14 DAY TRIAL // Since new viruses keep popping out each day, I think it's the time for a new review of an antiviral product. Today's choice is Sophos Anti-Virus, a program that reached version 4.08 and I got it right here, right now.
The installation kit comes into a self-extracting ZIP archive almost 20MB in size, and when setting up the application, all you have to do is to pay attention to the on screen information. For example, Sophos Anti-Virus can be installed on a workstation as well as on a server from your network, but my choice is the workstation install, and this is what I am going to review now.
First of all, I have to tell you what to expect from this program's interface. Well, don't expect much, you won't get an eye candy today! What we have here is a practical, easy to use and a bit outdated interface. The elements present into this interface are the standard menu bar, a little toolbar with five buttons and three tabbed work areas.
The first operation that most people perform after installing an antivirus program is the on-demand virus scanning. Sophos Anti-Virus starts with the Immediate tab opened, which gives you the opportunity to select the items you want to scan and then hit the big Play button from the toolbar (in fact it's a Scan button, but the shape can't make you think about anything else than the Play button present in most media players today).
Usually the program scans only executable files, but you can choose to have them all scanned, increasing the operation's time a lot, of course. In every area that has settings to change, you'll find that most things you can think of are covered, which is good to know, but let's continue our trip now.
Leaving the Immediate scanning module behind, we move on to the next work area, that can handle Scheduled scans. Scheduling became a need for most programs today, since the amount of data to be processed can be, in most cases, extremely large. Creating scheduled tasks in Sophos Anti-Virus is a child's play, and the best part of this is that you can use different scanning/cleaning settings for each scheduled scan.
Last work area doesn't let you perform any operation, but informs you about the activity of the real-time monitor instead. The on-access scanner using InterCheck technology that comes with Sophos Anti-Virus is fast and won't keep you waiting while small applications like Notepad, Outlook Express or Total Commander load.
Let's get to the toolbar items now. Although there are only five buttons there, their functions differ depending on the work area you're in. The Scan and Cancel Scan buttons can start or stop the on-demand scanner, a scheduled task, or enable/disable the on-access scanning module. The Configuration button allows you to change settings for the current work area, while the last two give you access to the Alerts and the online Virus Library.
The extra features that can be set within this application start with file exclusions, desktop and network messaging, ending with email alerts and advanced logging. All you have to do is open the Options menu and you'll be in control!
If we leave aside the interface, we have a solid antivirus solution in front of us, that combined with a firewall can make our lives a lot easier. Take your time to try this out, I wish you a clean system running at full speed!
The Good
The first good things that are obvious when talking about Sophos Anti-Virus are three - size, speed and ease of use. When digging deeper, you will also notice the excellent features and customization options, and let's not forget about its large virus database, containing over 184.000 viruses, trojans and worms.
The Bad
The first thing that comes into my mind is...price! Come on, sixty dollars sounds too much! For instance, when closing the main interface, you can't start it using the system tray icon of the on-access scanner, and that would have been a nice feature.
The Truth
I'll give this program a chance and keep it around for a while, and I hope to see more of it in the future. If you're tired or disappointed with your old antivirus, give Sophos a chance!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
