Apple Installs First Automatic, Silent Update – What Risk Is Your Network Facing?

Are You at Risk?

Vulnerabilities were discovered in the NTP by technicians a few weeks ago, which would allow attackers to execute a malicious code on a remote system. It appears that millions of computers, including Macs running OS X 10.8, 10.9 and 10.10, would have been susceptible. Apple decided it was a good opportunity to test OS X’s automatic silent repair mechanism for the first time, although it has been present for at least a few years.

The Silent Update

The update on OS X is seamless; in fact, the first a user will know of it is after it’s already been complete is when your system will receive a confirmation box telling you the update was a success. If you want to be proactive in protecting your system, though, you can manually download the update from the Mac App Store.

While Microsoft has had the ability to silently update for some time, it’s very rare that they actually use it. Windows/Microsoft prefers to download the updates automatically and then install them at a more opportune moment, such as during a restart or shutdown. This may be because installing an update while a system is running can be somewhat risky, especially if a user is in the middle of an important task when the update starts taking place.

Clearly Apple thought the NTP vulnerability was a serious enough threat that it was a necessary installation.