Distributing Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows to remote users

To distribute Sophos Anti-Virus to remote users, you can

• tell them to download the Sophos Anti-Virus off-site installer for Windows from the Sophos website, or
• make the standalone installer available from your own website or a CD.

Making the standalone installer available locally is useful where end users are updating over slow links. The initial download is always the largest.

Please note: this article should be used for computers owned by your organization only. For details on setting up users under the extended license agreement, please see the Best Practice article: Setting up Home Users.

What to do

Supplying users with the correct credentials

You will need to supply users with the correct credentials (inglés) to download and update from either your own website (inglés), or the Sophos website (inglés).

When supplying users with credentials

• do not send the credentials to an infected computer by email, as they might be stolen
• if necessary, send credentials by fax or letter post
• for Sophos credentials, the correct username begins with 'em'.

If the users are going to update from your company website, you will also need to give them the correct web address for updating.

Supplying users with the software

1. Downloading from Sophos
   If your users have a fast internet connection, they can download the correct version from the Sophos Anti-Virus downloads page. They will need Sophos credentials (inglés) to do this. The Sophos Anti-Virus off-site installer is available for
   • Windows 2000/XP/2003
   • Windows NT
   • Windows 95/98/Me.
2. Making the installer available to users
   Alternatively, you can make a copy of the relevant versions available for download by users from your own website, or prepare CDs which you can distribute to users. This will minimize the size of internet downloads.
   Update these copies whenever the Sophos Anti-Virus off-site installer version number is changed (when the Sophos Anti-Virus version is updated).

To install on the remote computer

Give these instructions, and the relevant username and password, to the user of the remote computer.

1. Log on to the remote computer. In Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 you must log on as administrator.
2. Run the Sophos Anti-Virus off-site installer.
3. Click 'Next' until you reach the 'Update source' dialog box.
4. In 'Address':
   • If you update from your company website, type the website address.
   • If you update from the Sophos website, select 'Sophos'.
5. In 'Username', type the username for your company website, or the Sophos username.
6. In 'Password' and 'Confirm password', type the password for your company website, or the Sophos password.
7. Click 'Next' until you reach the 'successfully installed' dialog box.
8. Click 'Finish'.

For more details on installation, see the Sophos Anti-Virus remote user startup guide.