Firefox and Sophos

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Doug wrote:

...Firefox loads pages noticeably slower than when Web Protection is switched off. I believe Firefox as a built-in checker for malware and phishing. Is this,what Firefox offers,not sufficeient protection? Any advice would be appreciated...

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I found the same page loading issues in Firefox with Web Protection on and raised that issue here and based on the explanation, I think the Sophos protection is far more robust than Firefox's blocking of reported attack sites and web forgeries, especially since we don't really know what Mozilla is using as the source for those reports or how frequently they're updated. The internet has become potentially very dangerous territory and, as  with most things, there's a price to be paid trying to avoid trouble (e.g., texting while walking can get you mugged or hit by a car).

Thanks,ZRL1,for replying so quickly. Also,apologies for not noticing the forum page where this matter has been already dealt with.

I've switched back on Web Protection. I guess all along I knew this was the right thing to do,to have it 'on',but needed slightly convincing.

Thanks again. Appreciated.

With 5 months having gone by, Sophos V9 having reached 9.0.7, and V8 soon to be retired, it seems a good time to raise this question again.

Having stuck with V8, I figured it was time to switch to V9, and I've been noticing quite a variation in webpage loading time with Web Protection on. On the major news websites (e.g., NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times), web pages sometimes load nearly as quickly as when Web Protection (both kinds) is off, and at other times, one page can take nearly half a minute. :smileysurprised: Since a quick check with Web Protection off on that page or similar pages is very fast, it doesn't seem to be the website's server which is being heavily used; the same is true if I start with Web Protection off.

I wonder if there are times when the Sophos server that SophosWebIntelligenceD contacts is being kept busy enough to introduce some latency, and other times when things are slow at SophosWebIntelligenceD so the server can respond quickly?

Obviously, if Web Protection is switched on, SAV version 9 has to check the page being accessed and the content on the page and there is going to be a delay.  Normally this shouldn't be all that noticable.  However when it is then several factors can slow down the browsing speed.

The post below may help explain what to consider checking.

http://openforum.sophos.com/t5/Sophos-Anti-Virus-for-Mac-Home/Web-Protection-slows-Safari-website-loading-dramatically/m-p/13447/highlight/true#M6328

It's clear that a wide variety of things are going on under the hood of Web Protection and all contribute some delay to page loading. Moreover, the Sophos caching techniques (discussed here) tend to make direct comparisons in the same browsing session tricky. But I was wondering if one of the possible variables was the busyness of the server supporting Web Protection at any point in time, since it would logically seem so.

This is just curiosity though. I've mentioned elsewhere that, like anything else, internet security is a tradeoff, and I consider the Sophos Web Protection options valuable enough to put up with any delay they cause. It's a lot faster to wait for website clearance up front than to restore a boot disk from a clone at the back end, after a successful web attack has occurred.

As an aside, I periodically check the filtered SPAM that my email services don't pass through with WHOIS. The headers show the initiating IP addresses, and while the messages often seem friendly and local, they're coming from Russia or China or Indonesia or other places I'd hesitate to go, physically or virtually. Food for thought.

Perhaps all web browsers' startup screens should say "Abandon hope all ye who enter here (unless you've got Sophos installed)" but they don't since that would be bad for commerce as well as spoiling the fun.