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Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition offers business-grade protection free for home use. And the protection literally is business-grade - the free version is based on the same Mac virus scanner Sophos uses in their Endpoint Security line. Best of all, Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition detects both Mac and Windows malware. For example, if you use Parallels with a Windows virtual machine on your Mac, files in shared folders on your Mac will be scanned for both types of threats.

Fully Customizable Scanning Options

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition provides a number of flexible scanning options. The on-access scanner is configured to automatically scan a file when you try to open, copy, or move it. This type of passive protection is great for letting you work (or play) without interruption, knowing the scanner will jump in and block anything malicious.

On-demand scans let you manually select specific files or folders for more targeted scans. This is particularly useful when, for example, you download a file from the Internet and want to check it for malware before running it. In addition to running on-demand scans through the Sophos interface, you can run an on-demand scan via Terminal as well.

You can also setup email alerts to notify you if a virus is found. This is a feature parents will find particularly valuable. Install the free Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition to your child's Mac and set the email alerts to notify you if there's an infection found.

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac also creates a log file of scans performed, so forensics are always at your fingertips.

Other customizable scan options include the ability to exclude specific files, folders, or volumes from scanning. For example, you can exclude your Time Machine backups and backup drive, if desired (though not necessarily recommended).

Added Protection, No Added Price

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition offers more complete scanning than most of its competitors - detecting not just Mac malware but Windows malware as well. This alone puts them ahead of the pack in Mac antivirus protection. But Sophos goes one step further, offering Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac free to home users. For Mac users in search of antivirus, this may just be an offer that's too good to pass up.

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