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Sophos @ Home

Sophos antivirus (Sophos SAV) software is licensed for Monash staff and students to use at home on privately owned computers. To install the software you will need to download two files from the web (see below). Your Authcate username and password is required to download the software to ensure licensing conditions are adhered to.

It is important to note that the software you are downloading for remote use is configured differently to the Sophos software on University workstations on the Monash LAN. The default configuration of the software is to prevent access to infected documents and files, but not to automatically clean them. The vendors of the software believe strongly that any file that is discovered to be infected should be manually deleted and restored from a known-good backup. If you wish to change the behaviour so that the files are cleaned, you must configure Sophos SAV once you have installed it on your computer.

Important Notes

If you have previously been using the Sophos Remote Update software and Sophos version 4 then you will need to perform this installation prior to March 2007. Sophos version 4 will not be maintained past this date.

This distribution is intended for use only on privately owned Windows PCs, it is not intended for use on University-owned machines. ITS can provide only limited support for this software on privately owned PCs.

The initial installation of Sophos antivirus must be performed by an account holder with Administrator-equivalent rights to the PC. Once this is done, Sophos Anti-Virus will automatically maintain itself by installing updates from the Central Installation Directories held on the ITS servers.

Installation

Please ensure that any pre-existing antivirus products from other vendors have been removed from the computer and that these will not be automatically reinstalled. You do not have to manually remove Sophos version 4 or the Sophos Remote Update software.

The Sophos antivirus files are available from the Monash website at http://sophos.monash.edu.au/Sophos-Home.exe (33M). This file can be downloaded directly, or transferred via CD or memory stick from an on-campus PC. It is also recommended that you read the following:

Locate the Sophos-Home.exe file in the Windows Explorer and double-click on it.

Either accept the default extract location, or enter another disk and/or folder name and select Install. 60M of disk space is required for temporary files, so C:\savxpsa may not be appropriate for your installation. This folder can be manually deleted after the installation is completed.

Select Next.

You will need to read and accept the license agreement in order to legally use this software, then select Next.

Either leave as the default, or select the desired installation folder and select Next.

Enter the URL http://sophos.monash.edu.au/ACSAVXP, your authcate account name and your authcate password, then select Next.

Optional - Proxy Details

If you are using an external ISP, and that ISP requires that you use their proxy, then it will be necessary for you to enter these proxy details. If this is the case, select the "proxy" button and enter the details as supplied by the external ISP.

Select Next.

Wait while the two components; Sophos Anti-Virus and Sophos AutoUpdate are installed.


Select Next.

Select Finish.

The Sophos system tray icon (a blue shield) should appear in the Windows system tray (lower right of the desktop) and perform an initial automatic update. The coloured bands of the icon will rotate while the update is in progress, once completed, the PC is protected.

Manually Checking for Updates

At any time, you can manually check for updates by right-clicking on the Sophos system tray icon and selecting Update now.

Problem Resolution

Most problems are due to incorrect configuration of the update settings. Right-click on the system-tray icon and select Configure updating... to check these settings. Please check and ensure that the URL is correct, and that your current authcate username and password are supplied. Note that if your authcate password changes during the year, you must change it in the Sophos program.

The Sophos support knowledgebase contains details of a large number of typical problems and their resolution.

For additional assistance, please contact your local ITS Service Desk.