SEC 5.2.1 and Sophos for MAC OS X Preview (9.0.3)

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CheltCollege wrote:

• Update server addresses (which is addressed in the latest version, sans proxy settings)

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Very curious to hear why you'd manage proxy settings for endpoints that are outside your own network. Sounds like users take these systems offsite, which I'd expect makes your own proxy servers unreachable. We didn't include the ability to set the proxy settings because we figured it was not useful.

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CheltCollege wrote:

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• Manage on access scanning (in archives/compressed files, but not network volumes)
• Manage cleanup of infected files (delete infected files)
• Display a custom desktop alert warning when a threat has been detected (explanation below)
• E-mail a specified address when threats are detected for logging/tracking purposes.

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Thanks for this list. Its pretty extensive but not unrealistic. Please understand that we aren't going to create a separate tool to manage all possible settings. So although we may offer ways to pre-configure many or even all of these settings, we aren't going to guarantee your users can't change them. That is what Enterprise Console and Sophos Cloud are for.

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Carob wrote:

So now it's "you hope you can address them"?  In an earlier post Bob had said this stuff was going to be done.  There was just no time frame.  I, along with the rest of my colleagues, have been waiting for this for about at least a year.  I would like to know what I am supposed to tell our clients.  As of now we don't have a truely viable option to supply to them.  Needless to say, those above me are concerned that our contract will not be renewed when the time comes.  Not only because of this situation but another open case that I have that has gone unresolved for 5 months and counting.

You are probably taking Darren's comments a little too literally. To be fair to him, he hasn't always been the Mac endpoint product manager so he is getting up to speed.

We still intend to evolve our approach and tools for deployment to meet your needs as well as others. Not committing to a timeline isn't the same as not doing it.

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bobcook wrote:

We continue to offer (and support!) the unmanaged "stand alone" installation, and offer the pre-configuration feature for updating details. Not sure what other features you are looking for (so add your voice, with some specifics and also help understand why its important to you).

Firstly, thank you for your reply, Bob. We currently use Sophos Update Manager to manage/deploy the following custom settings:

• Update server addresses (which is addressed in the latest version, sans proxy settings)
• Manage on access scanning (in archives/compressed files, but not network volumes)
• Manage cleanup of infected files (delete infected files)
• Display a custom desktop alert warning when a threat has been detected (explanation below)
• E-mail a specified address when threats are detected for logging/tracking purposes.

While many of these features could be deployed using Sophos Enterprise Console,  the majority of our users' computers are their own and are often offsite (we are an educational estasblishment with both boarding and day pupils/staff) and as such the majority of these computers are not managed/controlled by the IT department/Active Directory, which is why we use SUM. The custom settings we use, particularly those such as configuring clean up/warning the user, are particularly useful to preconfigure as the end user will prompted to bring their computer to us if there is an issue with it/clean up is not successful.

Having tested further. the new version 9 installer seems to work OK so far with the preconfigured update settings and SAV updates correctly from the OS X .mpkg hosted on our SEC server, but it would be extremely useful to preset these other settings in the initial install in addition to the update server settings.

Again thank you for your quick response in assisting us with this issue and for clarifying the situation regarding the Mac product.

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DarrenTeagles wrote:

Just wanted to echo Bob's message, I am the product manager for the Mac product and we are certainly seeing more investment in the product as it gains popularity with our customers (and generally of course!).

As Bob says, we took a decision to retire SUM based on future plans, and I hope that over time we can address some of the concerns raised here. We are actively looking at ways to improve deployement of the Mac product but right now there are no form plans or dates that we can commit to, or share with you.

Darren.

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So now it's "you hope you can address them"?  In an earlier post Bob had said this stuff was going to be done.  There was just no time frame.  I, along with the rest of my colleagues, have been waiting for this for about at least a year.  I would like to know what I am supposed to tell our clients.  As of now we don't have a truely viable option to supply to them.  Needless to say, those above me are concerned that our contract will not be renewed when the time comes.  Not only because of this situation but another open case that I have that has gone unresolved for 5 months and counting.

Just wanted to echo Bob's message, I am the product manager for the Mac product and we are certainly seeing more investment in the product as it gains popularity with our customers (and generally of course!).

