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How to use Mountain Lion in 2016

Hi guys,


I have an iMac 2011, 500 Gb and 12 Gb RAM. I've been using Mavericks for the last two years. Just for doing some experiments if my computer run faster of more stable i decided to make a clean install of Mountain Lion tonight. I found many articles of the Internet talking very good about Mountain Lion. I have it in and a Macbook Pro and runs great!


But there is also news that it will not receive any more upgrades. How is to use Mountain Lion in 2016 with no security upgrades? Are Mac as vulnerable to virus and attacks as other computers? Could i still run Photoshop CS5?


Any tips or ideas on how to use Mountain Lion, be happy and not alone in an island? haha


Cheers,

iPhone 5c, iOS 8.4, null

Posted on Apr 30, 2016 4:54 PM

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Posted on May 1, 2016 7:23 PM

Are Mac as vulnerable to virus and attacks as other computers?


Generally, the answer is no, but they are subject to malware and adware gotten from the Internet. Whether you are using 10.8 or 10.11, the best way to remain safe is to be careful about what websites you visit and what you download.

31 replies
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May 1, 2016 7:23 PM in response to uzapucax

Are Mac as vulnerable to virus and attacks as other computers?


Generally, the answer is no, but they are subject to malware and adware gotten from the Internet. Whether you are using 10.8 or 10.11, the best way to remain safe is to be careful about what websites you visit and what you download.

May 2, 2016 5:18 AM in response to uzapucax

A reasonable defense against extant threats is to install the latest operating system available for your Mac. To learn how to do that please read Upgrade to OS X El Capitan - Apple Support. El Capitan will run perfectly well on your model iMac.


Then, keep it up to date: How to update OS X and Mac apps - Apple Support.


Implement and follow a backup strategy also: https://www.apple.com/support/backup/


Are Mac as vulnerable to virus and attacks as other computers?


No. Even Windows is not as vulnerable as it once was, but scams are commonplace. You can avoid the overwhelming number of threats targeted for Mac users by keeping OS X up to date and implementing simple commonsense measures that can be applied to any Internet-connected communications device. For more information on that subject please read Effective defenses against malware and other threats.

May 2, 2016 5:37 AM in response to John Galt

Thanks for the advice John🙂


I am sorry but i am no too much into El Capitan for now. I watched my boss iMac 2011 to get the upgrade with El Capitan and to be bloat very soon afterwards. Everything takes years and the spinning beach ball is there which plays a big part if you use it many hours a day. On a second note i am not very fond of El Capitan's GUI.


I very comfortable with Mountain Lion after 2 days working and even enjoy its retro looks, haha. I just want to be sure using it as long as i can without security issues in the near future. I have Hands Off, AdBlocker and Firewall activated. Even if i navigate in a suspicious website can i still be attacked?


Cheers,

May 2, 2016 6:07 AM in response to uzapucax

Simply put, there is something very wrong with your boss's iMac that he or she ought to fix. I have a number of 2011 model year iMacs that run El Capitan perfectly well, faster than any previous OS X version, quantifiably so, according to popular benchmarking software. Therefore it stands to reason whatever is wrong with your boss's iMac can be fixed.


The GUI is a matter of personal taste. If you prefer to use Mountain Lion that's fine, as long as you are aware that it is no longer supported and will no longer receive security updates. That answers your stated concern: I just want to be sure using it as long as i can without security issues in the near future.


Even if i navigate in a suspicious website can i still be attacked?


Merely navigating to and loading a suspicious website cannot result in any harm on a Mac, even if the website appears to "lock up" your browser. If that should occur read Phony "tech support" / "ransomware" popups and web pages for the solution.


I have Hands Off, AdBlocker and Firewall activated.


I have never used any of those things. They can be useful, but are not necessary, can cause unexpected behavior, and will often result only in your own inconvenience. The OS X application firewall's purpose is frequently misunderstood, and is completely unrelated to protecting your Mac from malicious software. It has useful purposes though, most of which have to do with using a portable Mac on a public Wi-Fi network shared by people you don't know or trust.


Following the applicable suggestions in the User Tip I posted will preclude falling victim to popular scams that seek to defraud you, regardless of the operating system you're using. The most important concept to keep in mind is that no software, including OS X itself, can protect you from all threats. OS X's built-in security protects itself from modifications that you do not explicitly authorize, but overall device security is your responsibility. Part of that is keeping its operating system up to date, regardless of the uninformed opinions of others.

May 3, 2016 1:32 PM in response to John Galt

Thanks for the advice John🙂


Very interesting info, indeed.


