And there's the rub: if it works. My email provider beefed up security last year. Mainly just port changes, but it seems to have killed most of the earlier Mac Mail for me. So long as a client remains configurable it *should* work.
I cannot right now remember an email client that didn't allow you to configure server details. Haven't used Apple Mail for close to 20 years so not sure about that but... 🤔
Mail allows you to configure things manually, but it's been 15 years since Snow Leopard was updated and since then standards for encryptions and certificates have evolved. That's where most problems occur when using older software. Through some trial and error you can sometimes get things to work by playing around with settings, but other times the only solution is more modern software.
Sure, certificates can be a problem but that is a little bit different than ports that cannot be configured. And didn't you say Thunderbird 45.8 works?
I don't find a match for thunderbird in macports on Sequoia, so I'd be mildly shocked if there's a thunderbird port in older versions of macports. Just FYI in case thunderbird is the only reason you'd be installing macports.
You can set ports manually in both Mail and Thunderbird, but I don't know the specifics of every email host. Thunderbird seems to support newer standards though, as it should being six years newer.
Not really. A carefully crafted email could exploit vulnerabilities in any email client but you're far more at risk if it is old and unsupported. Running it on an unsupported OS makes it worse as it increases the attack surface. Personally I wouldn't connect any machine to the Internet if it were running outdated software.
Yes, but we are talking Snow Leopard here. Being up to date on security side is already out of the window. The security must be maintained at router/firewall -level and by good and safe operating procedures. Nobody is making malware in 2026 to exploit 15+ year old non Microsoft operating systems that handful of people in the world use. Do not do stupid stuff and you will be safe. Do not click email links, do not install software from suspect sources, do not visit suspect websites etc.
There's some very sophisticated stuff out there - stuff that will compromise your system without clicking on attachments or links. While security through obscurity is a thing, old macOS versions and outdated Thunderbird installations are not that obscure.
Yeah, I completely understand what you are saying as I've worked in cyber security and try to keep myself up to date on subject. But, maybe this is the wrong forum for preaching complete security and up to date operating systems and software as many are here using old or even vintage systems on purpose. And you cannot natively install any of the supported MacOS to the machines discussed in this forum.
I missed that before all of it vanished. Any possibility to get the installer from you in some way?
Again, not really. Firefox itself may be up-to-date but underneath it will be using obsolete libraries and services from the operating system, things like text and graphics rendering, networking, encryption, all of which are potentially exploitable given the right web content. If you're happy with the risk then good luck - something nasty probably won't happen but it might!
Yes, I'm sure a lot of people on here are as risk-savvy as you are. It certainly wasn't my intention to preach!
And I didn't mean it negatively. Yes, nowadays we need to be careful - even with new systems. And more with obsolete ones. Those who don't think what they are doing are much more likely to get into trouble.
I'll sort spmeyhing out inside the next hour or two.
Well...it did come across a bit like that, to be honest! 🙂 What we show here is that old stuff, hardware and software, *can* still be useful, mostly safe if you're careful, and, most important of all, fun! OK, that's nerdy, but true. The average end-user, if even slightly risk-averse, is never, ever going to be a target. Accidentally, definitely more so. But both scenarios are very nearly as likely if you are bang up to date and on latest hardware. No-one is absolutely safe, not even the NSA.
No hurry. I am off to bed in a minute so I'll be back at my desk tomorrow. And still no hurry, I would just like to add it to my library of sw for older machines. It is sometimes very difficult to find old or rare versions of some sw years after they were relevant.