As Bob says, we took a decision to retire SUM based on future plans, and I hope that over time we can address some of the concerns raised here. We are actively looking at ways to improve deployement of the Mac product but right now there are no form plans or dates that we can commit to, or share with you.

Darren.

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CheltCollege wrote:

We too have been using Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac with the Sophos Update Manager for a number of years and were unaware that the latter was being discontinued/wouldn't support version 9 (in fact, only found out today that version 9 was available!!).

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Apologies that you were caught off guard, it certainly was not intended to be a surprise. We have, on a number of occasions, tried to notify customers well in advance of this event. You might want to check in with the support team to ensure we have correct contact information.

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CheltCollege wrote:

As we were unaware that Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac 8 had been discontinued in June 2013, we are now fairly anxious as to how/when we can now deploy a controlled 'unmanaged' installation of Sophos.

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We continue to offer (and support!) the unmanaged "stand alone" installation, and offer the pre-configuration feature for updating details. Not sure what other features you are looking for (so add your voice, with some specifics and also help understand why its important to you).

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CheltCollege wrote:

as reading this thread seems to indicate that Mac users' technical issues are not a priority to Sophos - either due to market share or other considerations) and have started to wonder whether we should be looking at an alternative anti-virus solution.

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SAV for Mac OS X is getting more investment at Sophos now than in the history of the product. And by investment, I mean the number of employees dedicated to ongoing software development and quality assurance in the engineering group. Its an important product for us. I can't say that our investments are happening in ways that benefit you, although I admit to not yet hearing about your needs. But I would say that you'd be pleasantly surprised how much effort is going into transforming the product into a modern security product, beyond the simple anti-virus technology of the past.

We made a decision to retire Update Manager for OS X because it was not aligned with our long-term endpoint management plans. If you look at our website, you'll see a lot of content talking about Sophos Cloud. We think that is an important step in the evolving needs of many IT organizations. We also continue to invest in the Enterprise Console management tools, and will do so for many years to come. But the reality is that we cannot invest in everything at the same time. Like everyone, we have to make choices and sometimes that dissapoints people.

I'm keen to continue this dialog, either in the forum here or feel free to email me directly.

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Carob wrote:

Hi, Bob.

Can you tell me what the latest is on this?  Is there any kind of timeframe yet on when we can expect this tool?  I keep getting asked by people at our institute when there will be an installer available for the Macs and all I can tell them is that we are waiting for Sophos.  Our support for the product has not been the greatest this past year and I'd hate for this to be another thorn in the foot come possible renewal time.

Thanks!

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Hi Carob,

There is no timeline that I can commit to. Not trying to create problems for your organization, and definitely interested in keeping you a valued customer. I'm not familiar with any specific support cases affecting you beyond your customization needs, but obviously would encourage you to speak out through the support org and sales channels.

BTW I'm currently away from the office, at the MacIT conference. Sorry for the slow response.

We too have been using Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac with the Sophos Update Manager for a number of years and were unaware that the latter was being discontinued/wouldn't support version 9 (in fact, only found out today that version 9 was available!!). Our site uses many (~1000) Macs that currently update via SUM as the same functionality is unavailable with SEC (e.g. e-mail reporting, restricting scanning on network volumes, etc) and/or updates never worked reliably. We have successfully created a custom installer using the standalone installer/CreateUpdatePreconfig method and updates seem to work OK at the moment from the CID hosted by SEC, however this method does not provide the level of customisation we require.

As we were unaware that Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac 8 had been discontinued in June 2013, we are now fairly anxious as to how/when we can now deploy a controlled 'unmanaged' installation of Sophos (as reading this thread seems to indicate that Mac users' technical issues are not a priority to Sophos - either due to market share or other considerations) and have started to wonder whether we should be looking at an alternative anti-virus solution.

Hi, Bob.

Can you tell me what the latest is on this?  Is there any kind of timeframe yet on when we can expect this tool?  I keep getting asked by people at our institute when there will be an installer available for the Macs and all I can tell them is that we are waiting for Sophos.  Our support for the product has not been the greatest this past year and I'd hate for this to be another thorn in the foot come possible renewal time.

Thanks!

I understand what you are saying and trust me I feel your pain. But when you say you can customize the sav installer you mean just the update locations, correct? As Far as I am able to find out, there is no way to customize the manged installer from the CID