San Francisco, Mar 22 (IANS): Microsoft is rolling out its Windows Defender anti-virus software to Apple's operating system MacOS, with full virus and threat protection along with the usual ability to perform quick or full scans.

Defender is currently built into Windows 10, offering anti-virus protection by default.

While in the process of creating a dedicated Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) for Mac, the software giant has renamed its Windows Defender ATP to Microsoft Defender ATP, the company informed via a blog-post on Thursday.

"We've been working closely with industry partners to enable Windows Defender ATP customers to protect their non-Windows devices while keeping a centralised experience," Eric Avena, Senior Content Developer, Microsoft wrote in the blog-post.

For businesses, a limited preview would be available for trying out the anti-virus protection in environments that have both Windows PCs and Macs.

"Now we are going a step further by adding our own solution to the options, starting with a limited preview today," Avena said.

To keep the client up to date on MacOS, the software giant is using its AutoUpdate software, available on devices running MacOS Mojave, MacOS High Sierra, or MacOS Sierra, The Verge reported.

As ATP is limited to businesses, it remains unclear if Microsoft is also planning to bring a consumer version of Microsoft Defender to the Mac.