Trend Micro - Installing Trend Micro AV on Your Personally Owned macOS Device

This article describes the process of downloading and installing Trend Micro on a personally owned macOS device. UW-Madison provides Trend Micro Maximum Security for Faculty and Staff with personally-owned Mac computers. For personally owned Windows PC's, the Office of Cybersecurity's recommended solution is the built-in protection suite, Windows Defender. You can learn more about Windows Defender here.


First-time Installation and License Activation of Trend Micro for Mac

Note: If Symantec, or any other antivirus software is currently installed on your computer, you must uninstall it for Trend Micro to function properly. Instructions on uninstalling Symantec are available here.

    1. Navigate to the UW-Madison Software Library and select Trend Micro Maximum Security.
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    2. Click the Trend Micro Maximum security button and agree to the license terms. You should receive an email in the next few minutes from wiscorder@doit.wisc.edu containing your one-year license key.
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    3. Now that you've obtained your one-year license key, it's time to download the software and start the installation process. Click this link, and a download should start which will contain the most recent installer of Trend Micro for Mac. Select to Open the file once the download finishes.

      Note: If you encounter any issues with the installation or setup of Trend Micro past this point, please reach out to Trend Micro customer support for assistance. Trend Micro is available to help with any issues you may have installing the tool and setting up your account.

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    4. The Trend Micro installer will open. Double click to select "Install Trend Micro Antivirus."
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    5. A window may pop up warning you that the file is downloaded from the internet. The file is safe, so select to "Open" the file, and click "Continue" on the prompt that appears once the file opens.
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    6. Proceed to click continue on the installer until you've reached the License page. After you've browsed the terms and agreents, click continue on the license page and select to Agree to the license.
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    7. On the Serial Number page, enter the one-year License key provided to you in the email from the software library, and select to continue.

      Note: Some users have reported issues with copying and pasting the license key into this box, if you encounter similar issues the best solution is to type the license in manually.
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    8. Select to Install the software. There may be a prompt asking you to enter your login password to allow the installation. Enter your password and select to Install the software.
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    9. You will be prompted to install a helper tool that is required for Trend Micro to run. Enter your password and select to Install Helper.
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    10. You may also be notified that a system extension was blocked. Click on the Apple icon on the top left hand of your screen, select System Preferences, then select Extensions. If the box next to Trend Micro's Finder extension is unchecked, click the box to check it.
      Note: Some users have encountered issues with proceeding past this step without performing step 16 first. If you are encountering errors after this step, see if performing the actions in step 16 remediate the problem.

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    11. Now you must set up a Trend Micro account for the software to function properly. A new page titled "Activate Your Protection" will appear. Enter your personal email address to begin account setup (using your personal email is recommended so that you may continue to access your Trend Micro account even if you are no longer affiliated with the university and do not have access to your wisc.edu account). If you already have a pre-existing Trend Micro account from a previous purchase, you can enter the email associated with that account here. Click Next to proceed.
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    12. Enter your desired account information and click Next to proceed. Click Next on the verification page once you've verified the information you entered was correct.
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    13. You will be presented with the "Protection Activated" page, which confirms that Trend Micro has been activated on your computer for the next 360 days. Click Finish to close out of the "Activate Your Protection" page, and click "Close" on the Installer tool.
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    14. The Trend Micro Application should appear in the dock. Click this application to open the first-time setup for Trend Micro. Click Next on the "Prevent Unauthorized Access Webcam Access" screen, and "Close" on the "Protect yourself from Ransomware" screen (you can configure this setting later).
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    15. Now you will need to give Trend Micro Full Disk Access so that it can protect your computer. Click the "Allow Full Disk Access" button, and follow the steps provided in the pop-up that appears to provide the "iCore" service disk access. Don't close System Preferences until you've completed the next step.
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    16. Before closing out of security & privacy tab of system preferences, navigate to the "general" security & privacy tab. An alert may have appeared on this tab asking to allow Trend Micro to make changes to the system. If this is the case, click to unlock the lock, enter your password, and click to allow Trend to make changes.

      Note: If you had already closed out of system preferences before reaching this step, click the Apple icon in the top left of your screen, open system preferences -> select security & privacy -> general tab to navigate to the proper screen.

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    17. The installation should now be complete. The Trend Micro application should now say that it's "Protected." You can now run scans and are actively being protected from malware in real-time.
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    18. "You may install Trend Micro on up to 5 devices using the license key provided to you. This license is valid for iOS and Android as well as macOS. Access your Trend Micro account here using the login information you created to learn more, and to download additional installers.
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    19. Your license key will be valid for 360 days starting the day you install/enter the license key into a Trend Micro application for the first time. You can request a new license key from the UW-Madison Software Library (as in step 1 above) 350 days after receiving your first key (as in step 2 above). When the time comes, you may enter this key into your expiring Trend Micro application to renew your license for another 360 days.

  1. If you encountered any issues along the way, or have questions, feel free to reach out to Trend Micro customer support for assistance.