Is the New Security Update Working on My Computers?

FWIW, I have two instances of the "(com.apple.xprotectupdater[44]): Exited with exit code: 255" message from the com.apple.launchd[1] process in my system console log.

But each is immediately preceded by a message from the XProtectUpdater[44] process saying "This computer’s Internet connection appears to be offline."

I believe this is just a timing issue that occasionally occurs after restarting my Mac, because it takes a few seconds after booting for the network configuration to stabilize.

killhippie wrote:

Still seeing the 255 error here and not getting the updates unless I manually invoke them

Have you waited at least 24 hours to see if the automatic update would occur if you did not do it manually?

ok, sorry. I was hoping...but it now seems I am still see the 255 in console at either startup from poweroff state, or at just a restart. But, it looks like the every 24hr updates are happening. In the past, I was forcing the update, but then, I noticed I went from 6 to 7 without me doing anything. But, the 7 to 8 hasn't happened yet. If the process is suppose to check at startup or restart (not waking from sleep), I can confirm on two MBP's that it is not pulling in the updates. But, as I stated before, the 24hr thing seems to be working.

I have indeed, not really sure what's going on as I can use Terminal to update, getting a replacement iMac Friday due to hardware issues, so will start the whole process again, maybe with more luck 😉

ok, I know it has been stated that this thing is suppoe to update when you either startup your mac or restart your mac, other than the normal 24hr period. So, since the Apple kbase only mentions daily, I am wondering if this perhaps just isn't happening by design. Maybe Apple thought once a day (every 24hrs was enough- not anticipating such an outbreak to occur). I know a few people have examined the script to see when it is suppose to run.

Have you tried talking to support (since you are already working with someone, to find out exactly when it is suppose to run? I would consider mine working as designed IF it was only suppose to run every 24hrs.

It only tries to update automatically on the macs that have been restarted after the install of the update.

That explains why I see no updates on my mac mini.

For my macbook, it tries to update after I start it (I shut it down everynight) but then the network is not active yet, so it fails with errorcode 255, I have not had my laptop running for more than 24 hrs since install so no updates at all except when done manually.

And for the mac of a friend (every night in deep sleep), also no updates. this one was rebooted after the install, but never up at at 24 hrs intervals after the restart.

To make this work correctly, the mac has to be restarted after the install of the update and to make sure that the updates are done and do not fail due to no netwrok, the interval should be smaller (every hr) or smarter (check every hr if last updates is older than 24 hrs)

so, since I'm on an AEBS, the update fails at restart because the network hasn't finished starting up?

Thank makes sense. The "check for update at restart process" needs modified to run AFTER the network is up and running..

ArieRoos wrote:

It only tries to update automatically on the macs that have been restarted after the install of the update.

...

To make this work correctly, the mac has to be restarted after the install of the update

That could be true, but the installer wasn't designed that way. There is a post installer action script which loads the Launch Daemon so you should get your first update right away and it should check again 24 hours after that or upon restart, whichever occurs first.

I suspect that the 24 hour interval was based on a several things. I doubt that the distribution network is capable of handling all the Macs in the world looking for an update multiple times a day, the way most AV software does. I'm pretty sure that Apple hasn't had time to ramp up their response center to multiple signature writers 24/7. When this all started a month ago, I don't think anybody imagined that the threat would change every day at random times. Historically it has been weeks or months between the need for updates. Should things continue at this pace or become a bigger threat, I am sure we'll see a more robust capability.

MadMacs0 wrote:

That could be true, but the installer wasn't designed that way. There is a post installer action script which loads the Launch Daemon so you should get your first update right away and it should check again 24 hours after that or upon restart, whichever occurs first.

You are right, missed that script. it should update without a restart. Then something else is preventing the updates of my mini (no mention of failures in the logfiles).

For the reason of the 24 hrs interval, you are probably right also. But imo it does not need to update every hr (most windows virus scanners also don't), but it should try if the last update is is older than 24 hrs.

pcbjr wrote:

Still get that 255 error (and I've been all the way up to Apple Engineering on this) without any fix/solution being offered, so IMHO it is a bug related to a quick Security Update, which may (???) get fixed in 10.6.8.

FWIW, the 255 exit code seems to be associated with starting up the Mac, while the computer’s Internet connection appears to be offline. I created a Database Search in Console (from the File menu) with the following criteria:

This always shows pairs of messages like this...

...separated by 20 to 30 seconds. There are never any other 255 exit codes I can find.

It would be interesting to see if anybody gets different results. BTW, I do use an AEBS.

ArieRoos wrote:

To make this work correctly, the mac has to be restarted after the install of the update and to make sure that the updates are done and do not fail due to no netwrok, the interval should be smaller (every hr) or smarter (check every hr if last updates is older than 24 hrs)

I don't think I'm going to try it myself, but it might be possible to change the interval by modifying the /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.xprotectupdater.plist file. One of its keys is "StartInterval" & its value is the number 86400. Since 86400 is the number of seconds in a day (60 X 60 X 24), changing the value to something smaller may cause the daemon to run /usr/libexec/XProtectUpdater more frequently. For instance, a value of 3600 would be hourly.

ArieRoos wrote:

To make this work correctly, the mac has to be restarted after the install of the update and to make sure that the updates are done and do not fail due to no netwrok…

Apparently, the updaters broken, but you can run this Terminal command manually and get the update.

sudo /usr/libexec/XProtectUpdater

Is the update version still at 8?

I have not shut my MBP down for a couple of days. Yesterday at the 24 hour mark I watched the console to see if any message from xprotectupdater appeared. It did not. So, either the updater is not working or there is no error to report.

If there is a new version available, I will be looking again at 6 PM PDT to see if a message appears and if the update is retrieved.

So, that's the reason for my question. Is the version still 8?