Windows Defender ATP gets a new name, comes to Macs

Mar 21, 2019 06:35 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has just announced that it’s bringing Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) to Apple’s macOS platform, with a preview version going live today.

Furthermore, the company is changing the name of the product to Microsoft Defender ATP for a more straightforward approach, as sticking with a moniker that includes the Windows branding doesn’t make much sense on the Mac.

The Microsoft Defender ATP client supports macOS Mojave, macOS High Sierra, and macOS Sierra, and Microsoft says the experience on Apple’s platform will be very similar to the one on Windows.

The preview version, which is only available for a limited number of customers who will be manually picked by Microsoft, comes with anti-malware protection and can scan for virus infections any Mac.

Furthermore, users will be allowed to disable and enable real-time protection, cloud protection, and automatic sample submissions, while also being provided with options to add exclusions for files and paths, and manually check for what Microsoft calls security intelligence updates.

Like the Windows versions, the new Mac anti-malware solution comes with a built-in auto-updating engine which automatically downloads virus definitions and delivers cloud protection when needed.

Private beta program

Additionally, Microsoft will also provide customers using Apple’s platform with access to the Microsoft Defender ATP portal for easy management of detections.

“Machines with alerts and detections will be surfaced in the Microsoft Defender ATP portal, including rich context and alert process trees. Security analysts and admins can review these alerts just as they can do today – except they’ll also see detections on Mac devices,” Microsoft explains.

Customers who want to be part of the preview and try out Microsoft Defender ATP before the public launch can register on this page. However, as mentioned above, there are only limited seats in the program, and Microsoft says it will contact those accepted in the program via email to confirm the participation.