Microsoft brings its Windows Defender antivirus software to Mac

In February, Microsoft announced Microsoft Threat Experts, a new service within Microsoft 365 Security designed to better protect businesses.

Today, the software giant extends its endpoint protection platform to Mac, and in keeping with that move renames the Windows Defender ATP platform to Microsoft Defender ATP.

Microsoft’s new user interface on Mac  is similar to what’s offered on Windows 10 devices and delivers full antivirus and threat protection and the ability to launch full, quick, and custom scans.

Eric Avena from the Microsoft Tech Community, explains:

Today, we’re announcing our advances in cross-platform next-generation protection and endpoint detection and response coverage with a new Microsoft solution for Mac. Core components of our unified endpoint security platform, including the new Threat & Vulnerability Management also announced today, will now be available for Mac devices.

We’ve been working closely with industry partners to enable Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) customers to protect their non-Windows devices while keeping a centralized "single pane of glass" experience. Now we are going a step further by adding our own solution to the options, starting with a limited preview today.

Users will be able to configure advanced settings such as:

• Disabling or enabling real-time protection, cloud-delivered protection, and automatic sample submission.
• Adding exclusions for files and paths.
• Managing notifications when threats are found.
• Manually checking for security intelligence updates.

A limited preview is available for businesses to try from today. Microsoft Defender ATP can be installed on devices running macOS Mojave, macOS High Sierra, and macOS Sierra.