Sophos discontinuation at the end of 2022

26.09.2022 -  

From 31.12.2022, the Sophos infrastructure (virus protection for clients and servers) will no longer be available at OVGU. The reason is the expiring contracts with Sophos, which the OVGU, like many other universities, no longer participates in renewing.

The software must be uninstalled / removed from the systems. For systems that are not maintained by the computer center, a tool from Sophos is available. This also applies to private computers.

From the point of view of the computer centre, simple virus protection from a third-party provider is also no longer appropriate. Current systems bring their own software or different rights and role concepts to protect the system. 

In principle, it should be said that protection against viruses is only a small part of the overall system security. A simple virus scanner, as currently used by the Sophos portfolio, offers no added value in this form compared to the free or native alternatives and runs the risk of giving the user a "false sense of security". Sensitization of users, global guidelines, concepts such as working with simple rights (e.g. no admin account for daily work), an always up-to-date system and up-to-date software are among our recommendations.

If you have any questions about the topic and / or need help, please contact the IT Service (it-service@ovgu.de).

Last Modification: 04.11.2023 - Contact Person: Webmaster