Load the Game

Mac security update rolling out, doesn’t need approval

• Egon Kilin
• December 23rd, 2014

The first ever automated Mac security update has been pushed out by Apple to Macintosh computers yesterday. According to Apple spokesman Bill Evans, the update is seamless and you won’t even notice it unless you are looking for it. That is because this Mac security update is being pushed out through an automatic system that doesn’t require user intervention. Your Mac won’t even have to be restarted for this update to take effect.

But what does this update contain and why did Apple push it out as such? The Mac security update is a vital set of NTP (network time protocol) fixes that will mend a security flaw that could be very dangerous to users. Even though Apple said that none of its devices show any sign of compromise, the update was sent out today. NTP is used for synchronizing clocks between computer systems and Carnegie Mellon University’s Software and Engineering Institute has identified a crucial flaw within the protocol. Now this doesn’t just affect Apple computers, as the same protocol is being used in other devices as well, so you should be seeing an update on your PC or laptop coming in, too.

Apple has had the automatic update system in place for two years now, but says it hasn’t used it as it preferred user intervention to update systems. Now the Mac security update should already be installed on your computer, although some Mac owners said that they noticed the update popping up in notifications, asking for user intervention in order to be installed. We don’t know why some are receiving the update without their consent and others are being notified by it, but it could just be a glitch in the system, as you might say. Nonetheless, with the Mac security update, users should feel safer and be more comfortable knowing that yet another loophole that could have been exploited by hackers to get access to personal information, is now mended.