Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
Sophos Home Premium is uncommitted for a undecomposed toll , protects up to 10 devices , and catch a fair amount of test case viral software , but there are too many issue with installation and set up , and sealed elements of the program are awkward .
Price When Reviewed
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Examining a scan log in Sophos Home Premium for Mac.
Best Pricing Today
Sometimes an software does n’t expand to match its rival . This is the font withSophos Home Premium , which we last reviewed in 2021 . Since then only nominal changes , outside of supporting the current macOS operating system , have been made and many of our criticisms made then still apply .
Sophos Home Premium office as a fairly well - polish anti - piracy / anti - malware suite , its core group module focus around antivirus protective cover , web protection , ransomeware protection , and malicious dealings signal detection .
Examining a scan log in Sophos Home Premium for Mac.
The software unremarkably retails for $ 59.99/£49.95 per year , $ 99.99/£89.95 for two year , and $ 139.99/£114.95 for three years , each subscription licence up to 10 devices . you could presently get 25 % off those prices , with the first yr starting at $ 44.99/£37.46 .
In the past Sophos offered a free version of its habitation product with just the antivirus shelter and website protective covering . In former 2021 , the company discontinued that version , pass on Sophos Home Premium as the only option for personal usage . you’re able to freely and full employ Home Premium for 30 days via an advertizement - gratis trial , the barren visitation protecting up to three devices .
Find out how Sophos equate to theBest antivirus software for Macwe have tested .
The Dashboard’s home screen in Sophos Home Premium for Mac.
Sophos Home Premium is easy enough to download and involve macOS 10.12 ( Monterey ) or later to set up and run . Installing the software evidence to have its own set of issues and requires an online account to be set up . While the installer program functioned right , with the current version instal into the Sophos folder in the Applications folder , it did n’t activate the software in the expected way of life . Instead , everything was essentially controlled via the Menu Bar picture and a vane - free-base user interface . Yes , the program guide you through set up permission to put in internet tools , full disk access code , and heart and soul extensions , but everything is based around the macOS bill of fare Browning automatic rifle pull - down menu and a World Wide Web - based dashboard .
Foundry
Like similar programs , you may opt between nimble CAT scan to examine areas of the hard drive that might be infected with questionable software package as well as full CAT scan , which can take several hours and wrap up the full extent of the hard private road .
While it engage a piddling nosing around the fascia , user can configure the vane Filtering option to allow block for categories such as general interests , societal networking and computing , and adult and potentially inappropriate category and hone their filter in from there , bar traffic that might be revolve around around adult content , gambling , hate , offensive content , violence , weapons , and other categories . The filters work reasonably well and help block going to sites from some of my Gmail ’s spam folder , and it ’s easygoing enough to create a whitelist to supply exclusion for certain internet site as needed .
unluckily , there ’s considerable elbow room for improvement . Although Sophos Home Premium procedure well with macOS ’s GateKeeper feature film and caught and filtered a respectable amount of run malware , it allowed both the AdWind malware and an septic transcript of Adobe Flash Player to be installed . While the Adobe Flash Player software by and by pop the question an uninstallation pick , the AdWind malware had to be remove with another utility , which proved discouraging .
Other elements of the program felt clumsy , and it felt surreal in that while the scan scheduling feature film worked well , it only allow you to set agenda times set to every 30 transactions ( 11:00 AM , 11:30 AM , 12:00 PM , etc ) .
The Dashboard ’s home screenland in Sophos Home Premium for Mac
The fact that the coating runs entirely from the macOS Menu Bar and a web - based fascia takes some getting used to , as nothing appear to be running by the Dock , and outside of a small Menu Bar aliveness , it can be difficult to gauge whether a CAT scan is running unless the Menu Bar item is clicked on and Sophos Home Premium is opened from there .
last , define and scanning an external intensity such as a thumb drive or web volume feel like a harder process than it should be , with these elements included in the overarching Full Scan choice , as opposed to being able-bodied to set what you want to skim and doing this quickly and easy without make to wrestle with a web - base dashboard .
Should you buy Sophos Home Premium?
Sophos Home Premium is available for a salutary price to protect up to 10 devices , it caught a bonnie amount of test case viral software program , and yes , it runs well in the background of the macOS operating system , but it feels like the elements that made the software feel ungainly when we last reckon at it three years ago have n’t been remedied and were barely looked into .
Granted , there are some powerful customization options to be had within the depths of the Dashboard , but when it fare to ease of use ( such as easily read an external volume ) , Sophos Home Premium seems lost in the darkness with no Bob Hope of finding a flashlight in the near future tense . The price might be right , but there are other applications that take on these chore and do them better , and they ’re arguably worth calculate into once the 30 - day trial for this is concluded .
