mac os monterey 12.7.6 - unsupported

May-DK wrote:

Is my Mac now down the drain or can I do something?

Your Mac is perfectly safe as long as you don't intentionally install malware.

See…

Effective defenses against malware and ot… - Apple Community

Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

May-DK wrote:

As the laptop is too old to be able to handle an upgrade to any of the newer Mac OS I am a bit lost in what's the best way to handle it. I'm a bit bummed, as it seems like it's a Mac down the drain so "soon"... I've had Windows laptops that ended up way older than my Mac Air, that were still supported and it was still possible to keep it safe.

You may want to install another Web browser. Apple updated Safari 17 (which runs on Monterey) earlier this year, but Safari development has now moved on to version 18, which requires Ventura or better. My guess is that Apple will not add any major features to Safari 17 now, though they might still continue to release bug fix or security patches for it.

Safari Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation

The current version of Firefox will run on Catalina or later, so I am guessing that Monterey will be able to keep up with the latest Firefox updates for at least a couple of years before you'd have to switch to an ESR release. Opera will also run on Catalina or later.

Brave will run on Big Sur or later, as will Google Chrome (if you insist on using it).

Apple maintains a list of "obsolete" products here: Obtaining service for your Apple product after an expired warranty - Apple Support. Your Mac remains fully supported (I corrected my initial reply after verifying).

When any particular model Mac becomes "vintage" it will remain supported, but if it should require repairs obtaining Apple authorized parts and service starts to become difficult.

In any event your Mac and Macs much older than it are continuing to receive XProtect updates on an almost daily basis. The oldest Mac that I happen to have at my occasional disposal is about sixteen years old now and its last security update was issued a few days ago.

Don't use Google.

You're welcome.

Personally, I feel there is a much larger chance of my info being leaked from a company I have intentionally supplied info to, than I have ever worried about the security of my Macs. Of the seven Macs we have, I still have one running Monterey. I'm not worried about it. :)

May-DK wrote:

Hi!

I've got a Mac Air from 2017 with the latest version mac os monterey 12.7.6, no longer supported with security updates as of November 2022.

That's not true. What have you observed on your Mac that led you to that conclusion?

Apple's support pages, among other sources of accurate information. Google is not a source of accurate information.

If you have not deliberately disabled Apple's security updates then it is continuing to receive routine security updates from Apple. That's the reason for my question: did you intentionally do something to your Mac that would prevent that? Install something to bypass it? Etc.

You're welcome.