Sophos是一家主要专注于开发和销售商业安全(business security)产品的公司。但是，他们还免费提供家庭安全产品(home security product)，任何家庭用户(home user)都可以下载和使用。我们很想知道Sophos Home的全部内容以及它是否能有效地保护我们的 Windows 计算机。因此，我们将它进行了试驾(test drive)，现在我们想告诉您这款产品的优缺点(pros and cons)。阅读(Read)我们的评论，看看Sophos Home是否是您想要在Windows计算机和设备上使用的安全工具：(security tool)
Sophos Home 擅长什么？
Sophos Home是一个很好的安全工具(security tool)，适合那些想要：
- 提供简单用户界面(user interface)的安全产品(security product)
- 无论他们喜欢使用哪种网络浏览器，都可以有效地抵御危险网站
- 良好的反恶意软件保护
- 以上所有，免费！
优点和缺点
在以下列表中，我们收集了Sophos Home的一些最佳方面：
- 杀毒引擎(antivirus engine)非常擅长清理恶意软件(cleaning malware)
- 网络防护罩过滤您计算机上的所有互联网流量(internet traffic)，因此无论您喜欢哪种网络浏览器(web browser)，您都可以获得同样出色的保护(protection regardless)
- 用户界面(user interface)很简单，所以绝对的初学者可能会喜欢它
- 它对计算机的性能和速度没有负面影响(performance and speed)
- 它不会捆绑您可能不想要或不需要的任何东西
- 这是免费的！
另一方面，这里有一些我们不喜欢Sophos Home的地方：
- 防病毒引擎(antivirus engine)在扫描您的计算机以查找恶意软件时比其他引擎慢
- 简单意味着您不会获得任何高级配置选项
- 离线没有可用的日志或统计信息，只有在线可用
判决
Sophos Home是不适合所有人的安全软件。(security software)我们喜欢其反病毒引擎(antivirus engine)的效率，我们也喜欢其简单而简约的方法。该产品可以取悦初学者和对复杂的杀毒产品不感兴趣的用户。但是，它的简单性是有代价的，这意味着除了Sophos Home提供的基本功能之外，没有可配置的高级选项，也没有可以提高安全性的有用的额外功能。此外，它不提供防火墙保护，因此您必须依赖Windows 防火墙(Windows Firewall)。我们相信Sophos Home是喜欢免费安全产品并且不想摆弄复杂的人的绝佳选择安全应用程序(security apps)。想要完整保护（还包括防火墙）的高级(Advanced)用户应该寻找商业产品，而不是免费产品。
下载安装体验(download and installation experience)
您首先访问Sophos 的网站(Sophos' website)并创建一个用户帐户(user account)。除非您创建在线帐户，否则您无法使用此免费产品。但是，这是一个简单的过程，只需要您的一些详细信息：您的姓名、电子邮件地址(email address)和密码。
创建帐户后，使用它登录Sophos Home仪表板网页。如下图所示，这个网页看起来很简单，也很容易使用。要在您的计算机上安装 Sophos Home，请单击或(Sophos Home)点击(click or tap)PC 安装程序(PC Installer )按钮。
然后，您的浏览器开始下载名为SophosInstall.exe的文件，其大小为 255MB。在我们的测试计算机(test computer)上安装安全应用程序(security application)只用了几分钟，在此期间，从Sophos服务器下载的唯一额外数据是病毒定义数据库更新，总大小为 14.7MB(size 14.7MB)。安装过程(installation process)简单明了，因为没有设置或选项可供选择。您只需单击安装(Install)，然后最后完成(Finish)。
安装完成后，该安全产品没有(security product)加载用户界面(interface loading)，也没有显示任何对话框。但是，如果您查看系统托盘(system tray)，您可以看到应用程序已加载并且它已经在监控您的安全性。
到目前为止，在 Windows 计算机上下载和安装 Sophos Home 是一件容易的事，我们喜欢这一点。(Thus far, downloading and installing Sophos Home on a Windows computer is an easy thing to do, and we love that.)
