> That said, a script that pokes and prods the right places and reports a machine's 'security factor' and prompts improvements would be cool (and probably already exists).
I'm not noticing much of an improvement on my mid-2011 MacBook Air (< 6 month old battery, 145 cycle count). The fact that the battery life indicator shows applications that are using significant amounts of energy has made me more aware of which applications are sucking away my battery life, however.
https://cisofy.com/lynis/