Antivirus and Internet Security 2011, Sophos Introduces Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition

Sophos entered the home Mac antivirus marketplace on November 1 with the introduction of Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition. It’s a free product targeted for the home user. Their positioning on the product is that it provides full protection from viruses, Trojans and worms and that it stops all threats, including those designed for Windows. http://www.sophos.com/products/free-tools/free-mac-anti-virus/

Among the three internet security vendors more well known for their free antivirus products, AVG Technologies (AVG LinkScanner for Mac), and Avast! (Avast! Mac Edition) offer Mac antivirus solutions. Avira doesn’t seem to have one. AVG Technologies LinkScanner for Mac has probably contributed to their 100k plus Facebook fans. However, AVG Technologies currently has no consumer paid antivirus Mac product to migrate to. PC Tools (owned by Symantec) has a frequently downloaded IAntiVirus product with 250k downloads from the CNET download site as of November 1.

As with the other vendors with a free antivirus product, support for Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac product is via a user forum, help documents, and videos. There is no phone or email support for Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac.

Other Vendors Providing Antivirus Protection for the Mac

There are a number of vendors providing antivirus protection for the Mac. Panda (Panda Antivirus for Mac) Symantec (Norton Antivirus for Mac, Norton Internet Security for Mac), ESET (ESET Cybersecurity for Mac) (Trend Micro (Smart Surfing for Mac), McAfee (McAfee Internet Security for Mac, McAfee Family Protection for Mac, and McAfee Family Protection for iPhone), and Kaspersky (Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Mac) offer paid internet security/antivirus solutions for the Macintosh. Offering multiple Macintosh solutions has probably contributed to their 300k Facebook fans.

There is “sort of” a migration path to a paid product. Home users can purchase Sophos Anti-Virus. However, the minimum purchase is 3 licenses, for a total cost of about $145 US. Migration and monetization will probably be limited. Sophos’ website implies that the functionality is the same.

“The main motivation is to create lasting fans of our brand,” says Sophos marketing vice president Chris Kraft. “If we [give away] tools that we’re not intending to commercialize, things that people will like and that will let them experience the quality of our security, more customers will emerge over time.”
http://blogs.forbes.com/andygreenberg/2010/11/02/antivirus-for-apple-hits-the-right-price-free/

Sophos may have also felt compelled to offer something for home users since many of the major security vendors offer a Macintosh solution. They may be planning on offering some kind of paid solution for the Macintosh that is more clearly positioned for home users, Kraft’s comments notwithstanding (or other Apple products, iPhone, iPad in the future?). Depending on how the product's functionality compares to other Mac solutions, Users wanting a more robust solution may need to migrate to one of the other vendors mentioned above. However, Sophos states that this is a business strength product. Reviews will probably begin appearing in the near future.