与Windows、网络浏览器和通用Windows 平台(Windows platform)应用程序集成
Sophos Home在安装过程中会自动禁用Windows Defender，这是一件好事，因为它避免了可能的冲突和性能问题。另一方面，Sophos Home没有禁用Windows 防火墙(Windows Firewall)，但它有一个很好的理由不这样做：Sophos Home不包含防火墙模块。您可以依靠Windows 防火墙(Windows Firewall )来防御网络攻击，也可以安装不同的独立防火墙应用程序(standalone firewall application)。好的部分是这意味着您在使用Windows中可用的任何网络功能时都不会遇到问题。
为了您的在线安全，Sophos Home不包含任何 Web 浏览器扩展，而是更喜欢扫描您计算机上的所有互联网流量(internet traffic)，以阻止您访问恶意网站。
Sophos Home与我们的Windows计算机集成的另一个好处是，该安全产品(security product)似乎对您的计算机性能没有不利影响。我们根据我们所做的测量做出此声明。首先(First)，我们使用BootRacer测量了我们的测试计算机在安装(test computer)Sophos Home前后的启动时间(boot time)，得到的结果是相同的。其次，我们查看了Sophos Home的(Sophos Home)RAM 消耗(RAM consumption)：当没有异常情况发生时，它只需要大约 22MB 的RAM跑步。那是很少的！第三，我们还使用Speedtest.net和LAN Speed Test进行了一些测试。安装安全套件(security suite)前后速度相同，这意味着它对互联网或本地网络上的数据传输没有负面影响，这是一个很好的结果！
Sophos Home 是一款与 Windows 完美集成的安全产品。Sophos Home 不会阻碍网络功能，因为安全产品不包含防火墙模块。至于您的在线安全，您将获得一个过滤所有互联网流量的网络防护罩，不涉及网络浏览器扩展，这是我们喜欢的。最后，我们还感谢这个安全产品不会减慢计算机或您的数据传输速度。(Sophos Home is a security product that is well integrated with Windows. The networking features are unhindered by Sophos Home because the security product does not include a firewall module. As for your online security, you get a web shield that filters all the internet traffic, with no web browser extensions involved, and that is something we like. Finally, we also appreciate the fact that this security product does not slow down the computer or your data transfers.)
易于使用和配置
安全产品通常提供复杂的用户界面，有很多选项和设置。即使它们不明显，它们也在那里，组织在多个窗口、部分、列表等中。Sophos Home的情况并非如此，它可能提供了我们在安全产品(security product)中见过的最直接的用户界面。这是它的图像，以便更好地了解我们正在谈论的内容：
用户界面(user interface)显示您的计算机是否安全并为您提供两个按钮：“扫描我的计算机”("Scan My Computer")和“管理我的安全性”。“扫描我的电脑”("Manage My Security." "Scan My Computer")会启动对恶意软件和可能不需要的应用程序的完整计算机扫描(computer scan)，“管理我的安全”("Manage My Security")会打开您的默认 Web 浏览器并将您带到您的Sophos在线帐户。如果您开始扫描计算机，用户界面(user interface)会显示进度和识别的威胁数量，但不会显示其他任何内容。
("Manage My Security")在您登录Sophos帐户后， “管理我的安全”将带您上网；您可以查看设备上事件的状态(Status)和历史记录(History)，设置反恶意软件和网站例外，并打开或关闭实时保护(Real-Time Protection)、潜在有害应用程序 (PUA) 保护(Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) Protection, )和Web 保护(Web Protection)功能。
必须手动输入例外情况，方法是键入您不想被扫描威胁的文件夹或文件的完整路径，或者键入您不想被过滤的网站的地址。这并不容易，但所有其他可以打开或关闭的功能都是在简单开关的帮助下控制的，所以这很好。
如果需要，您还可以通过单击桌面用户界面(desktop user interface)右下角的问号按钮访问(question mark button)在线帮助(help documentation online)文档。如果您需要对Sophos Home(Sophos Home)的进一步支持，您还可以查看社区论坛(community forums)和知识库(knowledge base)。我们没有找到任何通过电子邮件或电话(email or phone)获得支持的选项。
关于警报和通知，Sophos Home是正确的：每次在您的计算机上检测到恶意软件时，您都会收到警报。发生这种情况时，用户界面(user interface)会向您显示有一个或多个警报。
如果您想查看日志和统计信息，您不会在Sophos Home中获得任何信息，至少在您的计算机本地是这样。但是，如果您在Sophos Home仪表板上联机，您可以看到在您的每台计算机上清除的威胁和阻止的网站的数量。
Sophos Home 是具有我们所见过的最简单用户界面的安全产品。这不是一件坏事，我们必须承认我们喜欢这种方法。对于不想使用复杂应用程序的人来说，这是最佳选择之一。(Sophos Home is the security product with the most straightforward user interface we have ever seen. That is not a bad thing, and we must admit that we like this approach. It is one of the best options for people who do not want to use complicated apps.)
阅读此评论的下一页，了解Sophos Home在保护您的计算机免受网络攻击和恶意软件以及其他相关信息方面的效率。
Security for everyone - Reviewing Sophos Home
