I am in the same boat as the OP and could also use some advice--I'm a bit unclear.
First, I have 10.6.8. Now, maybe it's all hype, but the security issues have me a little concerned--even if people say my version of OSX is likely not affected.
So my questions are this:
1) As the OP said, if 10.6.8 will no longer receive security updates, does it make sense now to make the jump to Mountain Lion?
2) If so, I'm also curious...do I download Lion 10.7? Or 10.8? Or do I first need to download 10.7, and then go to the Software Update in the menu section to then automatically download whatever latest OSX version for Lion is available (10.8, 10.9--I don't know what it's on now)?
3) Lastly, if and when I pay for and purchase Lion, will the actual download of Lion itself INCLUDE this latest security patch update that was released on Wednesday (this SSL security update)? Or, will I first have to download Lion, and then go to Software Updates to THEN download the security update/patch?
Thanks guys!