Securing a late 2008 Macbook aluminum unibody

[TitanTiger]

A friend just got a new MacBook Air and gave me their late 2008 MacBook aluminum unibody. I'd like to use it for something but it can only go to OS X El Capitan (10.11) which hasn't gotten security updates since 2018. I've figured out that the only browser that is still current for it is Brave (a Chrome variant with privacy improvements and such built in), but was wondering if there are other ideas for how to secure it and to be able to use it for another couple of years (mostly for my kid's school stuff).

Or is there no way to really make it secure and I shouldn't bother? If I can secure it, I might be willing to spend a little money on an SSD and a new battery (only hold charge for about 30 minutes right now).

Thoughts?

 

[aangvento]

Security updates are tied to the OS. You have virus protection, firewall protection and system protection.

Virus Protection is against the classic virus. Something that your computer downloads (sometimes without you even clicking on it), and it spreads. You can buy an antivirus for it, but it might not work on El Capitan depending on your choice of brand.

Firewall is a gate that blocks internet traffic. Is will prevent others from hacking into your computer, and prevent some viruses from activating if they are in the machine already.

System Protection problems are faults in the hardware that make it hackable, or in the OS that cannot be fixed by simple programs. You have no choice but to update the OS.

I have heard of people who updated to Mojave through patch (not through the apple store). Should cost you no more than a USB stick if you don't already have one.

However, I strongly recommend you to get a SATA SSD for the machine, as it will make it extremally faster to turn on and browse files (extremally important). A RAM upgrade might also be strongly necessary if you have less than 4Gb, or extremally recommended if you have less than 8Gb. You should buy 2 4Gb SODIMM DDR3 sticks.

About the battery, if it is for your kid, I really recommend getting a new battery or extension cable. They will likely want to use it on their lap, not on the table, even if it looks less comfortable. But it is not necessary to run the new OS and give the computer System Protection.

As a hot take, You don't necessarily need a system updated for school work. If it's not critical (no one will die if you lose the information), the computer is not strong enough to be desired by hackers or you don't think it's worth spending what the computer is worth to "fix" it, you might want to keep it like that. I am not recommending that you do that, but it is an option.

 

[EugW]

 

[TitanTiger]

View attachment 946752

How did you manage to do that?

 

[EugW]

How did you manage to do that?

Everything you need is here:

macOS Catalina Patcher

The MacRumors thread on it is here:

macOS 10.15 Catalina on Unsupported Macs

How to update Catalina Machine Support Video Card Support Pre-Metal AMD video cards (Radeon HD 6xxx series and older without acceleration, Radeon HD 4xxx series and older with acceleration.) Pre-Metal Nvidia video cards (GeForce 5xx series and older without acceleration, GeForce 3xx...

forums.macrumors.com

Be forewarned though, for performance reasons, SSD is mandatory and 8 GB RAM is highly preferred.

 

[BrianBaughn]

I have the same MB running Mojave via the patcher. I also have an SSD and 8GB of RAM in it…and put a new battery in a while back.

 

[aangvento]

Everything you need is here:

macOS Catalina Patcher

The MacRumors thread on it is here:

macOS 10.15 Catalina on Unsupported Macs

How to update Catalina Machine Support Video Card Support Pre-Metal AMD video cards (Radeon HD 6xxx series and older without acceleration, Radeon HD 4xxx series and older with acceleration.) Pre-Metal Nvidia video cards (GeForce 5xx series and older without acceleration, GeForce 3xx...

forums.macrumors.com

Be forewarned though, for performance reasons, SSD is mandatory and 8 GB RAM is highly preferred.

This is the patch I spoke about. They decided ro go all the way up to Catalina. But without those upgrades, it will likely be sluggish and slow and terrible to use.

If you are willing to spend the money, go for it. But since you havent spend any of ir yet, you mighr prefer to sell the laptop and buy a 2012-2013 MBP, for about rhe price of the upgrades? I am not entirely sure if you can find them for this price but it is worth checking it out in a local used sales website or ebay.

