14 DAY TRIAL // Sophos is literally blowing away competition with the announcement of a free Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition which Mac owners are encouraged to download and install as soon as they get the chance to do so.
Described by the security firm as a “Free anti-virus that works simply and beautifully. Just like your Mac.” Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition is the world's first free business-strength anti-virus program for Macs.
In a world where the likes of Intego sell antivirus software to the Mac user base for €59.95, Sophos’ solution is more than welcome.
It’s also a huge blow to those who charge for licenses to use their Mac OS X malware traps.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos had this to say about the new release:
“I'm really pleased about this, because I love Macs. Back at Cluley Towers we only use Macs at home - they're great for messing around with family photographs, making movies, storing music, the list goes on..”
“But just like I make regular backups of my valuable data (some of which is irreplaceable and is priceless in sentimental terms to me and my wife), I also run Sophos Anti-Virus on my Macs.”
“And it's not just to protect my movies and music collection,” Cluley explains on his naked security blog.
“I'm also aware that there are a growing number of bad guys out there who might consider Mac users a "soft target" and deliberately set out to infect Apple Macs, in the hope of stealing login details to banks and social networks, comandeer your MacBook to send spam or install irritating pop-ups, or simply commit identity theft.”
After showing a few examples of the growing number of threats faced by unwary Mac users, Cluley outlines that “Wise Mac users will secure their computers now, outwitting malware authors.
He adds: “if we make their jobs of infecting Macs damn difficult, they will go elsewhere to make a quick buck.”