CoreLock FAQ: CoreLock is a security app for Mac that runs a six-check scan (running apps, network, app permissions, login and background items, AI agents, and the Downloads folder) and turns it into a 0–100 Security Score. The scan runs on your Mac and needs no account. Optional AI explanations, off by default, send a summary of programs, connection counts and disk totals for the scans you start, never your files. The free tier includes unlimited scans, 3 AI scan reviews a day when signed in, and no credit card. Pro is $9.99/month ($50/year, $200 once for Lifetime) with deep file scans, AI scan reviews without the daily limit, optional sync, and priority email support.
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CoreLock is a Mac app that runs a six-check security scan: running apps, network, app permissions, login and background items, AI agents, and your Downloads folder. It turns the results into a 0–100 Security Score and an Issues list, and explains each finding in plain English. Some findings offer Quit or Quarantine after you confirm. Most open the right page of System Settings or Finder so you can make the change.
The six-check scan runs on your Mac and needs no account. Nothing about your Mac is sent unless you turn on a feature that needs it, and those features are off by default. AI explanations (Settings › Privacy, sign-in required) send a summary of the scans you start: system stats, the 25 busiest program names with process ID, CPU and memory, connection counts and disk totals. Never your files. File reputation checks (Settings › Privacy) send the SHA-256 fingerprints of scanned files to an online malware-hash database, never their contents. On Pro and Business, if you turn sync on while signed in, CoreLock uploads your scan scores and issue counts, fix history and two settings.
CoreLock looks at system-level data like running apps, listening network services, login items and app permissions. Some checks read files on your Mac, locally: the Downloads check and Files scans read files to compare their fingerprints with a built-in list of known-malware hashes and check them against CoreLock's malware signatures, and CoreLock places hidden decoy files and tells you if a program changes or deletes one. Your documents and photos are not uploaded, and CoreLock does not read your browsing history. If you turn on AI explanations, a summary of programs, connection counts and disk totals is sent, as described in the privacy policy.
CoreLock runs six checks on your Mac and computes the Security Score there. A check that can't run is shown as not checked, never counted as passed. If you turn on AI explanations and sign in, a cloud model reviews the scans you start and explains the results in plain English. The AI does not set your score and does not add Issues.
No. CoreLock is built to run alongside the security software already on your Mac. It checks files in your Downloads folder against a built-in list of known-malware hashes and malware signatures, flags known-bad tools and risky command lines among your running apps, and reviews app permissions, listening network services, login items and AI agents. Then it explains what it finds in plain English.
CoreLock is signed and notarized by Apple, so this should not happen with current builds. If you see it, you may have an older version — download the latest from the download page. If macOS still blocks it, right-click CoreLock in Applications, select "Open", then click "Open" in the dialog.
Click the Apple menu > "About This Mac". If you see M1, M2, M3, or M4 in the chip info, download the Apple Silicon version. If you see Intel, download the Intel version. If you're not sure, the Intel version works on both (just slower on Apple Silicon).
CoreLock can only install updates when it runs from your Applications folder. If it was opened straight from the disk image, from your Downloads folder, or was moved into place by something other than Finder, macOS runs it from a temporary, read-only copy, and updates can't install. Versions up to 2.0.4 don't say so; 2.0.5 and later offer to move CoreLock into Applications, and say so if an update can't install. To fix it by hand: Quit CoreLock, drag it into your Applications folder in Finder (or download it again from corelock.net and drag it in from the disk image), then open it from Applications. To check which version you have, choose CoreLock › About CoreLock in the menu bar.
Quit CoreLock, drag it from your Applications folder to the Trash, then empty the Trash. Removing the app this way doesn't delete the settings and scan data CoreLock keeps in your user Library folder. Email info@corelock.net if you want help removing them.
CoreLock runs six checks: running apps, network, app permissions, login and background items, AI agents, and your Downloads folder. They feed a 0–100 Security Score in four parts: Apps 30, Network 25, Permissions 20 and AI agents 25. A check that can't run is shown as not checked, never counted as passed. The scan runs every 15 minutes in the background by default, and whenever you press Scan. The score summarizes what was checked. It isn't a clean bill of health.
Not automatically, by default. Some findings offer Quit or Quarantine, and CoreLock asks you to confirm first. Most open the right page of System Settings or Finder so you make the change yourself. Clean-up after a scan is off by default; when you turn it on, background scans delete day-old temp files and trash a few app caches that are over size limits. There is no Undo button. A quarantined file goes to a hidden quarantine folder, and you can move it back by hand. Not every fix can be reversed.
