Ohio University’s Office of Information Technology recently announced that after tests and negotiations, the university has dropped McAfee Anti-Virus protection software in favor of Sophos Anti-Virus at the start of next year.
McAfee, which has provided software security for the university since 1997, is losing its license with OU because it substantially underperformed Sophos in tests conducted by university technology experts, said Sean O’Malley, Information Technology Communications Manager.
“Times have changed, technology has advanced and we were able to provide better protection with Sophos,” O’Malley said.
This software is responsible for protecting university computers and networks against viruses, malware, spyware and other infections that quietly attack technology, O’Malley said.
Beyond performing better, Sophos also costs more than $7,000 less per year for the university to use, O’Malley said. Sophos’ license cost is $45,321 per year.
Sophos is free for any current OU student or employee to download on OU’s Office of Information Technology website, O’Malley said.
Sophos has other advantages, O’Malley said, adding it is very “low-impact” compared to McAfee, which took a serious toll on a computer’s performance while running.
“When Sophos is running in the background, you don’t even notice it,” he said.
dd195710@ohio.edu
