Anti-Virus Software

At the end of May 2013, LIS will no longer support Sophos Anti-Virus on personally owned computers.

This means that faculty, staff, and students will have to remove Sophos and acquire their own anti-virus software to protect their computers. Instructions for removing Sophos, including a Sophos Removal Tool, are available at the Sophos Anti-Virus – Uninstall & Removal page. Technology Help Desk staff are available to assist with the transition away from Sophos.

This change is being made for a variety of technical reasons and to ease some of the troubles involved in updating Norse Keys, which could lead to a computer being vulnerable to viruses.

On May 1 and May 2 from 4pm to 7pm, additional LIS staff will be on hand at the Technology Help Desk to assist with removing Sophos and re-installing new anti-virus.

Sophos will remain on Luther owned workstations.

All computers that access the Luther College network – wired or wireless – must have Anti-Virus software installed with up-to-date definitions.

Sophos Anti-Virus is installed by default on all Luther owned workstations.

Users are required to acquire and install an anti-virus for their own personal computers.

For your convenience, we have provided a list of anti-virus recommendations below. Unless otherwise specified, all products are available for both Mac OS X and Windows computers. Products listed in bold are LIS recommended. Where available, we have provided an Easy Installer which will install the anti-virus with minimal effort.

NOTE – If you opt to select an anti-virus product that is not on this list, we recommend you contact the Technology Help Desk prior to purchase or installation. There are many companies that advertise anti-virus software that are scams or in fact malware themselves.

Reminder – Having multiple anti-virus products installed may cause problems with your computer.
Uninstall any previous anti-virus first before installing another!

Free Anti-Virus Solutions

These products are offered for free by their manufacturer.

Microsoft Security Essentials (Windows only) : http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download/
- MSE Easy Installer
Sophos Anti-Virus (OS X only) : http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac...
Avast : http://www.avast.com/
- Avast Easy Installer
Avira : http://www.avira.com/
- Avira Easy Installer
AVG Free : http://free.avg.com/
- AVG Easy Installer
ClamX AV (Mac OS X) : http://www.clamxav.com/
Windows Defender (for Windows 8) : Pre-installed on Windows 8 and includes Microsoft Security Essentials

Paid Anti-Virus Solutions

These products may require a one time or yearly payment.

Kaspersky : http://usa.kaspersky.com/
Mcafee : http://home.mcafee.com/
Norton/Symantec : http://us.norton.com/antivirus/
Panda Anti-Virus : http://www.pandasecurity.com/
Sophos Anti-Virus* : http://www.sophos.com/
Trend Micro : http://www.trendmicro.com/

NOTE – Sophos Anti-Virus Home Edition is free for Mac OS X but is a paid product for Microsoft Windows. The Home Edition differs from the Corporate Edition that has been given out by Luther in the past.