§ 00 — Live check
A hash matches, or it doesn't.
NexGuard scans your Mac for files whose SHA-256 fingerprint exactly matches a known-malicious sample, pulled from a maintained threat-intel feed. No heuristics, no behavioral guessing — a verified match, or nothing.
§ 01 — How it works
The ledger, not a guess
NexGuard is built on avtool, a free, open-source
command-line scanner. Point it at a file or a folder and it computes
the SHA-256 fingerprint of every file, then checks that fingerprint
against a local hash database — a manually-curated list plus a
synced public threat feed. A match means the file is byte-identical
to a known-bad sample. No match means exactly that: no match, not a
clean bill of health.
You can also run avtool watch to keep an eye on a
folder in real time — your Downloads, say — and review anything it
catches with avtool review.
§ 02 — What this is, what it isn't
We'd rather undersell this
Most security tools promise more than a hash check can deliver. NexGuard doesn't.
NexGuard does
- Catch files that exactly match a known-malicious hash
- Stay open source — read every line at the link above
- Sync a curated threat feed on your schedule
- Pair cleanly alongside whatever you already run
NexGuard doesn't
- Use heuristics or behavioral detection
- Catch malware modified even slightly from a known sample
- Replace a full antivirus suite
- Promise anything a hash match can't back up
§ 03 — Free and paid
The scanner is free. The rest is optional.
- The
avtoolCLI, MIT licensed - Unlimited local scans and real-time watching
- Manual sync against the public threat feed
- Everything in Open source
- Priority support from a real person
- A premium, more frequently updated threat feed
- A dashboard for checking status across every machine you run NexGuard on