Cyber attacks are the order of the day. In 2023 alone, malware attacks increased by 358% compared to previous years, and 70% affected small and medium-sized businesses. Computer security is an issue that should concern companies since the economic costs of cyberattacks can be very high.
For this reason, more and more businesses are considering increasing their investment in cybersecurity in the coming months to stay protected. One of the most requested products is antivirus software, and within the wide range that we can find on the market, we would like to talk to you about one of the most popular: Sophos antivirus.
If you are researching to protect your equipment and want to know if Sophos could be the solution you are looking for, stay here. We tell you what Sophos antivirus is, what benefits it offers you, and why it can be a good solution to protect your project from cyberattacks. Let’s start!
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What is Sophos antivirus?
Sophos is an antivirus designed to protect computers and mobile devices that run Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android operating systems. We can use Sophos through two software products: Sophos Home Free and Sophos Home Premium.
The free version (Free) allows you to protect up to three computers and skips the most advanced features. This version works as a free trial, so Sophos Home Free includes all the features of Sophos Home Premium for 30 days.
After the test (for which you are not asked for credit card information to download), the functionalities that will be maintained will be the real-time antivirus, protecting you against malware and blocking viruses, trojans, worms, bots, ransomware, and potentially unwanted applications.
Plus, you’ll retain predictive AI threat detection, parental web filtering, web protection, and remote management that protects multiple computers in any location through the Sophos web portal.
If you’re willing to go further, Sophos Home Premium is the way to go, providing more advanced real-time antivirus security. It also helps you prevent third parties from intercepting your banking details, credit card information, usernames, and passwords. Likewise, the paid version features anti-keylogger software, which encrypts keystrokes so that malware and keylogging hackers can’t track keystrokes and steal important information.)
The protection capacity of Sophos Home Premium is not surprising since, in its development, the UK-based cybersecurity company has incorporated many of the protection technologies included in Sophos Central, its cloud-based cybersecurity platform—enterprise, which addresses a variety of piracy threats.
These include protection against malware, spyware, phishing attempts thanks to secure browsing, and data hijacking or ransomware —which prevents hackers from encrypting your personal information and subsequently demanding a ransom to unlock these files. Even if Sophos Home Premium cannot remove a malicious file, the software tells you where it is located so you can delete it manually.
It also highlights the protection tool against webcam hijacking and stops attempts to access the user’s microphone, which is perfect if you usually make video calls.
How much does Sophos antivirus cost?
Sophos Home Premium is available in one-, two-, or three-year subscriptions. Each subscription allows you to protect up to 10 computers for any combination of operating systems, plus an unlimited number of tablets and smartphones for both iOS and Android. Regarding the prices of Sophos Home Premium, they are affordable today:
- Annual: €37.46.
- Two years: €67.46.
- Three years: €86.21.
The truth is that Sophos antivirus has an unbeatable quality-price ratio that has made it gain ground in the market compared to other well-known antivirus suites such as Norton, Bitdefender, Avast, or AVG.
What does Sophos antivirus do?
As we explained at the beginning of the article, today, we are more vulnerable than ever to cyber attacks. Every day, we transfer our personal information and other compromised data, such as photos, confidential documents, credit card numbers, or bank details, to dozens of websites. We could be in serious trouble if a hacker intercepts this private information.
Sophos antivirus is capable of effectively keeping these threats at bay. You can browse and carry out transactions online safely without fear of data theft, being the target of a phishing attack, or being hacked.
Beyond this apparent benefit, once Sophos Home scans and cleans your device, you will see an increase in performance. What does this mean? Well, your computer will work faster and more efficiently since no malware will slow it down.
As we have mentioned, another of the strong points of Sophos Home is parental web filtering, which allows you to control the web content your children access by filtering by categories and devices. The filtering page lists 28 categories of content organized into three groups (Adult & Potentially Inappropriate, Computer & Networking, and General Interest. You can configure Sophos to block access to each group or category or display a warning page allowing access and indicating whose activity Sophos will record.
Sophos has a minimalist and intuitive interface regarding design and usability, making it a perfect choice for non-technical users. However, Sophos antivirus is also a good choice for tech-savvy users due to its advanced settings and remote management feature.
While Sophos has a desktop application, most of its features and settings are managed through an online dashboard accessed via a web browser. The desktop application and the online control panel are easy and intuitive to configure, even for beginners.
As for Sophos Home Premium support, you can chat or email the software staff from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays. And if you have doubts over the weekend, its knowledge base is available to you permanently.
How do you download, configure, or remove Sophos antivirus?
Sophos is one of the easiest antivirus programs to download and use out of all the antimalware programs available. In just 10 minutes, you will have the software installed and configured, after which Sophos will carry out a full system scan in search of any infection that could try to stop the antivirus from working correctly.
Sophos offers two Android, iOS, and Chome OS apps to protect mobile devices. One is Sophos Home, which allows remote management of devices protected with Sophos Home Premium. The other is Intercept
If you choose not to upgrade after the free trial period ends, Sophos will automatically switch to the Sophos Home Free package. And suppose you want to remove Sophos when it is no longer useful or necessary. In that case, you can easily do so from the “uninstall” or “remove” function available in both the Mac applications folder and the “Add or Remove Programs” section of Windows.
Sophos antivirus: economical, effective, and easy-to-use software
Without a doubt, Sophos Home Premium is one of the best antivirus software you can buy today, as attested to by the different recognitions it has received so far. Not surprisingly, this antivirus achieved a score of 100% in total accuracy in domestic antimalware protection in the SE Labs endpoint protection solutions test report in the first quarter of 2024.
SE Labs experts challenge antivirus products by targeting each software with the same malware attack that a device would suffer in the real world. Depending on the response the products offer to the attack, they can obtain certification at five levels: AAA, AA, A, B, and C. Sophos Home Premium antivirus obtained the AAA certification, that is, the highest in total accuracy.
Sophos is a good option for users looking for a comprehensive, easy-to-use antivirus that offers reliable protection against all types of Internet security threats.
Also, remember that Sophos is one of the cheapest antivirus out there, offers a free trial, and has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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