Installer Progress [115 or 116 or other series of numbers] in Mac Console meaning

kitkatskie wrote:

The logs are like this:

<April-13.log>

<April-14.log>

I am worried, is my Mac hacked or compromised if there are installation progresses even though I’m not updating anything?

I can find no reason for that concern from the log excerpts you posted. Most likely, the installer processes are related to XProtect, which Apple periodically updates as a background process, and which System Information revealed was updated recently. Read more about it here: Protecting against malware in macOS - Apple Support.

It is certainly possible to install malware on a Mac, but you have to work at it. Nothing gets installed on a Mac without an Administrator's explicit consent. Even then, macOS will throw warnings if what you are attempting to install is potentially malicious.

The Console app is not intended for general use or even for troubleshooting. Its primary purpose is for developers in conjunction with debugging their Mac apps.

Nevertheless I understand your concern that something appears to be in the process of actively installing or updating itself on your Mac, and that you would like to know what it might be. There are a number of better ways of determining that information. The first place I would look is in the System Information app > Software > Installations, which retains an extensive database of everything that was ever installed on your Mac. You can sort that list by date, which will narrow down the list of possibilities.

To learn more about the System Information app, refer to the System Information User Guide for Mac - Apple Support, and if you would like more help in deciphering that cryptic Console entry by all means please write back.

👍

You can drive yourself crazy perusing Console entries. Every normally functioning Mac will show numerous "warnings" and "errors" that can cause understandable concern. Taken to an extreme, that concern can even drive people to take inappropriate actions that will result in real trouble: What's wrong with my computer console? - Apple Community.

The Mac is by far the most secure consumer grade computing appliance on the planet. Mac users on the other hand are infinitely hackable, and that poses its primary threat. For more on that subject read Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community.

Also, be aware that just having the Console window open will noticeably degrade a Mac's performance along with the commensurate battery drain. There's nothing wrong with using it out of morbid curiosity, but its usefulness as a debugging tool is solely limited to developer needs.

If you should ever suspect something is amiss with your Mac just post a new Discussion on this site describing the symptoms, and you'll get plenty of experienced helpers willing to assist.

Completely agree with @John Galt.

I am a tech with years experience and I will no longer look at the macOS system logs because they have become worthless for troubleshooting. They are flooded with lots of scary sounding entries while others seem to contain non-sense meant only for the developer of the software that has created the log entry.

The article @John Galt links for "Effective defenses" is an excellent article. Users who practice those safe computing habits will severely limit any problems.