sophos
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Sophos
Antivirus software from Sophos Plc, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England (www.sophos.com) that runs in a wide variety of environments including Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, NetWare and Network Appliance...
Dictionary
Definition: Sophos
Antivirus software from Sophos Plc, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England (www.sophos.com) that runs in a wide variety of environments including Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, NetWare and Network Appliance storage systems. Used worldwide, Sophos is noted for its fast performance.
Scan Once and Create a Checksum
Instead of scanning for all virus signatures each time a file is opened, Sophos performs a full scan on the file one time. If the file is free of viruses, Sophos creates a checksum for the file that it stores in a database. The next time the file is opened, Sophos recomputes the checksum and compares it against the stored checksum. If they match, the file has not been altered. A non-match means the file has been changed, and a full scan is performed against the file.
Computing and comparing a file's checksum is considerably faster than matching the file against the huge volume of virus signatures that only continues to grow. See virus.
Sophos Vs. Regular Method
As can be seen in this illustration, it takes a lot more time to match a file against all known virus signatures than it does to recompute a checksum and compare it. The full scan has to be performed once in the beginning in order to determine if the file is free of viruses.
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Additional Results
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How Sophos helps Facebook
Sophos helps Facebook by providing the social network with information on malicious and scam links that are spreading on the service, and the Internet as a whole. Facebook can then kill them.
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Sophos acquires mobile management provider Dialogs
Security firm Sophos has acquired mobile management solutions and mobile device management (MDM) provider Dialogs for an undisclosed sum.
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Spamvertised 'Scan from a HP OfficeJet' emails lead to exploits and malware
Security researchers from Sophos have intercepted a currently spamvertised malware campaign, enticing end and corporate users into downloading and viewing a malicious HTML file.
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Two-thirds of 'lost and found' USB flash drives infected with malware
Trust no one ... and nothing!
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Spamvertised 'Cancellation of the package delivery' emails serving malware
Security researchers from Sophos have intercepted a currently spamvertised malware campaign, impersonating the Royal Mail office.
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iPhone 5 themed emails serve Windows malware
Researchers from Sophos have intercepted a currently spamvertised malware campaign.
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Spamvertised 'Scan from a Xerox WorkCentre Pro' leads to malware
Sophos have intercepted a currently circulating malware campaign, enticing users into downloading and executing malicious file attachments.
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'This girl must be Out of her Mind to do this on live Television!' scam spreading on Facebook
Researchers from Sophos have intercepted a currently spreading Facebook scam, enticing users into clicking on a bogus video link.
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'Leaked Video of Casey Anthony CONFESSING to Lawyer!' scam spreading on Facebook
Researchers from Sophos have intercepted a currently spreading Facebook likejacking scam.
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'The Creator of LulzSec arrested in London' scam spreading on Facebook
Researchers from Sophos are reporting on a currently circulating viral Facebook scam.
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Mac Defender malware now spreading virally via Facebook
Mac malware has made the leap to Facebook and is now spreading virally, claiming to be a video of IMF boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
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'The World Funniest Condom Commercial - LOL' scam spreading on Facebook
Security researchers from Sophos have spotted yet another scam currently spreading on Facebook.
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Sophos: 'Microsoft is comparing apples to … nothing'
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'Enable Dislike Button' scam spreading on Facebook
Researchers from Sophos have spotted a currently circulating "Enable Dislike Button" Facebook scam.
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Sophos urges Facebook to better protect its users
In an open letter, Internet security firm Sophos has given Facebook three suggestions to better protect its users.
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Sophos' Jennifer Jewett: 'The social media world doesn't wait'
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Sophos: Facebook tracking app is bogus
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Sophos aims free antivirus at Mac malware (images)
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