There is Windows malware on the USB stick, and you make a copy of all the files. They both use Windows, but you are using a macOS computer. For example, if you are given a USB stick of photos by one friend, who asks you to make a copy for a second friend. There are scenarios where you might well benefit from scanning for such threats. Hence an AV program on your macOS computer could effectively handle Windows and Android malware as well.

Some vendors’ macOS security products can detect malware aimed at other operating systems too. Secondly, you might want a broader base of malware evaluation. Firstly, the approach taken by Apple might be adequate for well-established malware, but might not respond quickly enough to emerging threats. The effectiveness of Apple’s built-in anti-malware features have been questioned, however, and some security experts recommend strengthening the defences by adding in a third-party antivirus package. System updates are installed automatically using the update process. Gatekeeper and MRT are essentially invisible to users and have no direct user interface for the user. Finally, Apple provide the MRT (Malware Removal Tool). Then there is “XProtect”, which checks files against known-malware signatures. Firstly, there is “Gatekeeper”, which warns when apps without a digital signature are run. In addition, it should be noted that Apple themselves ship some anti-malware capabilities within macOS. Moreover, Apple Mac security needs to be considered in the wider context of other types of attacks. Whilst it is certainly true that the population of macOS malware is very tiny compared to that for Windows and Android, there have still been many instances of macOS malware getting into the wild. It is an often-heard view that macOS computers don’t need antivirus protection.

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