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I am trying to determine if I need third party s/w running on my MacBook Pro to detect possible virus or malware s/w that may have infected my computer. I am having no indications that this is the case now, but as a proactive measure I ask this question.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.6
MacOS completely changed how you should think about malware. The System Files are on a separate locked volume, not writeable. if something, somehow, manages to modify anything on that locked Volume, it is detected quickly. Applications are all sand-boxed with a list of the resources they require, and they cannot ask for anything outside their sandbox without crashing.
So you could store just about every malware known to mankind on your Mac, and your Mac would not get infected spontaneously. Scanning for virus-like patterns might make you feel a little better now, but it is outdated nonsense.
Nothing can become Executable Unless/Until you supply your Admin password to "make it so".
At that moment, the candidate to become executable WILL be scanned for virus patterns Apple keeps frequently updated, provided you allow:
[√] install system data files and security updates
Effective defenses against malware and ot… - Apple Community
MacOS completely changed how you should think about malware. The System Files are on a separate locked volume, not writeable. if something, somehow, manages to modify anything on that locked Volume, it is detected quickly. Applications are all sand-boxed with a list of the resources they require, and they cannot ask for anything outside their sandbox without crashing.
So you could store just about every malware known to mankind on your Mac, and your Mac would not get infected spontaneously. Scanning for virus-like patterns might make you feel a little better now, but it is outdated nonsense.
Nothing can become Executable Unless/Until you supply your Admin password to "make it so".
At that moment, the candidate to become executable WILL be scanned for virus patterns Apple keeps frequently updated, provided you allow:
[√] install system data files and security updates
Effective defenses against malware and ot… - Apple Community
I have never run any 3rd party "security" software on any Mac that I've owned.
and
Set up your Mac to be secure - Apple Support
and
Protect your Mac from malware - Apple Support
Thank you for that helpful response.
Does Apple Macbook Pro OS run antivirus and/or antimalware in the background to protect against these intrusions?
