Apple is Updating XProtect and MRT. Is it Enough?
By SecureMac.com
Apple is updating XProtect and MRT. But are these changes enough to keep Mac users safe?
What are XProtect and MRT?
First, a quick intro to macOS security features. Macs come with a few built-in protections against malware:
Gatekeeper makes sure that an app a user is attempting to run a.) comes from a registered Apple developer ID b.) hasn’t been altered and c.) is free of known malware.
XProtect is Apple’s native malware detection tool for macOS. It works by looking for matches between “signatures” of known malware and the files on your Mac.
MRT, which stands for Malware Removal Tool, is — yes, you guessed it — how a Mac removes malware from an infected system.
Are internal Mac security tools enough?
The short answer to this question is “no” — despite what you may hear from snarky Apple fans on Twitter or Reddit.