Sophos іs a company that focuses mostly on develoрing and selling business security products. However, they are also offering a home securіty product for free, which any home user can download and use. We were curious to sеe what Sophos Home is all about and whether it is efficient at protecting our Windows computers. Therefore, we have taken it for a test drive, and now we would like to tell you what the pros and cons of this product are. Read our review and see whether Sophos Home is a security tool that you want on your Windows computers and devices:
What is Sophos Home good at?
Sophos Home is a good security tool for people who want:
- A security product that offers a simple user interface
- To be protected efficiently against dangerous websites, regardless of which web browser they like using
- Good anti-malware protection
- All of the above, for free!
Pros and cons
In the following list, we have gathered some of the best aspects of Sophos Home:
- The antivirus engine is very good at cleaning malware
- The web shield filters all the internet traffic going on your computer, so you get the same excellent protection regardless of the web browser you prefer
- The user interface is simple, so absolute beginners will probably love it
- It has no negative effect on the performance and speed of your computer
- It does not bundle anything you might not want or need
- It is free!
On the other hand, here are a couple of the things we did not like about Sophos Home:
- The antivirus engine is slower than others at scanning your computer for malware
- Simplicity means that you do not get any advanced configuration options
- There are no logs or statistics available offline, only online
Verdict
Sophos Home is security software that is not for everyone. We like the efficiency of its antivirus engine, and we are also fans of its simple and minimalist approach. This product can please beginners and users who are not interested in complicated antivirus products. However, its simplicity does have a cost, meaning that there are no advanced options to configure, no useful extra features that could increase your security besides the basics that are provided by Sophos Home. Also, it does not offer firewall protection, so you have to rely on the Windows Firewall. We believe Sophos Home is an excellent choice for people who prefer free security products and do not want to fiddle with complicated security apps. Advanced users who want complete protection that also includes a firewall, should look for commercial products, not free ones.
The download and installation experience
You start by going to Sophos' website and creating a user account. Unless you create an online account, you cannot use this free product. However, this is a straightforward process, and it only requires a few details about you: your name, email address and a password.
After you create an account, use it to log in to your Sophos Home dashboard webpage. As you can see in the image below, this webpage looks simple and very easy to use. To install Sophos Home on your computer, click or tap on the PC Installer button.
Then, your browser starts downloading a file called SophosInstall.exe, which has a size of 255MB. Installing the security application on our test computer took only a few minutes, during which time the only additional data being downloaded from Sophos' servers was the virus definitions database updates, which had a total size 14.7MB. The installation process is easy and straightforward, as there are no settings to make or options to choose from. You just click Install and then Finish at the end.
