back to article Windows Defender ATP is dead. Long live Microsoft Defender ATP

Microsoft nudged the Windows brand further out of the limelight today by thwacking its anti-malware package with the rebranding stick. Behold, Microsoft Defender ATP. The change is necessary, as Microsoft is unleashing its endpoint protection platform onto the hitherto virgin territory of macOS. Windows Defender first put in …

  1. msknight

    The real point of interest for me...

    ...will be if Apple blocks it.

    I remember seeing, with my own eyes, the advice on Apple's site that anti-virus was something that users should have... but then that vanished some time ago, along with the myth that Apple's OS didn't need AV.

    For me, the really interesting popcorn moment will be Apple's response.

    1. Craig 2

      Re: The real point of interest for me...

      I thought the biggest reason for AV on *nix systems was to be a good citizen and help all the clueless Windows users by increasing the collective "herd immunity".

    2. Halfmad

      Re: The real point of interest for me...

      Apple and Microsoft have a better working relationship than many people realise, whilst they have fallen out at times they do collaborate now and then.

      Neither seems to feel that siloing is as necessary as it once was. But I hope we never see a return of Appleworks for Windows.. Oh jeez did that give me nightmares.

  2. Zippy´s Sausage Factory

    What is the recommended AV on OSX at the moment?

    I've lost touch with it. I'm assuming MS won't be that bad though, as Defender genuinely seems to be quite good on Windows.

    (I know... me praising an MS product that isn't the "Mystify" screensaver... wonders will never cease...)

    1. Mike Moyle

      Re: What is the recommended AV on OSX at the moment?

      I use Avast free, with occasional corroboration checks using ClamX-AV, on both home and work machines. (Work machine is on a Win network with Outlook Server for mail, so my AV is mainly a backup to the company AV policies for my own peace of mind. Avast Free and ClamX because I'm not an IT/security expert, they have good reputations, I'm not paid enough to buy software for my employer, and Mac security goes on my dime since the IT dept. doesn't support the one Mac on the network any more than they absolutely have to.)

    2. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: What is the recommended AV on OSX at the moment?

      Sophos do a Mac antivirus for non-commercial use. There's also Avast.

      1. Hans 1
        Windows

        Re: What is the recommended AV on OSX at the moment?

        1. I do not have anti-virus software on my macs/linux boxes, even the ones kids use

        2. I have had Windows Defrauder on a box the kids used, it got 0wned severely and I needed to get avast to clean up the mess.

        I later found the same malware on a Windows box handed to me by an acquaintance 7 whole months later, with defrauder fully up-to-date on it, everything still happy, the system a dog ... cleared it with avast, again.

        Yes, you have done it manually/scripting, but ... that involved 1000's of registry keys, when you tried to uninstall it, it would claim it would first need to uninastall <list of all third party software installed>.

        GTAV needs to run on Linux, natively, pretty please ... Rockstar sucks, no as much as EA, though ... who use emulator software for Sims on macOS, the software was first developed for Linux, yet still do not support Linux - ea are scum, as is nVidia.

        Obligatory Linus: "nVidia, Fuck YOU!" video ...

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_36yNWw_07g

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Another silly move by MS....

    If you write an OS, I can believe your "defender" product could be more integrated with it, because it can understand it better (especially if the code is not open) and design and take advantage of features difficult to obtain otherwise. If you just become another antivirus vendor, you have no competitive advantage, and those with more experience are better equipped than you.

    I'm afraid Nadella see Windows development as too expensive and with smaller profits - but he doesn't understand Microsoft is built on it (just like Google is built on its search engine) - move away from it and everything else could crumble.

    1. Halfmad

      Re: Another silly move by MS....

      Nadella sees a subscription model as the way forward, that's all he's interested in.

  4. GnuTzu

    The Office 365 Infection

    With Office 365 forcing it's way into many organizations by way of Microsoft's monopoly machine, will other end-point security tools be forced out of business?

    Also, does this mean that Microsoft's vulnerabilities will get fixed or will they remain to validate the existence of the end-point product?

  5. BGatez

    no, just no

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Can MS really translate their AV knowledge from Win64 to Mach? Seems like a car mechanic offering to fix your bathroom plumbing. Or it could be just a light layer of protection that only tackles javascript/flash/browser vulns, and leaves the deep-down OS stuff alone.

  7. This post has been deleted by its author

  8. karlkarl Silver badge

    The annoying thing about Windows Defender is that it keeps reporting my crack for Windows as a virus... Makes no sense! I compiled the KMS emulator up myself and the code makes no modifications to any files, it just listens on a socket for license requests where it responds with "yep... go ahead".

    Tbh, so long as I never run anything as admin, (and certainly never log in as a user with admin privileges), then I don't think an anti malware is necessary. If I can't modify system files, neither can the majority of malware that defender can protect against.

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Why do you think they're pushing Defender on Windows and Mac?

  9. doctariAFC2

    Funny.... Perhaps Microsoft should use this Defender ATP with Office 365.... Maybe it would have helped stop hackers from their 50 day spree, hijacking 25% of accounts abusing 2FA on IMAP accounts?

  10. david 12 Silver badge

    "Windows" has also disappeared from "Windows Explorer". It's "File Explorer" now.

    1. Pirate Dave Silver badge
      Pirate

      Maybe in Windows 11, they'll really push using it to manage your files instead of merely "explore" them, and will change it's name to "File Manager" to showcase its new emphasis. That would be neato...

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Linux

    Microsoft extends protection to other Operating Systems?

    As part of Microsoft's ongoing effort to move beyond Windows with the likes of Microsoft 365, it is extending this protection to other operating systems.”

    What is going to defend these Operating Systems from Microsoft Defender?

    While Microsoft has published the definition for the data it is collecting, Anderson stated the obvious, "When you sign up to use this threat and vulnerability management, that does get commensurate with a level of that telemetry. And so it ties into a level of telemetry that you have to enable on Windows that is published."

    I'm sorry, I must be having a slow day but that sentence isn't at all obvious to me. Could someone translate it into simple English?

    “Wary perhaps of the notoriously litigious world of anti-virus”

    Microsoft Security Essentials: Disclaimer of Warranty

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge

      Re: Microsoft extends protection to other Operating Systems?

      He said this:

      Too many enterprises are turning off telemetry (which you can on enterprise versions of Windows). We want to fix that. And we want to get telemetry from Macs too. So please do install Microsoft Defender.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    AVAST as the number one Windows anti-malware application vendor

    That is probably the most depressing thing I've read all year

    1. EnviableOne

      Re: AVAST as the number one Windows anti-malware application vendor

      Your sure they aren't counting all the installs of piriform CCleaner that they Just borged

  13. simpfeld

    I don't have a problem with MS doing this

    At least this isn't MS's main business and unlike the AV vendors it isn't in their interest to oversell this. Just would make their main revenue businesses look worse (i.e. The security of Windows).

  14. John Doe 6

    Microsoft “Security” for Your Mac...

    ...be afraid, be very afraid.

    Your Mac will be as secure as a WindBlows box.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Windows Defender in Windows 10 blocks wmplayer.exe (Windows Media Player) from loading? At least it saves you from the real nasty stuff! ;)

  16. Unbelievable!

    Yes Yes. But how do you turn it off?

    Protection is one thing, it's about 30 levels deeper down into things that Professionals, PrivSec and generally advanced users need. I'm tired of MS scraping data 100%, for the 30% that dont know what they are doing. The 'ATP' BuckShot That MS spin should only target home user licenses. I'm so almost too angry to remember all the other shit they've screwed us over that i was angry about ... oohhh. DRIP FEED ?? i get it now.

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