February 11, 2010
Out with McAfee and in with Sophos — Change your anti-virus software by March 31.
Faculty, staff and students using UW-licensed McAfee anti-virus software must replace it by March 31 because the University has chosen a new anti-virus software. The new UW-licensed anti-virus software, Sophos, is now available here. Because it is UW-licensed, there is no charge to individuals, and you can install it on your personal computer.
The new software was chosen because a number of faculty and staff at the University had become dissatisfied with some of the limitations of McAfee, according to Sandra McGowan, technology manager for UW Technology.
“The key reason Sophos was chosen is that it works well on a number of platforms, technical support staff can talk with the vendor directly, and this package offered significant price savings for the University,” McGowan said.
The University put out a Request for Proposal seeking a new vendor. The selection of Sophos was made by a team that included representatives from the College of Arts and Sciences, UW Medicine, the College of Engineering, the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, the Tacoma and Bothell campuses, Purchasing, and UW Technology.
Separate Sophos installers are included for faculty/staff and for students, and you can select Windows, Mac, or Linux. Sophos is easy to install; the Sophos installer will attempt to remove other anti-virus software (including McAfee) as part of its installation.
“A number of technical staff have received special training from Sophos,” McGowan said, “and they’ll be able to exchange ideas, develop best practices and expand the anti-virus support community at the University.”
Systems with McAfee installed from the UW site license on or after April 1 will be out of compliance because the UW site license will be expired. Faculty and staff should check with their support staff if their UW computer is centrally managed.
