Sophos Vs. Avast which is better?

[Dudefoxlive]

Hi, my friend told me about Sophos antivirus and i use Avast Free antivirus.  my plan  is to see which one is better for my home computer use.  i do work on computers for friends and i will still be using avast as it does not require an account.  Sophos is nice because it allows me to start full system scans remotely from the website.  but the question is which one is better.  i am willing to try it at least so either way i am going to move away from avast for a little while anyway but still.  Any opinions?

[Drseevee]

Hey,

Well since you asked for an opinion I personally prefer Sophos. I know they have a strong enterprise presence.

Having said that most Anti-virus software nowadays are pretty decent with just different features and perks to differentiate them.

There's still some bad AV out there but most of the big brands are pretty decent.

[Droidbot]

there's this really good antivirus

 

it's called common sense 2017

 

try it sometime

[You_are_a_cunt]

2 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

there's this really good antivirus

 

it's called common sense 2017

 

try it sometime

I heard it's freeware too!

[Tedster]

I'd advise just running your own nice firewall and DNS blocking (which I'm obliging myself to at least try at some point), and then you should be relatively safe.

I'm not sure whether you'd care about this at all, but there was a great before and after for Sophos in relation to WannaCry and its effects on the UK's NHS:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/15/sophos_nhs/

[vorticalbox]

5 minutes ago, Tedster said:

I'd advise just running your own nice firewall and DNS blocking (which I'm obliging myself to at least try at some point), and then you should be relatively safe.

I'm not sure whether you'd care about this at all, but there was a great before and after for Sophos in relation to WannaCry and its effects on the UK's NHS:

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/15/sophos_nhs/

Wanna cry is using an exploit that was left unpatched. none of the AV engines detected it when it first was released so this point is moot. 

 

I would use comodo internet security, it's free has industry best firewall and auto deny architecture which auto sandboxes any files it doesn't know. 

 

rather than the way most av works with a black list, block known bad stuff comodo uses a whitelist of safe applications and blocks or sandbox the rest. 

 

this means there is a bit of a learning curve but leaves you in a must better place to fight off malware. 

[Princess Luna]

ESET Nod32

[Dudefoxlive]

well im going to try sophos for a little bit.

[Tedster]

6 minutes ago, vorticalbox said:

Wanna cry is using an exploit that was left unpatched. none of the AV engines detected it when it first was released so this point is moot. 

 

I would use comodo internet security, it's free has industry best firewall and auto deny architecture which auto sandboxes any files it doesn't know. 

 

rather than the way most av works with a black list, block known bad stuff comodo uses a whitelist of safe applications and blocks or sandbox the rest. 

 

this means there is a bit of a learning curve but leaves you in a must better place to fight off malware. 

Sophos claimed that some of their things detected it immediately, I believe.

How do you know that the sandboxing can work well and not have any ways of breaking out?

Also, I'm saying that Sophos was, as it was, gutsy enough to say that the NHS was "totally protected" - which may change your opinion of them as a company and make you less willing to go with them.

[Drseevee]

9 minutes ago, Tedster said:

Sophos claimed that some of their things detected it immediately, I believe.

 

Bitdefender too.

 

End-point protection is essential. Whilst decent network and layered defences are important there is always the potential and it is much more likely to bypass those defences if the end device is compromised.

 

37 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

there's this really good antivirus

 

it's called common sense 2017

 

try it sometime

35 minutes ago, revsilverspine said:

I heard it's freeware too!

 

 

Common sense doesn't protect you from everything and it's not freeware it's rather exclusive nowadays. Granted 'common' sense is the perhaps most effective defence.

 

Looks like I might not be the only one to read https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/

[MicrowavedGerbil]

Honestly most AV software is crap. I use a combination of regular Malwarebytes runs, Windows Defender, updating when I'm told to, and just common sense, and so far I haven't gotten a virus.

[You_are_a_cunt]

9 minutes ago, Drseevee said:

Bitdefender too.

 

End-point protection is essential. Whilst decent network and layered defences are important there is always the potential and it is much more likely to bypass those defences if the end device is compromised.

 

Common sense doesn't protect you from everything and it's not freeware it's rather exclusive nowadays. Granted 'common' sense is the perhaps most effective defence.

 

Looks like I might not be the only one to read https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/

Windows 8/8.1/10 with up to date updates and MS Security is just fine unless you're deliberately downloading every scam app, malware, spyware and virus because of lack of common sense.

[vorticalbox]

49 minutes ago, Tedster said:

How do you know that the sandboxing can work well and not have any ways of breaking out?

that would be a very targeted malware as there are lots of technologies for sandboxes and there would be jo way of knowing what the victim was uses but you're right it could happen. No system is 100% secure.

 

24 minutes ago, revsilverspine said:

Windows 8/8.1/10 with up to date updates and MS Security is just fine unless you're deliberately downloading every scam app, malware, spyware and virus because of lack of common sense.

I agree, wannacrypt wasn't your usual spam email, dodgy download malware. It was a worm that spread by a remote exploit not something you see every day. 

[Dudefoxlive]

from what i see i like the online management system and the ability to start a scan on any computer from the dashboard.

[Droidbot]

8 hours ago, Drseevee said:

 

Common sense doesn't protect you from everything and it's not freeware it's rather exclusive nowadays. Granted 'common' sense is the perhaps most effective defence.

 

Looks like I might not be the only one to read https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/

Protects ya for a good 95 percent of online threats, and the other 5 percent is exploit kits, which I'm protected through Malwarebytes Anti-exploit (standalone). MBAM scans every 2 weeks or so. Haven't ran a 24/7 AV for 3 or 4 years at this point

[kirashi]

10 hours ago, MicrowavedGerbil said:

Honestly most AV software is crap. I use a combination of regular Malwarebytes runs, Windows Defender, updating when I'm told to, and just common sense, and so far I haven't gotten a virus.

2 hours ago, Droidbot said:

Protects ya for a good 95 percent of online threats, and the other 5 percent is exploit kits, which I'm protected through Malwarebytes Anti-exploit (standalone). MBAM scans every 2 weeks or so. Haven't ran a 24/7 AV for 3 or 4 years at this point

Can confirm. As a computer technician, I personally have been running Defender and MBAM Premium for over 3 years now, and download a lot of questionable things, and yet my system is clean. I pair these tools with CommonSense™ and things stay relatively safe.

[Builder]

Common sense never secured anything, humans are terrible, terrible creatures and the only way to protect them is with machines. People have notoriously bad judgment.

 

OP, just stick with Windows Defender and you'll be fine.

[Dudefoxlive]

i am just looking to try it then i might go back to avast.  don't know until i try it and know it capibilities.  P.S. i HATE Windows Defender and refuse to use it.