bummer.
Nothing worked to revive it until I reconnected it using a USB cable. I tried a new known-good firewire cable and still no woiky. That tells me the Oxford 912-Bridge is broken.
Have you ever copied 500 gigs of data over USB 2.0? It’s unbearably slow. I’m 130 gigs in and Finder says I still have 3-hours to go.
Shit happens!
I haven’t used AV in years, though I’ve had ClamXav installed on my machine forever. This discussion prompted me to update the program and run it, and so far it’s found over 60 Word documents infected with W97M/Thus.gen — some from clients but many that I’ve created, because my Normal template got infected. All of a sudden, I’m really interested in AV protection, and the Sophos tool couldn’t have come at a better time. (While ClamXav can find the virus, it can’t remove the virus, apparently. I’m installing the Sophos program to see if it will.)
I haven’t used AV in years, though I’ve had ClamXav installed on my machine forever. This discussion prompted me to update the program and run it, and so far it’s found over 60 Word documents infected with W97M/Thus.gen — some from clients but many that I’ve created, because my Normal template got infected. All of a sudden, I’m really interested in AV protection, and the Sophos tool couldn’t have come at a better time. (While ClamXav can find the virus, it can’t remove the virus, apparently. I’m installing the Sophos program to see if it will.)
Oh, and I’ve got the macro warning preference turned back on in Word…
Oh, and I’ve got the macro warning preference turned back on in Word…
@Cubert “I’ve never heard of Ghostery before. Is it as good as Little Snitch? Too bad it only runs on Firefox.”
No, there’s now a Safari 5 extension. Google “Ghostery”.
@Cubert “I’ve never heard of Ghostery before. Is it as good as Little Snitch? Too bad it only runs on Firefox.”
No, there’s now a Safari 5 extension. Google “Ghostery”.
And on the note, holy s**t… MDN runs alot of trackers.
And on the note, holy s**t… MDN runs alot of trackers.
@evangelize
What I do when ClamX quarantines a file is, I drag the infected file to the trash and perform the Secure Empty Trash, as opposed to a simple Empty Trash.
@evangelize
What I do when ClamX quarantines a file is, I drag the infected file to the trash and perform the Secure Empty Trash, as opposed to a simple Empty Trash.
@jim r
you should check out PubSubAgent sometime. Talk about yer Grand Central station! In fact, I’d say PSA is busier than any AV software I’ve ever used.