When it comes to grokking security in macOS you have to be able to read tea-leaves and crystal balls. The only source of hard information is Apple’s Platform Security Guide, conveniently published each year a month or two before WWDC. This year, eagle-eyed readers noticed a significant absence: all mention of the Malware Removal Tool, MRT, has gone.
Instead, the guide refers only to XProtect:
“Should malware make its way onto a Mac, XProtect also includes technology to remediate infections. For example, it includes an engine that remediates infections based on updates automatically delivered from Apple (as part of automatic updates of system data files and security updates). It also removes malware upon receiving updated information, and it continues to periodically check for infections. XProtect doesn’t automatically reboot the Mac.”
Could this mean that MRT’s days are numbered, and that this autumn/fall it will be dropped from macOS 13? What would we be losing?
Read more at eclecticlight.co