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Sophos Antivirus

Sophos on campus

As of April 1, 2003, the College has implemented Sophos Anti-Virus’s software as the campus standard in computer virus protection. This software is installed on all campus computers, including student labs, office computers, and library-stations. We administer updates and virus reporting from one central location and the latest virus defense information is distributed to each computer within hours of being made available to the public.

Another feature available to us is proactive, after hours virus scanning. For this to work on your computer, please leave the computer turned on at night. Please do not remain logged into the network! We recommend people log out (Start/Log Off) when you leave for the day.

You may turn off your monitor. However, monitors go into very low power sleep modes after 20 minutes of inactivity, so this is not critical. Flat panel models also use much less power than the larger CRT monitors.

Sophos at home

The Sophos Anti-Virus software is also available to College students and employees for use on their personal computers. To download your copy of Sophos Anti-Virus, follow the instructions below, entering your College email username and password as prompted.

This software is provided “as is” and the College claims no responsibility for its compatibility with other software or hardware. It is only supported up to the point of installation. Please see our departmental FAQ for further information.

Be sure that you have completely uninstalled any anti virus software currently on your computer.

Instructions for Mac

Click here for instructions to install Sophos on the mac.

Instructions for PC

  • Click here to begin downloading the Sophos Remote Update application, this is a large file so it will take a little while to download.
  • Be sure that you have completely uninstalled any anti virus software currently on your computer.
  • Double click on the savw_95_sa_sfx.exe file to start the installation process.
  • If you see a security warning, select Run to continue installation. It will unpack the installation files and then prompt you through the install wizard. When prompted for Update Source please enter the URL "http://av.caldwell.edu/windows" in the Address line and click Next to continue. You DO NOT need to enter your username and password but you MUST enter the URL.
  • Once you have answered all the prompts it will install the software and then check for any updates.

  • While the software is checking for updates you should notice that the left side of the shield is flashing green. If the updates are unsuccessful the blue shield will change its appearance to this .
  • Right-click on the shield and select Update Now to force an unscheduled update

Sophos Antivirus FAQ

Sophos Endpoint Security and Control standalone startup guide for PC version 9.5 and Mac version 7
http://www.sophos.com/sophos/docs/eng/instguid/sesc_95_ssgeng.pdf

Sophos Endpoint Security And Control Help guide
http://www.sophos.com/sophos/docs/eng/manuals/sesc_95_heng.pdf

What does the red x on the shield mean?

Your updates have not successfully installed. Please try to update again by right-clicking on the shield and select Update Now to force an unscheduled update.

When will my computer get scanned?

Because you will need a local login name and password that has administrative rights on your computer, you have to configure a scheduled scan on you own.

How often will my computer check for updates?

It checks every time you boot up your computer after you login. If you don’t have an always on internet connection you should get the red x on the blue shield that it couldn’t get the updates. After that initial check your computer is set to check every 60 minutes for updates. You have to be logged in to your PC for it to check for the updates. If you would like to change how often your computer checks for updates you need to do the following:

  • Right-click on your blue shield
  • Select Configure Updating
  • Click on the Schedule Tab
  • Change “Check for updates every 60 minutes” to a different amount of time
  • Click Ok to save your changes

What should I do when I get the pop-up message on my screen about a virus?

There is a link inside the warning that you can click on to find out about the virus that the warning is telling you about. Click on the link and follow the directions for removal of the infection. Then close the warning.

How do I scan removal media?

  • Open Sophos Anti-Virus
  • Click Setup a New Scan
  • Select the drive that you would like to scan
  • Give the scan a name if you would like
  • Click Save and Start to run the scan

How do I run a non-scheduled scan of my PC?

  • Open Sophos Anti-Virus
  • Click Scan Local Drives

If you experience problems call x2222 on campus, or 973-618-3000 x2222 off campus.