 

[EugW]

This is the patch I spoke about. They decided ro go all the way up to Catalina. But without those upgrades, it will likely be sluggish and slow and terrible to use.

If you are willing to spend the money, go for it. But since you havent spend any of ir yet, you mighr prefer to sell the laptop and buy a 2012-2013 MBP, for about rhe price of the upgrades? I am not entirely sure if you can find them for this price but it is worth checking it out in a local used sales website or ebay.

Crucial BX500 120 GB SSD: US$21

Corsair PC3-8500 8 GB RAM: US$36

To get 8 GB, you need to have the latest firmware:

"Secret" Firmware lets Late '08 MacBooks use 8GB.

A "secret" firmware update meant some Late '08 MacBooks/MacBook Pros couldn't address 8GB while others could. We found show you how to resolve the problem.

blog.macsales.com

There is no way you're getting a working 2012 MBP in good condition for $57 + sale of a base 2008 MacBook.

 

[TitanTiger]

I bought an SSD for it after all. Holding off on the battery. It does have 8GB of RAM already. He knew about the secret firmware update allowing you to exceed the listed 4GB of RAM.

So with the RAM and SSD, is the performance about like it would be on El Capitan with a spinning HD, or will it still be a little quicker even on this Catalina patch?

 

[EugW]

I bought an SSD for it after all. Holding off on the battery. It does have 8GB of RAM already. He knew about the secret firmware update allowing you to exceed the listed 4GB of RAM.

So with the RAM and SSD, is the performance about like it would be on El Capitan with a spinning HD, or will it still be a little quicker even on this Catalina patch?

Catalina with 8 GB RAM and SSD is MUCH faster than El Capitan with 8 GB RAM with HD. However, El Capitan with 8 GB RAM and SSD is even faster.

IOW, don't use a spinning hard drive cuz it's just too slow, unless you're running 10.7 Lion or something.

To speed it up for browsing even more, use an ad blocker. For example, for Chrome, use the AdBlock plug-in. Which speed MacBook? I find 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo needs an ad blocker. A 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo still benefits quite a bit from an ad blocker, but performance without an ad blocker is a bit more tolerable.

 

[TitanTiger]

Catalina with 8 GB RAM and SSD is MUCH faster than El Capitan with 8 GB RAM with HD. However, El Capitan with 8 GB RAM and SSD is even faster.

IOW, don't use a spinning hard drive cuz it's just too slow, unless you're running 10.7 Lion or something.

To speed it up for browsing even more, use an ad blocker. For example, for Chrome, use the AdBlock plug-in. Which speed MacBook? I find 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo needs an ad blocker. A 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo still benefits quite a bit from an ad blocker, but performance without an ad blocker is a bit more tolerable.

Holy cow, this is great. You have given this thing new life. I replaced the HD with a 240GB SSD then ran this Catalina patch thing and it went without a hitch. Thanks!

 

[EugW]

I wonder if your friend knew what s/he was giving away.

Holy cow, this is great. You have given this thing new life. I replaced the HD with a 240GB SSD then ran this Catalina patch thing and it went without a hitch. Thanks!

Don't forget to activate TRIM for your SSD. Assuming your SSD is recent and you have a backup of your data:

Open up the Terminal and type:

sudo trimforce enable

Then follow the instructions.

Installing an SSD on your Mac? Don't make this mistake

Enable this one single command to ensure a longer life for your SSD.

www.cnet.com

 

[TitanTiger]

I wonder if your friend knew what s/he was giving away.


Don't forget to activate TRIM for your SSD. Assuming your SSD is recent and you have a backup of your data:

Open up the Terminal and type:

sudo trimforce enable

Then follow the instructions.

Installing an SSD on your Mac? Don't make this mistake

Enable this one single command to ensure a longer life for your SSD.

www.cnet.com

I'm not sure she did. But she also probably didn't really care that much. She just bought a 2020 MacBook Air to replace it and is happy.