When the installation is finished, there is no user interface loading and no dialogues displayed by this security product. However, if you take a look in your system tray, you can see that the application was loaded and it is already monitoring your security.
Thus far, downloading and installing Sophos Home on a Windows computer is an easy thing to do, and we love that.
Integration with Windows, web browsers and universal Windows platform apps
Sophos Home automatically disables Windows Defender during its installation, and that is a good thing as it avoids possible conflicts and performance issues. On the other hand, Sophos Home does not disable Windows Firewall, but it has an excellent reason for not doing it: Sophos Home does not include a firewall module. You can either rely on Windows Firewall for protection against network attacks or install a different standalone firewall application. The good part is that it means you should not have problems using any of the networking features available in Windows.
For your online security, Sophos Home does not include any web browser extensions and instead prefers to scan all the internet traffic that goes on your computer to stop you from visiting malicious websites.
Another positive about the integration of Sophos Home and our Windows computers is the fact that this security product seems to have no adverse effect on your computer's performance. We make this statement based on the measurements we did. First, we used BootRacer to measure the boot time of our test computer before and after installing Sophos Home, and the results we got were the same. Secondly, we looked at the RAM consumption of Sophos Home: when nothing extraordinary happens, it needs only about 22MB of RAM to run. That is very little! Thirdly, we also ran a few tests with Speedtest.net and with LAN Speed Test. The speeds were the same before and after installing the security suite, which means that it has no negative effect on data transfers on the internet or local network, and that is an excellent result!
Sophos Home is a security product that is well integrated with Windows. The networking features are unhindered by Sophos Home because the security product does not include a firewall module. As for your online security, you get a web shield that filters all the internet traffic, with no web browser extensions involved, and that is something we like. Finally, we also appreciate the fact that this security product does not slow down the computer or your data transfers.
Ease of use and configuration
Security products usually offer sophisticated user interfaces, with lots options and settings. Even if they are not obvious, they are there, organized in multiple windows, sections, lists, and so on. That is not the case for Sophos Home, which offers probably the most straightforward user interface we have seen in a security product. Here is an image of it to get a better idea of what we are talking about:
The user interface shows whether your computer is secure and gives you two buttons: "Scan My Computer" and "Manage My Security." "Scan My Computer" starts a full computer scan for malware and potentially unwanted applications, and "Manage My Security" opens your default web browser and takes you to your Sophos online account. If you start scanning your computer, the user interface shows you the progress and the number of threats identified, but not anything else.
"Manage My Security" takes you online and after you sign into your Sophos account; you can see the Status and History of events on your device, set antimalware and website exceptions and turn the Real-Time Protection, Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) Protection, and Web Protection features on or off.
Exceptions must be entered manually, by typing the full path of folders or files that you do not want to be scanned for threats, or by typing the addresses of the websites that you do not want to be filtered. This is not as easy as it could be, but all the few other features that can be turned on or off are controlled with the help of simple switches, so that is good.
If you need to, you can also access the help documentation online, by clicking on the question mark button found on the bottom-right corner of the desktop user interface. If you need further support for Sophos Home, you can also check the community forums and the knowledge base. We did not find any option to get support via email or phone.
Regarding alerts and notifications, Sophos Home is right to the point: you get an alert each time there's malware detected on your computer. When that happens, the user interface shows you that there are one or more alerts.
If you want to see logs and statistics, you do not get any in Sophos Home, at least locally on your computer. However, if you go online on your Sophos Home dashboard, you can see the number of threats cleaned and websites blocked on each of your computers.
Sophos Home is the security product with the most straightforward user interface we have ever seen. That is not a bad thing, and we must admit that we like this approach. It is one of the best options for people who do not want to use complicated apps.
Read the next page of this review to see how efficient Sophos Home is at protecting your computer from network attacks and malware, and other information about it.
