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Protection

This pane gives some info about XProtect, the integrated protection system of OS X. XProtect checks each new file downloaded from your web browser, received by email, or by instant messaging to protect the system from any malware (or malicious software).

The list on the left displays the list of recognized XProtect malware. By default, OS X regularly searches for new malware definitions (every 24 hours), and the list is updated if newer definitions are available. You can force the search by clicking on the "Update" button.

The list on the right displays a list of all downloaded items tested by XProtect.

Important: If you select the "Remove the alert message on first opening applications downloaded from the Internet" option from the Parameters > General pane, XProtect will not check the downloaded files anymore.