Here are a few reasons on why keeping your computer up to date is a good idea.
Malware Protection - Out dated operating systems are not being up dated to keep up with the rising threat of malware. Keeping your device up to date helps ensure you are getting all of the security features Apple has came out with. There are additional steps you can take to make sure you are protected on the internet like installing Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes is a program that we sell and personally recommend for every day internet use. Call us if you have any questions about getting Malwarebytes.
Software that requires to connect to servers may stop working. Emails generally use secure connections to transmit data between one another. If your operating system does not support the security standards required by the mail provider this will cause email accounts to stop working.
 Example of "SSL certificate verification failure"
Connecting to secure websites such as banking & healthcare . Same as emails, websites use certificates to validate security when accessing the site itself. If your computer can’t push certain certificates the website will know and tell you that you are working on an unsecured connection. Sometimes you can continue to work through this other times you may not be able to access the website at all.
Known operating system issues - There are certain issues that can be within your operating system. Some times uninstalling and reinstalling the software can resolve the issues, sometimes just updating or waiting for the next patch from Apple will resolve the issue.
While we do recommend everyone staying up to date. There are a few things to consider before upgrading your operating system.
Making sure your computer is backed up to an external hard drive using Apples program Time Machine or making sure its backed up to iCloud or another cloud service. Most of the time operating system updates are harmless, there is always that chance that there is either a network issue that can cause the update to fail or underlying hardware issues can arise during these updates.
Make sure 3rd party software such as Microsoft & Adobe, are compatible with the operating system you are upgrading too. Some programs only work on certain versions of Mac OS, Mac OS may prompt you that certain apps will no longer work, but that feature is not perfect and it is always good to double check programs that you use.
Here is a link on how to check and perform Operating system updates and upgrades.
Updates effect the current operating system you are on. While the upgrades will change the version you are on such as Ventura to Sonoma.
