How to test XProtect with EICAR file

 EICAR (European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research) is a test file designed to help test antivirus and other security software. You can use EICAR to test if XProtect is working by following these steps:

Open TextEdit or any other text editor on your Mac.

Type the following string into a new document:

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

Save the document with the file name "eicar.com". Note that you should select the "Plain Text" format when saving the file, and not the default "RTF" format.

Once the file is saved, your Mac's XProtect should detect the file and display a warning message. If XProtect is working properly, it should prevent you from opening or running the file, and inform you that it has detected a potential threat.

By using the EICAR test file, you can verify that XProtect is able to detect and block potentially harmful files on your Mac. It's important to note that you should only use the EICAR test file for testing purposes, and never use it as a real virus or malware.