Check Your Mac Security Update Status with SilentKnight
Basically every Mac user is familiar with the process of updating MacOS system software to install updates for their operating system, which typically arrive as point releases (like 15.6) or major version releases (like 26). But did you know that MacOS will also periodically install security updates and anti-malware updates to Gatekeeper, MRT, and Xprotect? Those little security updates tend to happen routinely in the background when your Mac is online, but if your Mac is offline often like during commuting, storage, or travel, it’s possible to miss an update to those security and protective systems built into MacOS. Plus, every once in a blue moon, one of these automatic update systems may fail for any number of other reasons, and so security aware Mac users could be interested in an easy way to see what’s going on. If you ever want to check on the status of these behind-the-scenes MacOS updates to Xprotect, MRT, and firmware, a great way to run a quick security status check is with a free third party tool called SilentKnight.
SilentKnight is quite simple and easy to use, simply launch the app and click “Check” to run the a little system check on MacOS to determine if everything is up to date automatically, as it should be. SilentKnight will run through checks on firmware versions, security settings, MacOS malware scans and Malware Removal Tool (MRT), Xprotect versions, and more. You’ll then get a little summary indicating if everything is in order and updated as it should be, and if not, the ability to install the available updates.
As you can see in the screenshot below, when SilentKnight was first ran on this particular Mac, a few needed updates were identified that had yet to be installed. Clicking on “Install all updates” will kick off the update process for what is needed:
After running the check again, SilentKnight determined the availabe Xprotect update must be installed as well, but this requires a little trip to the terminal to initiate manually.
Helpfully, SilentKnight even provides the command necessary to start the xprotect update. So, heading over to Terminal app and at the command line, issuing the following command will initiate the installation of the latest Xprotect update:
sudo xprotect update
Running this command will return something like the following:
user@computername% sudo xprotect update
Starting update.
Update succeeded: Activated update CloudKitUpdate[v5305 - current @ 2025-07-15 18:10:53 +0000]
Once you see the ‘Update succeeded’ message, you can return to SilentKnight if you wish, click on “Check” again to run the status check, and everything shoudl be all green.
You can also use the xprotect command to determine if updates are available, but with a handy GUI, and the ability to check multiple security systems for available updates, and to initiate those updates, SilentKnight is a great little tool for the security-conscious Mac user.
And yes, if you’re a longtime reader here and you are wondering if the old trick to check xprotect with system_profiler still works, it does, but simply typing “xprotect version” into the terminal is a lot shorter and easier, and does the same job with the dedicated xprotect command line tool.
If this subject interests you, you migth want to check out additional security related topics, otherwise just keep in the habit of regularly updating your system software, which generally will make sure your Apple hardware remains secure.
