Boston College requires all faculty, staff, and students to use antivirus software on their computers to help protect them from viruses, malware, ransomware, and other threats.

Antivirus Software

Student & Computers Not Owned by Boston College

Boston College requires all students, faculty, and staff use antivirus software on computers not owned by BC. If you have a Windows computer, you can use the built-in Windows Defender software for antivirus.

If you do not already have virus protection, BC recommends Sophos Home Commercial Edition for students and for faculty & staff computers not owned by BC. Sophos Home Commercial Edition is a FREE version of Sophos Home Premium with Knowledge Base Support.

To obtain a free copy, you must accept the terms below.

The Sophos Home Premium (or “Sophos Home Commercial Edition”) offer is provided courtesy of Sophos to Boston College students, faculty, and staff. With an @bc.edu email address, you can get Sophos Home Premium at no cost for your computers and devices. Use of Sophos Home Premium is subject to your acceptance of the following terms and conditions:

  • I am a current Boston College student, faculty, or staff member.
  • The computer I will use the software on is my own personal computer & it is not owned by Boston College.
  • By downloading or copying the software, I agree not to rent, sell, lease, assign, or otherwise transfer the Software; reverse engineer, compile, make alterations to, or otherwise modify the Software; or disclose or otherwise make available the Software, User Manuals, or copies thereof, to any third party.
  • I agree to remove the software from my computer(s) if/when my use is no longer covered by the Boston College license (e.g., upon graduation or separation/retirement).
  • This offer may end at any time and without warning. If that happens, I will switch to the basic version of Sophos Home.
     

If you accept the terms above, please click “I Agree” below to proceed to the Sophos software download page.

BC-provided Faculty/Staff Computers

Boston College requires Sophos Intercept X Endpoint Protection (referred to as Sophos Endpoint) for BC-owned Mac & Windows computers. This enhanced antivirus and malware protection service is another step in the University’s efforts to continue to improve security and safeguard data.

Sophos Endpoint will periodically do a full scan of your computer &
will automatically be updated with new software updates, when available.

Faculty & Staff: Contact your TC to obtain Sophos Intercept X Endpoint Protection for your BC-owned computer.

sophos logo

Software Updates

When available, Sophos Endpoint software will be automatically updated. Most of the time, you probably will not notice the update is happening. On Windows computers, you may get a notification that virus protection is turned off (only for a minute while the install is in process). Once the update is complete, you will be protected again with Sophos Endpoint.

Notifications

  • Sophos Endpoint may identify more viruses than your previous antivirus software, so you may receive notifications about potential threats that were undetected before.
  • Sophos Endpoint may misidentify something as a virus, and delete it. If you believe something was misidentified as a virus, contact your TC or the BC Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357) or help.center@bc.edu.
     

Need to Uninstall Sophos Endpoint?

If you need to unistall Sophos Endpoint, you must contact the Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357) or help.center@bc.edu before you can uninstall the software.
 

What to Do if Your Computer is Infected

What are symptoms of a computer virus?

  • Unusual messages or displays on your monitor.
  • Unusual sounds or music played at random times.
  • Your system has less available memory than usual.
  • A disk or volume name has changed.
  • Programs or files are suddenly missing.
  • Unknown programs or files are created.
  • Some of your files become corrupted or suddenly do not work properly.

If you think your computer has a virus infection:

If you need help getting rid of a virus:

  • Contact the Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357) or help.center@bc.edu.
  • Visit the Walk-In Help Desk (O’Neill 3rd floor).
  • Faculty and Staff: Contact your Technology Consultant (TC).

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