This article provides information on platform, kernel and system requirements for Sophos Anti-Virus on Linux and UNIX systems.
Known to apply to the following Sophos product(s) and version(s)
Sophos Anti-Virus for Unix
Sophos Anti-Virus for Linux
Sophos Anti-Virus for Linux
Supported Platforms and System Requirements
A summary of the supported platforms for Sophos Anti-Virus can be found here: Antivirus protection for Linux
For a full list of supported platforms, including retirement dates and platforms reaching end of support, visit the software lifecycle page: Software lifecycle
On-Access Scanning (Talpa)
Talpa is the default kernel interface for On-Access scanning. On-Access scanning functionality is built in to the product when using a supported kernel. If you are using a kernel which is not supported, or has been customized, you may be able to enable on-access scanning by compiling the required Talpa binary pack. For more information please see: Sophos Anti-Virus for Linux: Using a custom built or unsupported kernel
On-Access Scanning (Fanotify) – Version 9.x Only
Sophos Anti-Virus version 9 includes beta support for the fanotify kernel interface. Fanotify is an alternative to Talpa and also allows on-access scanning to run on any kernels from 2.6.38 onwards.
Fanotify is currently beta only functionality and as such is disabled by default. For more information, please see: Sophos Anti-Virus for Linux v9: Fanotify Overview
Kernel Support
To obtain a full list of which Linux kernels and versions are supported, download the relevant file from the Sophos Website
Sophos only support kernels that are the default, vendor-supplied kernels for our supported distributions. To be fully supported the kernel must be on the above list – This applies to systems running Talpa, Fanotify, or no on-access scanning.
'Commercially reasonable efforts' support is provided for the use of Sophos Anti-Virus on unsupported platforms and kernels.
Sophos Anti-Virus for Unix
Supported Platforms and System Requirements
A summary of the supported platforms of Sophos Anti-Virus for UNIX can be found here: Antivirus protection for UNIX
For a full list of supported platforms, including retirement dates and platforms reaching end of support, visit the software lifecycle page: Software lifecycle
System Requirements for all Sophos Products