Sophos Home: Totally free antivirus for home

Kim at Sophos

From Sophos
Thread author
Feb 11, 2016
6
Will Sophos incorporate HitmanPro.Alert into this product?

Sophos Home will be receiving constant improvements over the coming months and years. While it’s not completely certain whether HitmanPro will be incorporated in Sophos Home, I can say that HitmanPro can work in unison with Sophos Home. Other AV products have to be removed before you can install Sophos Home, but not HitmanPro. We’ve specifically designed it so they can work together. And if you want to add an Home XG Firewall to the mix, we are definitely not stopping you!
 

Kim at Sophos

From Sophos
Thread author
Feb 11, 2016
6
Agreed with AzurePhoenix. A Sophos light but deadly suite - XG Firewall, Antivirus, Hitman Pro (where we can enable all or any of the ones we choose) would be wonderful.

Kim, are there any plans in place for a scenario like this? A standalone Sophos antivirus... I think I'll wait for a "Sophos Internet Security" with firewall. I use it on my Android, I hope the (hopefully soon-to-be-built) suite as good on PC.

You can certainly add the Sophos Home XG Firewall to the mix, however, I'm not sure at this point if we have plans for Sophos Home to incorporate UTM and become one integrated product for home use.
 

Kim at Sophos

From Sophos
Thread author
Feb 11, 2016
6
What are its "unique" technologies that somehow make it stand out against other free AVs?
Not many info on the product but it seems it's just a simple antivirus. Anyone has any idea what kind of protection it offers?
I agree with @Azure Phoenix that if they add hitman pro alert within the product it will be powerful but they will probably only add it in their endpoint security software.

I'll update my post to reflect this, but Sophos Home protects with both signature based and signature-less/behavioral-based (zero day) detection (like you see in Sophos Cloud) including on-demand malware scan, on-access malware scan, malicious URL blocking, phishing protection, web filtering, and potentially unwanted app detection. Yes, I'll admit the product looks simple but it's got a lot of firepower behind it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Alex at Sophos

From Sophos
Verified
Content Creator
Developer
Feb 12, 2016
9
Kim what's the idea behind going into free AV product market?
3 years ago I used Sophos Web Security when it was paid. I went for a trial period, did not pay but impressions were good. Also before that there was a rootkit search tool (free) and virus removal too (free). And I first tried another Sophos antivirus (can't even remember the name) in 2004 or something. Good to see the company is now offering full featured free AV.
Sophos has offered free security tools (like the virsus removal tool, home UTM firewall, etc.) primarily as a means to expand the visibility and awareness of Sophos products and to encourage users to experience what Sophos can do first hand. Our business customers can also improve their security when they protect their employees' personal computers, so we offer the free tools for that as well.
 

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
I like the way Sophos have indeed potential and effective in the world of security landscape and having with straightforward free version open to users for having alternatives.

One of the up to date on latest threats especially the blog which matches to the current threats happening today.
 

Pat MacKnife

Level 15
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jul 14, 2015
725
Kim what's the idea behind going into free AV product market?
3 years ago I used Sophos Web Security when it was paid. I went for a trial period, did not pay but impressions were good. Also before that there was a rootkit search tool (free) and virus removal too (free). And I first tried another Sophos antivirus (can't even remember the name) in 2004 or something. Good to see the company is now offering full featured free AV.
A free version will also make publicity for their paid solutions i think ?! ;)
This is now my main AV :)
 
Last edited:

ifacedown

Level 18
Verified
Jan 31, 2014
888
I have been using Sophos Home since it was in Beta. It is by far the best free product I have used, in terms of stability, UI, lightness on resources and protection. I have used free products from Comodo, Avast, Panda, Bitdefender, AVG, Avira and 360 and in my opinion, this is the best. Keep up the great work.
Please do tell us, how do you say that Sophos Home is better than free Comodo, Avast, etc. Please do tell us why. I tried it before but because it has no quarantine I uninstalled it.
 

Axelrod Sven

Level 3
Verified
Well-known
Feb 11, 2016
132
Supposing I have only one dedicated PC, what Firewall should I use alongside Sophos Antivirus? People say Windows Firewall is good enough, but really... is there anyone here who would hire a Microsoft security guard or Microsoft security software for their bank vaults?

Jokes apart, I like the fact that the XG Firewall is free for home users too. But it requires a dedicated PC... and I need both my laptops for home & work (BYOD).
 

XavierGaming

Level 3
Verified
Oct 18, 2015
102
Supposing I have only one dedicated PC, what Firewall should I use alongside Sophos Antivirus? People say Windows Firewall is good enough, but really... is there anyone here who would hire a Microsoft security guard or Microsoft security software for their bank vaults?

Jokes apart, I like the fact that the XG Firewall is free for home users too. But it requires a dedicated PC... and I need both my laptops for home & work (BYOD).

You can try Comodo Firewall if you're advanced enough, if not, you can consult someone here in MT. :D
 

Azure

Level 28
Verified
Top Poster
Content Creator
Oct 23, 2014
1,712
Does Sophos Home have a website for changelog? Also a lot of people have said the product doesn't have a quarantine, would it be possible to incorporate it?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Der.Reisende

jmdbox

Level 1
Sep 8, 2015
3
Works pretty good here, so far running it for a couple days on windows 10 64-bit.

Edit: As to the above poster with chrome problems, i use chrome and firefox and neither seem to be a problem with Sophos Home here on my system.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Der.Reisende

Windows_Security

Level 24
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Mar 13, 2016
1,298
Other AV products have to be removed before you can install Sophos Home, but not HitmanPro. We’ve specifically designed it so they can work together. And if you want to add an Home XG Firewall to the mix, we are definitely not stopping you!

I tried to add Sophos Home XG firewall to the mix on my desktop PC. Now Sophos Home and all my other programs are removed. Windows restore is not working, please advice?
 
Last edited:

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top