Apple Gatekeeper
E771045
Apple Gatekeeper is a macOS security feature that verifies and controls the execution of apps to protect users from running untrusted or malicious software.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Apple Gatekeeper canonical | 2 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T9003010 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Apple Gatekeeper Context triple: [Apple Developer ID certificate, requiredBy, Apple Gatekeeper]
-
A.
Apple FairPlay
Apple FairPlay is a digital rights management (DRM) technology developed by Apple to protect and control the use of copyrighted media content distributed through its platforms.
-
B.
MacBadger
MacBadger is a gruff but kind-hearted badger character from Disney’s adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows," where he serves as a responsible guardian and friend to Mr. Toad.
-
C.
FileVault
FileVault is Apple’s built-in full-disk encryption system for macOS that protects data by encrypting the contents of a Mac’s startup disk.
-
D.
Apple T2
Apple T2 is a custom Apple coprocessor that enhances security and integrates multiple system controllers for Macs, handling functions like secure boot, encryption, and image processing.
-
E.
Activation Lock
Activation Lock is an Apple security feature that prevents unauthorized use of a lost or stolen iOS device by requiring the owner’s Apple ID credentials to reactivate it.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: Apple Gatekeeper Target entity description: Apple Gatekeeper is a macOS security feature that verifies and controls the execution of apps to protect users from running untrusted or malicious software.
-
A.
Apple FairPlay
Apple FairPlay is a digital rights management (DRM) technology developed by Apple to protect and control the use of copyrighted media content distributed through its platforms.
-
B.
MacBadger
MacBadger is a gruff but kind-hearted badger character from Disney’s adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows," where he serves as a responsible guardian and friend to Mr. Toad.
-
C.
FileVault
FileVault is Apple’s built-in full-disk encryption system for macOS that protects data by encrypting the contents of a Mac’s startup disk.
-
D.
Apple T2
Apple T2 is a custom Apple coprocessor that enhances security and integrates multiple system controllers for Macs, handling functions like secure boot, encryption, and image processing.
-
E.
Activation Lock
Activation Lock is an Apple security feature that prevents unauthorized use of a lost or stolen iOS device by requiring the owner’s Apple ID credentials to reactivate it.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
application execution control mechanism
ⓘ
macOS security feature ⓘ |
| blocks |
apps from unidentified developers by default
ⓘ
apps that fail code signing validation ⓘ apps that fail notarization checks ⓘ |
| canBeBypassedBy |
Control-click open and user confirmation
ⓘ
explicit user override in System Settings ⓘ |
| category |
malware protection
ⓘ
security ⓘ |
| checks |
quarantine attribute on downloaded files
ⓘ
whether an app is from an identified developer ⓘ whether an app is from the Mac App Store ⓘ whether an app is notarized by Apple ⓘ |
| configurableVia |
System Preferences
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
System Settings NERFINISHED ⓘ spctl command-line tool ⓘ |
| defaultState | enabled ⓘ |
| developedBy | Apple Inc. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| enforces |
Apple Developer ID program requirements
ⓘ
notarization requirements for distributed software ⓘ |
| implementedIn | macOS security subsystem ⓘ |
| introducedIn | OS X Mountain Lion NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| introducedInVersion | OS X 10.8 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| operatingSystem | macOS ⓘ |
| platform | Mac NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| purpose |
control execution of downloaded apps
ⓘ
enforce code signing requirements ⓘ protect users from running untrusted software ⓘ reduce risk of malware infections ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Apple Developer Program
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Mac App Store NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| releaseYear | 2012 ⓘ |
| requires | valid Apple Developer ID certificate for identified developers ⓘ |
| riskMitigated |
drive-by downloads and common macOS malware
ⓘ
execution of unsigned apps from unknown sources ⓘ |
| scope |
apps downloaded from the internet
ⓘ
first launch of apps ⓘ |
| settingOption |
Allow apps from App Store
ⓘ
Allow apps from App Store and identified developers ⓘ |
| uses |
Gatekeeper policy database
ⓘ
code signing ⓘ notarization tickets ⓘ |
| verifies |
app code signatures
ⓘ
developer ID certificates ⓘ notarization status of apps ⓘ |
| worksWith |
Apple notarization service
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
System Integrity Protection NERFINISHED ⓘ XProtect NERFINISHED ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: Apple Gatekeeper Description of subject: Apple Gatekeeper is a macOS security feature that verifies and controls the execution of apps to protect users from running untrusted or malicious software.
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Apple Developer ID certificate
subject surface form:
Apple Developer ID certificate