Nov 14, 2019  No Anti-Virus software or so-called “cleaning” apps are needed or recommended for Mac OS. They can conflict with Mac's own built-in security. At best they will slow your Mac by using unnecessary resources and at worst will bork your entire system. Your Mac has all.

• Question: Q: Best anti-virus SW for OSX 10.6.8 I have been having all sorts of problems with mail password being changed, user setup be rearranged, slow and unresponsive processing etc. I’ve had a couple of occasions when a Applecare popup said I’ve been infected with malware.
• Jun 16, 2020  Any software can be compromised, and macOS is no exception. Although there’s a lot less malware for macOS than for Windows, it does exist. Whilst it is certainly true that the population of macOS malware is very tiny compared to that for Windows and Android, there have been instances of macOS malware getting into the wild.

This topic describes how to install, configure, update, and use Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac.

Caution

Running other third-party endpoint protection products alongside Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac is likely to lead to performance problems and unpredictable side effects. If non-Microsoft endpoint protection is an absolute requirement in your environment, you can still safely take advantage of MDATP for Mac EDR functionality after configuring MDATP for Mac antivirus functionality to run in Passive mode.

What’s new in the latest release

Tip

If you have any feedback that you would like to share, submit it by opening Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac on your device and navigating to Help > Send feedback.

To get the latest features, including preview capabilities (such as endpoint detection and response for your Mac devices), configure your macOS device running Microsoft Defender ATP to be an 'Insider' device. See Enable Microsoft Defender ATP Insider Device.

How to install Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac

Prerequisites

• A Microsoft Defender ATP subscription and access to the Microsoft Defender Security Center portal
• Beginner-level experience in macOS and BASH scripting
• Administrative privileges on the device (in case of manual deployment)

Installation instructions

There are several methods and deployment tools that you can use to install and configure Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac.

• Third-party management tools:

• Command-line tool:

System requirements

The three most recent major releases of macOS are supported.

• 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14 (Mojave), 10.13 (High Sierra)
• Disk space: 650 MB

Beta versions of macOS are not supported. macOS Sierra (10.12) support ended on January 1, 2020.

After you've enabled the service, you may need to configure your network or firewall to allow outbound connections between it and your endpoints.

Network connections

The following table lists the services and their associated URLs that your network must be able to connect to. You should ensure that there are no firewall or network filtering rules that would deny access to these URLs, or you may need to create an allow rule specifically for them.

Microsoft Defender ATP can discover a proxy server by using the following discovery methods:

• Proxy auto-config (PAC)
• Web Proxy Auto-discovery Protocol (WPAD)
• Manual static proxy configuration

If a proxy or firewall is blocking anonymous traffic, make sure that anonymous traffic is permitted in the previously listed URLs.

Warning

Authenticated proxies are not supported. Ensure that only PAC, WPAD, or a static proxy is being used.

Anti-virus Software For Macos Pc

SSL inspection and intercepting proxies are also not supported for security reasons. Configure an exception for SSL inspection and your proxy server to directly pass through data from Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac to the relevant URLs without interception. Adding your interception certificate to the global store will not allow for interception.

To test that a connection is not blocked, open https://x.cp.wd.microsoft.com/api/report and https://cdn.x.cp.wd.microsoft.com/ping in a browser.

If you prefer the command line, you can also check the connection by running the following command in Terminal:

The output from this command should be similar to the following:

OK https://x.cp.wd.microsoft.com/api/report

OK https://cdn.x.cp.wd.microsoft.com/ping

Caution

We recommend that you keep System Integrity Protection (SIP) enabled on client devices. SIP is a built-in macOS security feature that prevents low-level tampering with the OS, and is enabled by default.

Once Microsoft Defender ATP is installed, connectivity can be validated by running the following command in Terminal:

How to update Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac

Microsoft regularly publishes software updates to improve performance, security, and to deliver new features. To update Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac, a program named Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) is used. To learn more, see Deploy updates for Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac

How to configure Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac

Guidance for how to configure the product in enterprise environments is available in Set preferences for Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac.

macOS kernel and system extensions

In alignment with macOS evolution, we are preparing a Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac update that leverages system extensions instead of kernel extensions. Visit What's new in Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection for Mac for relevant details.

Resources

Anti-virus Software For Macos Computer

• For more information about logging, uninstalling, or other topics, see the Resources page.