How Do Your Mac's Built-in Antivirus Tools Work?

January 02, 2023 By Jozeph P

(Image Credit Google)

While macOS has a high reputation for keeping your computer and data safe, it lacks a visible antivirus tool, such as the Windows Security suite that comes with Microsoft's desktop operating system. Antivirus and security tools are built into the operating system on your Mac; they're just not as obvious. Take, for example, XProtect. It won't appear in the dock, the launcher, or when you search for it in Spotlight, but it's still there. It works much like an antivirus program, searching for software patterns that are typically created by malware using a tool called YARA and updates coded by Apple engineers. Importantly, these malware detection patterns or signatures are updated regularly, independent of the main macOS software updates. If a new virus is discovered in the wild, Apple can quickly patch macOS against it—and if that virus is then detected, the Mac will quickly restrict it and prevent it from running. If the system isn't too occupied doing something else, XProtect can run virus scans once each day or more frequently. Apple can also update the tool to remove infections caused by known malware. Based on some astute user analysis, XProtect has become increasingly aggressive in its malware detection in recent months. Hidden Antivirus Tools

Apple's security service, XProtect, is used to protect Macs from computer viruses. Apple scans submitted software for malware and awards a safety badge if it passes. It's similar to the iOS app review process, but it's faster and fully automated. If malware is later discovered, it can be quickly deleted so that it is no longer available. You're likely to run an app at your own risk if it hasn't passed Notarization or Gatekeeper security checks. Apps that have not been vetted by these tools can still be run by finding them in the Finder and clicking on them. There is no user interface or settings for the XProtect and Gatekeeper tools. If you want, you can only allow apps from the Mac App Store to run. This is especially useful when assessing a self-developed app. If you've recently attempted to run an application that Gatekeeper has blocked, you'll see an Open Anyway button on the same screen. macOS already includes an impressive set of security features, such as a malware scanner that you may not have realised was there. Apple does not keep track of all the software you try to run on your Mac. System Integrity Protection limits what third-party apps can do, thus even if malware does get onto a Mac, it can't do much serious damage.

By Jozeph P

Journalism explorer, tech Enthusiast. Love to read and write.

How Do Your Mac's Built-in Antivirus Tools Work?

Walmart's GenAI Search Engine: Challenging Google's Dominance in Retail Search

Introducing the MSI Claw Handheld: Your Ultimate Gaming Companion

Uber Increases In-App Ads, Prompting Mixed Reactions from Customers

Apple's iOS 18: A Leap into the AI Era

Google's Regular Pixel 8 Won't Get Gemini Nano AI

MacBook Air M3 Makes Amends for M2's Storage Blunder

Samsung Unveils the Galaxy M15 5G

Elon Musk's xAI to Open-Source Chatbot Grok

Contra: Operation Galuga - A Modern Run-and-Gun Classic

Musk Confirms X's TV App Arrives This Week

How to Enable Dark Mode on Your Browser? Dive into the Dark Side

How to Fix Steam Login Error Code E87?

How to Add Sound to Google Slides? | Make Your Slides Speak

Blackmagic's New Free App Turns Your iPhone Into a Pro-Level Video Camera

With Arc's new Boosts function, you may modify the appearance of any website

Intel Agilex 7 M-Series FPGAs Revealed: R-Tile, PCIe 5.0, and Other Specs Expected