User manual

Product Review: Mac Security ‐ July 2013 www.av-comparatives.org
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EICAR potentially unwanted application: the
file downloaded successfully without
detection by Sophos; scanning the Downloads
folder afterwards did not detect the program
either. Although Sophos is listed amongst the
vendors supporting this feature, we assume
this only applies to its Windows programs.
AMTSO phishing test page: We were able to
open the phishing test page without any
warning or action from Sophos. Again, Sophos
is shown as supporting the feature,
presumably only in Windows software.
CloudCar testfile: The file was quarantined and
the same message shown as for the EICAR test
file above.
Real-time protection test: Detection begins as
soon as a USB stick with Mac malware is
inserted.
Malware protection/detection test
Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac identified all the
Mac malware samples in our test. It also
detected all of the Windows samples we used.
Help and Documentation
Sophos produce a 48-page manual in .pdf
format for Anti-Virus for Mac. It is
comprehensive, covering updating, scanning
for and dealing with threats, and uninstalling
the program. There is a clickable contents
page, and the document has been well
bookmarked, enabling easy access to any
section from Adobe Reader’s bookmarks bar.
The local help function is accessible via the
query box in the Help menu, and provides
clear and concise information on everyday
tasks.
There is a very brief FAQ page on the Sophos
website, along with a user forum for support.
Overall, we found the help functions to be
more than adequate for a simple, free
program.
Summary
Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac has excellent Mac
malware recognition and earns an Approved
Security Product award. Windows malware is
also effectively detected. We felt the interface
is rather minimalist, and could be made
friendlier for non-expert users.
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