That one is easy—disclosing vulnerabilities helps security researchers find similar problems on other systems, so it's almost universally considered to be in the public interest.
If this information helps security researchers then why open it for everyone? So, you say that private communication channels used by those researchers to contact Apple work one way? That's what I meant by saying "Apple publishes".
I mean, that's like saying, "I smoked cigarettes and I'm still alive." And also, frankly, you don't know for sure that your computer isn't secretly a member of some botnet, although I agree its unlikely that you as a computer enthusiast wouldn't notice something amiss.
Of course. Everyone judges based on his/her own experience because otherwise where are we drawing our conclusions from? Also, smoking is a bad habit but not everyone who smokes dies from it. Actually, there're 1000s random causes. And if you haven't faced smth that other tens of 1000s haven't too (and I'm linked to believing they haven't) then we're talking about the naked Emperor effect.
You can think of any clear and present danger. But one facet of it - whether I suffered any tangible harm - I can discuss to the extent of legitimacy that isn't just an assumption: my bank account is intact - nothing to do with browsers and computers at all, that's my card issuer's security measures and 2FA. If I frequently used an officially unsupported browser on an old system it's not just my luck but, rather, a sampled experience that's reproducible. For banking, those SU are warranted. However, even if a hacker steals my data or seizes my machine then he won't gain anything and if it infects me, then so is the reality. Also, your ISP has a firewall that protects you: for this reason, any AV software is a waste of money and so are security patches by Apple: placebo. Also, remember that many cases of these sacred security patches issued by Apple caused their software to break like the famous FaceTime breaking in iOS6 (Apr 2014) which resulted in the lawsuit that was resolved yesterday in favour of Apple. Why can't I use FaceTime on Lion in 2020 with all the SU applied and why can I use Viber on Lion in 2020? Because Apple rolled out SU later for supported macOS not caring much about the rest - tiny minority - despite big words about "customer satisfaction".
In any case, we're talking about the accidents of marginal significance: even if something might happen doesn't mean it's worth investing efforts and money. Hackers hack. Sometimes they succeed, other times not but it's not as widespread and viral as media (acting as part of big corporations' promotional department) wants us to believe. Not feeling the negative impact is identical to not having it actually. From this POV it the fact that my Mac is a part of botnet bears the same weight as the possibility that I'm secretly abused by extra-terrestrials during my sleep.
Also, if those noble and advanced companies like Apple and MS care about security and well-being of the users so much why integrate payment information first into browsers (Safari 7+, macOS Mavericks) and then into macOS itself (Apple Pay, macOS Sierra and later)? You do realize that bringing this sensitive information closer to the territory of risk by baking it into the computer you increase the possibility of the data breach and financial losses? For the internet payment to be functional you need just two things: access to the Internet and the site of your bank. For in-place payments you need your card and the cashier. Apple Pay and Card info in the browser's settings is a fifth wheel in the chair.
But think of these viruses more: just like bio-viruses, they're not killers themselves. Your computer may catch one, two, ten: in reality, you'll feel slowdowns. My ex-girlfriend once said she "caught viruses", in her words, and then had her son "clean" her PC. Nothing sensitive was lost, and even then, one could scrutinize her understanding of what she meant by using the word combo "I caught a virus": maybe it was just weak hardware or driver issues? People often mischaracterize things they have a vague understanding about. Worms are those that are truly destructive but these are rare. Also, aren't we supposed to believe in the invincibility of Unix, smth to the effect of "when infected a Unix machine remains fully operational by isolating the infected segments while a Windows machine sinks"? And macOS is a Unix-like system, isn't it?
Also, what about Specter and Meltdown that supposedly lived at the CPU level for decades? How many people have read about that and forgotten by now? Why don't we hear any news about them, aside from scant pieces (3 years ago) of information that "companies released patches purported to mitigate these vulnerabilities as a workaround". Are those still inside or what? Were they even real or just another informational noise? So, Specter and Meltdown happily lived in the innards of Intel microchips and SU that had being released patched small holes leaving large openings untouched? Well, that's the security!
I completely agree that a lot of security hysteria is a convenient narrative for tech companies! I think it's telling for instance that Microsoft, who provides security-only patches to old "LTSC" Windows builds to corporations for ten years, won't provide those same patches to consumers. They want consumers to be forced to update, so that Microsoft can push their new web services more aggressively.
Which is what my point about prime candidates for intruders at the beginning was: on the macOS side it may be the newest OSes, on the Windows side it's everything from Windows 7 onwards (9/10 market share).
Caution is good but not when it grows into paranoia. Fear is the most effective and excellent way to control.
... And I can't find a 10.9 installer anywhere. I've searched through the entire internet in search of the installer, but all I could find was update installers for 10.9.5, which tell me I need to have 10.9 Mavericks when I open them. Any idea on how to proceed? Do you have a Mavericks installer? If so, please let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading.
