FAQ
I need help. What support options are available?
We have a number of ways to help you with Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac.
What are the system requirements?
You can view the system requirements here.
Why do I need a password during installation?
Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac requires Administrator permission in order to install, which is why you will be asked for your Administrator user ID and password. Enter them to proceed with the installation.
How can I tell if the software is working?
It's easy! Just look for the black shield icon on the right-hand side of your menu bar.
What happens if it finds a threat?
Any found threat is listed in the Quarantine Manager component of Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac. Just click the black shield on your menu bar and choose "Open Quarantine Manager" from the menu that appears. Once you have the Quarantine Manager open, you can see all the threats the scans found and choose how to remove them.
How to check that your download is genuine — using a checksum?
Each version of an application has a checksum that changes if the content changes. If you have downloaded Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition from a location other than Sophos, and you want to check that it is genuine, the checksum can tell you if it has been tampered with or is not what it claims to be.
To verify a checksum, run the md5 checksum application as follows to obtain the checksum for the installer that you downloaded:
- Open a Terminal and type md5
- Drag and drop the downloaded file from its saved location to the Terminal so that its name and path appears after md5, e.g. md5 < path/*.dmg >
- Click Return
- The following is displayed:
md5 < path/*.dmg > = < checksum >
where < checksum > is a hex number, something like: 60866ac0d36a938bc816115bc0e747b1
Make a note of this checksum and compare it with the checksum provided on the downloads page.