So in your opinion El Capitan can run faster than any previous OS X version? even in an older 2011 iMac? I thought newer OS X will have more features and resources which requires more RAM and faster processors too.


Regarding Malware i keep mackeeper at bay for now but it was a pain a couple of months ago.


Cheers,

May 3, 2016 3:23 PM in response to uzapucax

The performance increase is not a matter of anyone's opinion; it is the quantifiable result of a popular benchmarking utility (Geekbench).


Benchmarking utilities such as GB are crude, but they are useful to compare the performance of one operating system to another, on completely identical hardware with completely identical configurations. The difference is minor, but it is definite.


On each of the Macs I have remaining in service, including a 2011 model with the i7 CPU and a traditional rotational hard disk drive. El Capitan is the fastest operating system to date. According to Geekbench it's faster than Yosemite, faster than Mavericks, faster than Mountain Lion, and faster than its originally installed OS (Lion).


The performance increase itself alone is little justification for upgrading though. El Capitan conveys too many additional advantages to keep an earlier OS installed.

May 7, 2016 6:27 AM in response to John Galt

Thanks again for the very interesting info.😉


Sorry i was a bit skeptical that an new OS X with many more features will not need more resources and can even run even faster on an older Mac. I guess in Mac you have to think different, right? Thinking like if you install Windows 7 on Pentium IV will be a very idea, haha...


Maybe upgrading to El Capitan could be a good idea. Since you seem to work with many computers do you know if Apple manage to solve Apple Mail issues and bugs? I have been reading some recent reviews on El Capitan and every one of them even the friendly MacWorld talks about problems with Apple Mail in the "Cons" section. I am concern on that because i do use Apple Mail for work a lot.

Any tips on that?


Thanks!

May 7, 2016 8:03 AM in response to uzapucax

Mail works for the 2 computers we have.


One option is to create a new partition (~30- 50 GB), install the new OS, and ‘test drive’ it. If you like/don’t like it it, you can then remove the partition. Do a backup before you do anything. By doing this, if you don’t like it you won’t have to go though the revert process.


Check to make sure your applications are compatible.


Application Compatibility


Applications Compatibility (2)


El Capitan 10.11 Compatibility information

Open Disk Utility, select your hard drive (step 1), then the Partition tab (step 2), and select the partition. Using the /// at the bottom move it up (step 3) until the size box decrease by about 50 GB. Select the newly created space and hit the + button (step 4). Name it something and select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as the format (step 5). Then hit the Apply button(step 6). Download the installer from the App Store and when it starts, point it at the new partition. You might want to make a copy of the installer outside the Applications folder to avoid having to re-download it in the future. Once installed, go to System Preferences/Startup Disk, select the new partition and reboot. Test away.

May 7, 2016 8:25 AM in response to uzapucax

uzapucax wrote:


I guess in Mac you have to think different, right?


Right.


... even the friendly MacWorld talks about problems with Apple Mail in the "Cons" section.

Google Mail had compatibility problems in an earlier version of Mail due to their Google's highly nonstandard IMAP implementation. There were similar problems with Microsoft Exchange servers due to the various ways they can be configured. I never experienced either one, but they have all been addressed. Mail was extensively overhauled in El Capitan.


MacWorld ceased to be a useful publication at least a decade ago. Any publication or website that relies upon advertising revenue cannot be considered an impartial or reliable source of information.

May 9, 2016 2:38 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks for the good tip Eric.


After seeming you are happy with El Capitan, i decided to upgrade and give it a try. I already made a Carbon Copy Cloner backup. I see if i can make the rest of the upgrade on the weekend with more time. If things don't turn out as i like i can always return to the previous Mountain Lion safety zone...haha


Cheers,

May 9, 2016 3:57 PM in response to uzapucax

uzapucax wrote:


By the way, which website you would consider a good source on reliable information regarding the Apple World?


It depends on the information you're seeking. The most abundant, timely, and accurate source of information is this one: https://developer.apple.com/wwdc/


As for others: you cannot rely upon any source that accepts advertising, since they're all beholden to whoever pays them. Garbage software distributors do that extremely aggressively, to the point of directly bribing writers – or attempting to. Most "news" websites exist just to serve clickbait. ASC is one of the few sites that does not accept advertising, but it also completely prohibits speculation regarding unannounced products, as do all Apple representatives.


My recommendation is to gather all the information that's available, but process all of it through your own "filter" bearing in mind no source will ever be completely free of personal and professional biases, or errors. Even Steve Jobs once made an announcement regarding an anticipated product feature that turned out to be completely unfounded. He either misspoke (probably) or the feature was subsequently determined to be unworkable.

How to use Mountain Lion in 2016

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