Skip to content

Review: Sophos Antivirus for Mac protects against malware, doesn’t impact performance

sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-editionIf you’re like some Mac users, you might think malware is only a problem for Windows PCs, and that you don’t need an antivirus. As we’ve explained previously, this is a myth. Naturally, an antivirus company would say such a thing. But independent reviewers will also tell you that it’s time to think about installing antivirus on your Macs.

In a post at the website LowEndMac.com, writer Simon Royal explains how he evolved from a Mac early-adopter not worried about Mac OS X malware, into someone who is a converted user of Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition.

Unlike some antivirus suites, Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition won’t impact your Mac’s speed and performance. According to the reviewer:

With some antivirus suites for Windows you can really feel a difference in computer performance, sucking system resources and some even bring them down to a crawl.

How does Sophos compare? I have been running Sophos on my 2009 MacBook running Mavericks for just over a week, and I haven’t noticed any performance drop since it has been installed.

Although Mac OS X malware is less common than malware attacking Windows, it is a problem that Mac users should address. For example, our SophosLabs researchers recently spotted Mac malware that spreads via spam emails, claiming to notify recipients of an “undelivered courier item.”

It’s also worth pointing out, as reviewer Simon Royal does, that Macs can become infected with malware for Windows. Although Windows malware won’t hurt your Mac, you could easily spread this malware on to other Windows PCs (maybe belonging to your work colleagues and friends).

Check out the review “Mac Anti-Virus: Why I’m Trying Out Sophos Home Edition,” and see why you’ll want to come back to Sophos.com to get your own free download of Sophos Antivirus for Mac Home Edition.

5 Comments

Leave a Reply to victormiguelvelasquez Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to get the latest updates in your inbox.
Which categories are you interested in?
You’re now subscribed!