If it finds any, it then attempts to remove or ‘remediate’ it. When your Mac is awake (not asleep), but you’re not using it actively, XProtect Remediator (XPR) runs its scanning modules to look for signs of known malware. Although called XProtect, it’s separate from the regular XProtect system and operates quite differently. It can only run on macOS Catalina and later, and isn’t available for earlier versions of macOS. This was introduced in Monterey 12.3, and has progressively taken over from MRT in scanning for signs of known malware, and removing it. If malware is detected, you’re informed, and the app or code is blocked from being run, so you can remove it before it does any damage. This form of XProtect runs on demand: when the macOS security system’s rules call for an app or other code to be checked, current signatures are used in a scan of that app or code. It’s essential for all Macs to keep this data up to date, to ensure that malware can be detected effectively. Updates are titled XProtectPlistConfigData, and are pushed at irregular intervals, every few weeks, when Apple’s security team needs to update them for changing malware threats. This is delivered in a ‘Yara’ file within XProtect.bundle in the CoreServices folder, and stored on the Data volume for ease of updating. MRT still works on older Macs, but as time passes its protection will wane, and older versions of macOS may benefit from additional protection to compensate.Īlthough in the past XProtect has had other functions, such as blocking the use of vulnerable versions of Java and Flash Player, its main purpose now is to provide the macOS security system with a dictionary of signatures for known malware. MRT hasn’t been updated since April 2022, while XProtect Remediator is currently updated every two weeks. For those, Apple has replaced MRT with a completely different form of XProtect, commonly known as XProtect Remediator. This year, this has changed for Macs running macOS Catalina and later. Periodically, Apple distributes updates to XProtect’s data bundle, and the MRT app. MRT scans storage looking for the tell-tale signs of the malware it knows should it find any, it attempts to remove or ‘remediate’ it. When you open apps or run other executable code subject to Gatekeeper’s checks, it’s checked for matches against the signatures of known malware contained in XProtect’s data file. Older versions of macOS have two separate defences against malware: XProtect and Apple’s Malware Removal Tool, MRT. This article describes how it protects against malware using two related tools known together as XProtect, and how they differ in macOS Catalina and later. MacOS has extensive security protection built into it.
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