SURF 2.0 – A New Generation is Here!

Resources•Sophos Universal Reader and Finder (SURF)

SURF, or the Sophos Universal Reader and Finder, is a fantastic troubleshooting tool for Sophos Endpoint and Firewall.

Feb 08 2022 By

The SURF Team is excited to announce the next major version of SURF. You can learn more about it here.

Since the initial launch, we have reviewed all of the feedback and suggestions that we received and have incorporated these into this new version (please keep the suggestions coming!).

You can access the new version here: https://download.sophos.com/tools/SURF2.0.0.0.msi

Now, without further ado, let’s talk about the new features in SURF 2.0.0120.0:

New User Interface

  • A UI that aligns with the Endpoint Self Help tool style
    • The UI is built in a new modular method that will allow faster iteration of new elements
    • More robust UI performance
    • Dynamic sizing and scaling
  • Improved the data in the System Summary panel
  • Added dynamic UI rendering based on if the selected item is a SDU or CTR
    • No more seeing panels that don’t matter

Performance Improvements

  • Updated and improved SDU/CTR rules processing
  • Optimized memory usage
  • Optimized File I/O operations to reduce system load
  • Compacted the Database size

Usability Improvements

  • Added ability to have more than one SDU/CTR open at once
  • Added ability to rename SDU/CTRs for easy recognition
  • Added ability to mark Detections as:
    • Complete – issue resolved
    • Not Applicable – issue isn’t part of the current case
    • Dismissed – user doesn’t want to see this detection anymore
  • Added ability to sort and filter the Rules
  • Added ability to filter the data in several of the panes
    • Applications
    • Services
  • Added an improved log searching interface
    • Allows several operators to provide granular searches
    • Saves previous searches in the same session

Knick-Knacks and Extras

  • Added ability to edit a comment – with an audit trail
  • Added ability to copy out any row to clipboard
  • Added icons into the Network panel to easily identify the type of NIC

That’s it for now. We have a lot more improvements planned and we are already looking ahead to v2.1 and beyond!

Community Techtips Episode on SURF 2.0 !

Our Sophos Community Techtips session covers everything you need to know about the new major version of the SURF tool.

Watch the recording

About the Author

Sophos is a global leader and innovator of advanced security solutions that defeat cyberattacks, including Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and incident response services and a broad portfolio of endpoint, network, email, and cloud security technologies. As one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity providers, Sophos defends more than 600,000 organizations and more than 100 million users worldwide from active adversaries, ransomware, phishing, malware, and more. Sophos’ services and products connect through the Sophos Central management console and are powered by Sophos X-Ops, the company’s cross-domain threat intelligence unit. Sophos X-Ops intelligence optimizes the entire Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem, which includes a centralized data lake that leverages a rich set of open APIs available to customers, partners, developers, and other cybersecurity and information technology vendors. Sophos provides cybersecurity-as-a-service to organizations needing fully managed security solutions. Customers can also manage their cybersecurity directly with Sophos’ security operations platform or use a hybrid approach by supplementing their in-house teams with Sophos’ services, including threat hunting and remediation. Sophos sells through reseller partners and managed service providers (MSPs) worldwide. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com.