Microsoft has decided to make some significant changes to its Windows Defender ATP. Firstly, the company says the security tool is now available on Apple’s MacOS. Secondly, the whole service is now rebranded at Microsoft Defender ATP.
The reason for the name switch is simple, the service is no longer a Windows services and moved to other platforms. Microsoft says it moved to Mac because it wants non-Windows customers to protect their devices.
Windows Defender ATP was launched in 2016 and is aimed at enterprise customers on Windows 10. The service provides an early barrier against cyberattacks, detecting and dealing with incoming threats on enterprise networks.
The “time travel” ability will let Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection to go back through a six month history of a machine so customers can see previous threats.
ATP on Mac
Mac users can access Microsoft Defender ATP as a regular app on the platform. That means it is not present in the App Store, so you will need to download it from Microsoft browser-based installer. Microsoft says users need to be running macOS Mojave, High Sierra, and Sierra to work with Defender ATP.
There are two key parts for cross-platform support for Microsoft Defender ATP on Mac:
- A new user interface on Mac clients called Microsoft Defender ATP. The user interface brings a similar experience to what customers have today on Windows 10 devices.
- Reporting for Mac devices on the Microsoft Defender ATP portal.
If you are interested, you can apply for the preview of Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac here.
