Overview
Several methods can be used to test if the Sophos Home detection features are working correctly. Test these items from any Sophos Home computer:
Note: All the files and links in this article are completely harmless. They are designed to trigger the Anti-Virus software into recognizing it as if they were a virus and if successful, will indicate a detection.
Test On-demand and on-access scanning
The EICAR test is not a virus, it is an industry standard detection test. Sophos Anti-Virus will report its presence as EICAR-AV-Test virus.
- Download the eicar Anti Malware test file from the eicar website.
- If downloading the zip version, ensure to decompress it to trigger a detection.
- If On demand and on-access are working properly, Sophos Home will trigger the following detection:
You will also see a detection on your Sophos Home Dashboard
Test Web protection and web control features
Use the Sophos Web Security and Control Test Site by SophosLabs to test the Sophos web protection and web control functionality.
- Select the Malware option to test if web protection is operating correctly. This will display a blocked page and a balloon alert on the system tray.
- To confirm whether web control is functioning, click the other options on the page to test the different category classifications . Ensure the category you are testing matches the category listed in your Sophos Home Dashboard (refer to this article).
Test Malicious traffic detection (MTD) - Windows only
To test the MTD feature, do the following:
- Copy and paste the following on Notepad or any other text editor:
set o = createobject("MSXML2.XMLHTTP")
o.open "GET", "http://sophostest.com/mtdtest/2/" & rnd, FALSE
o.send - Save the file as "mtd.vbs"
If you are using notepad, keep the quotation marks on the name - this ensures the file extension is set to .vbs
- Double-click the file to trigger a detection.
- If the MTD feature is active, you will receive a C2/generic-B detection on the endpoint.
Sophos Home user interface can be launched via the Sophos Home shield and provides access to several dashboard settings, running local scans , checking for updates and more! Watch the below videos for additional details.
Mac: Click on the Sophos Home Shield located in the Mac menu bar to open the Sophos Home UI
Windows: Double Click the Sophos Home shield in the system tray to open the Sophos Home UI
Check computer status via the dashboard
Dashboard view of a specific computer
Click on the image to see it full size in a new tab
Dashboard view of a specific computer - image entries:
1 – Available configuration options and views (by default, it starts by showing the STATUS tab. But customers may access different configurations and settings by clicking on HISTORY, PROTECTION, WEB FILTERING and PRIVACY tabs).
2 – Dashboard status will display the protections that are enabled and whether the endpoint is secure. You may configure these features by clicking the “Configure” button listed within each one.
3- New activity lists the latest events on the endpoint. To see all of them, use the HISTORY tab.