Either support these old OSes properly, or don't pretend to do so. Promoted Commentsįrankly, this is a shit policy for a trillion dollar corporation. But if you believe you're being specifically targeted by attackers, you have another reason to make sure your software (and hardware) are fully updated and upgraded. We've asked Apple to be more upfront about its security communication, and this is a step forward in that regard. And Apple's documentation doesn't change anything about how it updates older software it merely confirms something that had already been observed. Most people running an up-to-date Big Sur or Monterey installation with an up-to-date Safari browser should be safe from most high-priority threats, especially if you also keep the other apps on your Mac updated. That said, this probably shouldn't dramatically change your calculus for when to upgrade or stop using an older Mac. Software like the OpenCore Legacy Patcher can be used to get the newest OS versions running on older hardware, but it's not always a simple process, and it has its own limitations and caveats. This means that every year, there's a new batch of devices that are still getting some security updates but not all of them. This is relevant for Mac users because Apple drops support for older Mac and iDevice models in most upgrades, something that has accelerated somewhat for older Intel Macs in recent years (most Macs still receive six or seven years of upgrades, plus another two years of updates). Intego Chief Security Analyst Joshua Long has tracked the CVEs patched by different macOS and iOS updates for years and generally found that bugs patched in the newest OS versions can go months before being patched in older (but still ostensibly "supported") versions, when they're patched at all. This confirms something that independent security researchers have been aware of for a while but that Apple hasn't publicly articulated before. Advertisementįurther Reading Some Macs are getting fewer updates than they used to. Apple currently provides security updates to macOS 11 Big Sur and macOS 12 Monterey alongside the newly released macOS Ventura, and in the past, it has released security updates for older iOS versions for devices that can't install the latest upgrades. In other words, while Apple will provide security-related updates for older versions of its operating systems, only the most recent upgrades will receive updates for every security problem Apple knows about. "Because of dependency on architecture and system changes to any current version of macOS (for example, macOS 13)," the document reads, "not all known security issues are addressed in previous versions (for example, macOS 12)." Updating from iOS 16.0 to 16.1 or macOS 12.5 to 12.6 or 12.6.1 is an update. So updating from iOS 15 to iOS 16 or macOS 12 to macOS 13 is an upgrade. Throughout the document, Apple uses "upgrade" to refer to major OS releases that can add big new features and user interface changes and "update" to refer to smaller but more frequently released patches that mostly fix bugs and address security problems (though these can occasionally enable minor feature additions or improvements as well). When the new owner starts up the Mac, they can use their own information to complete setup.Further Reading PSA: Apple isn’t actually patching all the security holes in older versions of macOS If you're selling, trading in, or giving away your Mac, press Command-Q to quit the setup assistant without completing setup, then click Shut Down. Your Mac might restart and show a progress bar several times, and the screen might be empty for minutes at a time.Īfter installation is complete, your Mac might restart to a setup assistant. Allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid.If the installer offers you the choice between installing on Macintosh HD or Macintosh HD - Data, choose Macintosh HD.If the installer doesn't see your disk, or it says that it can't install on your computer or volume, you might need to erase your disk first.If the installer asks to unlock your disk, enter the password that you use to log in to your Mac.Click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.Reinstalling macOS doesn't remove your personal data. When you see a window with the option to reinstall macOS, your Mac has started up from Recovery.
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