With Big Sur reaching End of Life November 30, 2023, my Mac will stop getting security updates. For me, my machine still does what I need. I store information that I don't want to risk and I am wondering if I can install a third party anti virus program to keep my Mac secure.
Thanks.
iMac 27″, macOS 11.7
Apple does not usually make an official End of Life, or even an end of support statement. There is several years of history that Apple supports the current and two previous operating system versions with security updates and older operating systems are no longer provided with security updates or retirement announcements from Apple.
"Security updates" is not used in the same context as the daily Windows defender anti-virus updates as macOS is built on UNIX, not Windows or Linux and Apple has handled the security issues in the design of the operating system.
See Apple Platform Security - Apple Support
John Galt has clarified that no anti-virus product is necessary.
OKCorral81 wrote:
With Big Sur reaching End of Life November 30, 2023, my Mac will stop getting security updates. For me, my machine still does what I need. I store information that I don't want to risk and I am wondering if I can install a third party anti virus program to keep my Mac secure.
That would be a spectacularly bad idea and would accomplish the polar opposite of what you seek.
Read Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community.
Thanks for the info!
Big Sur EOL
