I have a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013) currently running Big Sur, which is no longer supported. Changing to Monterey is apparently not an option. Do I have any MacOS options with support short of replacing the MacBook?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Updating Big Sur options.
Apple TV 4K, tvOS 18
Big Sur no longer gets the latest version of Safari, and is not one of the "most recent three" supported by vendors like Microsoft and Adobe.
Big Sur is enough to let you run
Big Sur no longer gets the latest version of Safari, and is not one of the "most recent three" supported by vendors like Microsoft and Adobe.
Big Sur is enough to let you run
T-Diddy3112 wrote:
Thank you, O Servant of Cats. I appreciate your time. I don’t do very sophisticated things on my computer, however, if the operating system is not supported and there are no security updates, I’m concerned that I would be more vulnerable to attacks from the Internet. Is this an unjustifiable concern?
If you'd rather go with a new machine, you could consider a
The 14" MacBook Pro would be the closest match to your current 13" MacBook Pro in terms of expansion ports. In terms of computing power, as long as you got at least 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD space, any of these Macs would likely to be more than powerful enough for your needs.
With the 13" MacBook Air, the attraction would be that it is lighter than your current MBP or than the other two.
T-Diddy3112 wrote:
Thank you, O Servant of Cats. I appreciate your time. I don’t do very sophisticated things on my computer, however, if the operating system is not supported and there are no security updates, I’m concerned that I would be more vulnerable to attacks from the Internet. Is this an unjustifiable concern?
It depends on your tolerance of risk. If you're not in the habit of downloading pirated software, or frequenting the dark alleys of the Internet, you may be fairly safe even with an older operating system. Especially if you install and use a mainstream third-party browser like Firefox that is still getting security updates from its developers.
It's not that computers are invulnerable to attack. More along the lines that these days, a lot of criminals consider you to be the "weak spot" in system security. They find it easier to send out millions of "phishing" messages – in the hopes of scaring a few victims ("phish") into "biting", than to attack people's computers. The phishing scams, ironically, often prey upon people's fears of viruses and other computer security problems. People get scared and call the number or buy the software to "get rid of the virus" – and just like that, they get scammed.
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I'd say @Niel nailed it! 😉
Thank you, O Servant of Cats. I appreciate your time. I don’t do very sophisticated things on my computer, however, if the operating system is not supported and there are no security updates, I’m concerned that I would be more vulnerable to attacks from the Internet. Is this an unjustifiable concern?
FYI, in Big Sur and later versions of macOS, some system files are very hardened, and hard to attack.
Apple took a bunch of files that the Mac does not need to change during normal operation, and put them into a sealed system volume. The volume is "signed" using a cryptographic key. If malware modifies this volume, the signature will no longer match the contents of the volume, and the Mac will refuse to start up from that volume. Furthermore, the Mac does not run off the sealed system volume – but off a read-only snapshot of it.
Your data, and the parts of macOS that might need to be modified, don't have this extra protection. So malware could still try to, e.g., encrypt all of your documents and hold them for ransom. But the system files in the sealed system volume are just "slightly" hardened against malware attack!
For more gory details than you ever wanted to know (or likely want to know), see: The Eclectic Light Company – Boot volume layout
Thanks again. Probably out of an abundance of caution, I went in a different direction. I purchased an iMac.
Know that I appreciate your advice. I was half expecting something similar to what you have given me (suggestions of replacement machines) when I first opened the topic. Mr. Niel answered my. Perhaps I should have addended it with a more specific request for advice or direction should the reply be "no".
Anyway, thanks again
[Edited by Moderator]
You absolutely do NOT need to replace your Mac. Big Sur may no longer get security updates but as long as you're sensible browsing and using email, it’s not an issue. It may be a 5-year-old OS but things don't change much with modern Mac OS releases - not like the 5 years between Jaguar (“Jag Wire” LMAO) and Leopard for example, or Leopard and Mavericks.
Thank you for your response, Niel. Succinct, if somewhat graceless.
No, the latest you can get on a machine is 11.7.10 Big Sur
macOS choices for my late 2013 MacBook Pro
