Xprotect active or not
I am re posting because my original post disappeared. How can you tell if xprotect is running? There is not indicator?
MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)
XProtect isn't something that you turn on or off, it just runs. However, the updating process is done automatically when System Preferences>App Store has both "Automatically check for updates" and "Install system data files and security updates" checked.
You can also trigger any such updates manually (if you don't want to leave those items always checked) by using Terminal. Entering this command followed by Return:
defaults read /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.meta Version
will tell you what version you currently have. This command:
sudo softwareupdate --background-critical
will force an actual update if one is needed. Note that in both instances, copying and pasting into Terminal is easier than trying to type it. Also, "sudo" will require entry of the Administrator's password for the command to run. And always be careful when using Terminal.
The current version of XProtect is 2084.