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Apple maintain security updates for at least 2 previous revisions of macOS. As long as you keep your system updated you’re as secure as the current version.

jesseendahl 9y ago
There are unfortunately many security fixes that are not backported. A quick Google search turns up numerous incidents: https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+security+kernel+not+backported https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+security+kernel+not+ba... There are also numerous incidents mentioned by Google Peoject Zero, if you read through their macOS disclosures. It’s definitely unsafe from a security standpoint to run anything other than the latest release.
- j45 9y ago
  I wasn't aware of this. Still, running something like little snitch, behind a router, along with some browser plugins can go a long way. Until Sierra, I have never had an upgrade that went smoothly, something critical I used has always broken. Unfortunately Apple's OS updates are as bad as a zer0 day exploit in how they can knock one's setup inoperable, sometimes for many weeks or months until there's a way to fix, or revert. Software vendors I'm using seemed to be out ahead of the High Sierra train which was encouraging.
  - Shank 9y ago
    > Unfortunately Apple's OS updates are as bad as a zer0 day exploit in how they can knock one's setup inoperable, sometimes for many weeks or months until there's a way to fix, or revert. You do backup things right? Disk cloning through Carbon Copy Cloner is super fast and restores are painless.
    - j45 9y ago
      In my mind I don't own a macbook as much as I own a warranty and an immediately bootable backup. Apples backups were the reason I switched to Mac from windows a decade ago. Can't be beat. I run Time Machine on one hd at office, carbon copy cloner on another hd at home, all they the USB hub. It's not a backup if it doesn't exist in more than 1 place. I was referring to the case where half your apps don't work and the other half benefit greatly from the new version.
- sitharus 9y ago
  Ouch. I always upgrade within a couple of months though so I guess I've never noticed this. Certainly APFS has made my 5 year old Retina MacBook Pro feel faster when compiling so I'm not complaining too much.

jesseendahl 9y ago

There are unfortunately many security fixes that are not backported. A quick Google search turns up numerous incidents: https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+security+kernel+not+backported https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+security+kernel+not+ba... There are also numerous incidents mentioned by Google Peoject Zero, if you read through their macOS disclosures. It’s definitely unsafe from a security standpoint to run anything other than the latest release.

j45 9y ago
I wasn't aware of this. Still, running something like little snitch, behind a router, along with some browser plugins can go a long way. Until Sierra, I have never had an upgrade that went smoothly, something critical I used has always broken. Unfortunately Apple's OS updates are as bad as a zer0 day exploit in how they can knock one's setup inoperable, sometimes for many weeks or months until there's a way to fix, or revert. Software vendors I'm using seemed to be out ahead of the High Sierra train which was encouraging.
- Shank 9y ago
  > Unfortunately Apple's OS updates are as bad as a zer0 day exploit in how they can knock one's setup inoperable, sometimes for many weeks or months until there's a way to fix, or revert. You do backup things right? Disk cloning through Carbon Copy Cloner is super fast and restores are painless.
  - j45 9y ago
    In my mind I don't own a macbook as much as I own a warranty and an immediately bootable backup. Apples backups were the reason I switched to Mac from windows a decade ago. Can't be beat. I run Time Machine on one hd at office, carbon copy cloner on another hd at home, all they the USB hub. It's not a backup if it doesn't exist in more than 1 place. I was referring to the case where half your apps don't work and the other half benefit greatly from the new version.
sitharus 9y ago
Ouch. I always upgrade within a couple of months though so I guess I've never noticed this. Certainly APFS has made my 5 year old Retina MacBook Pro feel faster when compiling so I'm not complaining too much.