Anti-virus software is vital to help keep both University computers and your own personal computer secure. With this in mind, the Computing Services Centre (CSC) has performed rigorous due-diligence work to ensure the right product is chosen to address the upcoming challenges users face in the digital age. Benchmarking was also done to look for a product that has a strong reputation to support higher education needs. The product selected is one of the top endpoint security solutions available in the market, as mentioned in many reviews completed by companies such as Gartner, G2, TechRadar and PCMag.

A new anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-ransomware software, Sophos Endpoint Protection has been selected by the CSC, which is now available to all CityU users for better protection/security. Staff and Students are able to enjoy a safe computing environment on-campus and also at home by downloading and installing the software onto their devices. This new software provides comprehensive endpoint protection including anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-ransomware protection so that users may feel safer when browsing the internet. CityU users may also download the software to their home computers and mobile devices in order to capitalize on the full benefits of endpoint protection.

There are two types of licenses available for CityU users:

For CityU managed devices - Sophos Intercept X Endpoint

Sophos Intercept X Endpoint will be installed automatically on all Staff LAN PCs to provide a safe and secure working environment for staff. Users may also submit a CSC Work Request for installing it locally on any standalone University-owned PCs (Windows/Mac). Some key features include:

• Manage endpoint protection from a unified cloud management console
• Attempts to disable/remove agents are detected, protocoled and blocked
• Deep-learning technology - an advanced form of machine learning that detects malware even when it has never been seen before.
• Anti-ransomware technology – detects malicious encryption processes and shuts them down before they can spread across the campus network.

Please refer to https://sophos.com/en-us/products/endpoint-antivirus.aspx for more information about Sophos Intercept X Endpoint.

For staff/student devices - Sophos Home Premium

To enhance the security of computer devices for staff and students who need to work from home and provide better protection on their devices, Sophos has granted the University complimentary licenses of Sophos Home Premium with one license protecting up to 10 computers (Windows and Mac) owned by current staff and students. With their CityU email accounts, users can get Sophos Home Premium at no cost on their personal computers and devices: Register to download Sophos Home Premium to validate your free license. After installation, users would be able to manage their devices via the web console.  Please visit https://home.sophos.com/en-us.aspx for more information about Sophos Home Premium.

(Note: The above Sophos Endpoint Protection licenses are not applicable for use on Windows Server/Linux)

If you have any enquiries, you are most welcome to contact the IT Service Desk at 3442-8340 (also clickable on your desktop phone) or email to IT.ServiceDesk@cityu.edu.hk.