by Dave Moore, 10-6-19
Many years ago, in a galaxy far, far away, back when Apple Computers was a super-innovative company run by Steve Jobs, users of Apple Macintosh computers began living in a bubble.
The name of this bubble was, “Apple computers are magic. Apple computers are perfect. They are immune to computer viruses. Nothing can ever go wrong with an Apple computer.”
If you think I’m joking, well, no, I’m really not joking, at all. I meet people all the time who, after all these years, still live in this bubble. Even though viruses that affect Macs have been around for a long time, and an entire industry based on repairing Apple products exists, many users are still shocked to learn there is something wrong with their Apple product, and that it has the same need as Microsoft products when it comes to software and the operating system: they need updating — frequent updating.
This is extremely distressing news for many Apple users; they have lived in their Apple bubble, and gotten away without ever updating anything that they struggle to assimilate it. They have been doing things the wrong way for so long that when someone like me comes along and points out their magic Apple boxes need updating, they think I’m nuts.
Then, all of a sudden, I’m the bad guy. What to do? All I can say is, hey folks, I don’t make the rules, I just tell you what they are. People bring me iMacs and MacBooks all the time that haven’t been updated for years, and they are confused as to how anything could possibly be wrong.
To put this in perspective, and get me out of the cross-hairs of “shoot the messenger,” let’s looks at an official Apple Update webpage, found at https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222. This page describes that in 2016, Apple released no fewer than 65 update packages. In 2017, they released 77 update packages. In 2018, 74 update packages were released. So far this year, in 2019, as of October 2nd, Apple has released 67 update packages. Each of these packages can contain numerous individual updates, so the total number of updates is actually much higher than shown.
Why should you care? Because updates fix things. Updates repair the thousands of bugs, flaws, vulnerabilities and programming errors that have been found in Apple products. Updates protect you, make you safer, and make your Apple products work faster and more efficiently.
Ask yourself these questions. Do I ever check my email on an Apple product, be it MacBook, iMac, Macintosh, iPhone, iWatch or iPad? Do I ever use Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Snapchat or Instagram? Do I buy things on Amazon or eBay? Do I pay bills online or look at my bank account? Do I ever check credit card statements or stock investments? Do I use websites that asked me to setup an account and sign in?
If your answer to any of these questions is “yes,” and you are not regularly checking for updates, then you are a sitting duck, asking for trouble to come find you on the Internet. Just because you’ve been getting away without updating doesn’t mean anything. Everybody knows somebody who brags about never wearing a seatbelt while they drive. “Look at me; I’m OK, right?” All that means is they haven’t been thrown through the windshield — yet.
Learn how to update your Apple product. It is not an automatic process that runs all by itself. You need to be involved and make sure the job is getting done. Be sure to get updates, and also “upgrades;” they are not the same. If iOS on your iPhone or iPad wants to upgrade to a newer version of the operating system, say “yes.” The same goes for the MacOS and OSX operating systems found on iMac desktop and MacBook laptop computers. Upgrades come out two or three times a year. Updates come every month. Get them all.
Dave Moore has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd, he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or www.internetsafetygroup.com