The six-check scan runs on your Mac and works offline. Signing in, AI explanations, Ask CoreLock, file reputation checks, sync, and subscription management need an internet connection.
Ask CoreLock answers security questions in plain English, optionally about a finding you choose. It needs a sign-in with AI explanations turned on, and it can't look at your Mac by itself. Your question, the conversation before it and the finding you chose, if any, are sent through our servers to OpenRouter, which routes them to a third-party model, for an answer. The free plan includes 5 questions a day.
Yes. The free tier gives you unlimited six-check scans, with no account and no credit card. If you sign in (optional and free), you also get 3 AI scan reviews a day and Ask CoreLock. There is no time limit. The free tier is not a trial — it works forever.
Pro ($9.99/month, $50/year, or $200 once for Lifetime) adds deep file scans (the Files › Full scan, which adds Documents, the launch folders and /Applications), AI scan reviews without the daily limit, and optional sync of your scan scores, issue counts, fix history and two settings, on up to 5 Macs, with priority email support. Business ($29/month with 3 seats included, then $7/month per additional seat) is Pro for a team's Macs. After you buy Business, open Account (at the bottom of CoreLock's sidebar, or Settings › Account), create your team and invite people by email. Each person signs in with the exact email you invited, and someone without a CoreLock account yet can create one with it. The invitation is waiting in CoreLock, not in their inbox, so let them know. Members get everything in Pro and can leave the team from Account. For more seats, email info@corelock.net. There are no admin roles.
The free six-check scan works on any number of Macs, with no account. Signing in counts that Mac against your plan: 1 Mac on Free, up to 5 on Pro and Lifetime, and 2 per seat on Business. From CoreLock 2.0.5 the limit applies when you sign in on another Mac, and Macs that are already signed in stay signed in. Account, at the bottom of CoreLock's sidebar, lists your Macs and lets you remove one, which signs CoreLock out on it and frees its place. At the limit, remove one there first.
One payment of $200 gives you Pro on up to 5 Macs, with every future version of CoreLock for macOS, including major upgrades. AI scan reviews and Ask CoreLock have the same limits as Pro, and you can turn on sync of your scan scores, issue counts and fix history to your account. The 30-day money-back guarantee applies. The license is for one person and cannot be transferred.
If you pay for Pro monthly or yearly and a Lifetime is added to your account, whether you buy it or restore it, your account is on the Lifetime and we cancel the subscription right away. We refund the unused part of the period you paid for, to the card that paid it. Paid with a different email than your CoreLock account? Use Restore Purchase to add the Lifetime first. Nothing is refunded if you paid nothing for that period (a $0 or complimentary plan, a trial, or an unpaid period) or if the amount comes to under 50 cents; the subscription is still cancelled. A Business subscription is never cancelled: Business stays, and the Lifetime is your fallback if Business ends. If the Lifetime is later refunded or reversed (for example under the 30-day money-back guarantee), the cancelled subscription is not restarted. A subscription that CoreLock cannot match to your account is not cancelled automatically; cancel it in the CoreLock app (Account, Manage Subscription).
Yes. We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on all paid plans. If you're not satisfied, email info@corelock.net within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.
You can cancel anytime through the app's Settings page or through your Stripe billing portal. You'll keep access to Pro features until the end of your current billing period.
Only if you turn on a feature that needs it. These are off by default. With AI explanations on (Settings › Privacy, sign-in required), each scan you start sends a summary to our servers: system stats, the 25 busiest program names with process ID, CPU and memory, connection counts and disk totals. Never your files. With file reputation checks on (Settings › Privacy), the SHA-256 fingerprints of scanned files are checked against an online malware-hash database; fingerprints only, never file contents. On Pro and Business, with sync turned on while you are signed in, CoreLock uploads your scan scores and issue counts, fix history and two settings. Ask CoreLock sends your question, the conversation before it and the finding you chose, if any.
Scan results are stored on your Mac. If you turn on AI explanations, the summary described above goes to our servers for each scan you start. On Pro and Business, if you turn on sync, your scan scores, issue counts and fix history are also saved to your account. The AI never sets your score; it is computed on your Mac. The privacy policy lists what is kept and for how long.
CoreLock uses Stripe for payment processing. We never see or store your credit card number. Stripe is PCI Level 1 certified — the highest level of payment security.