Security & Privacy

Apple has release a major update to Mac OS X 10.5, Leopard, incrementing the OS’s version to 10.5.2. This very large update (180 MB), fixes dozens of elements in Leopard, but also plugs eleven security holes, dealing with Mail, Directory Services, Terminal, X11, Parental Controls and more. As always with security updates, you should install this update as soon as you can from the Software Update preference pane. (A Tiger version of the security update is also available today. See here for more information and download links.)

But this being a major system update, you should take precautions. We recommend that you make a bootable backup with Personal Backup X5 before running the update, in case anything goes wrong during the update procedure. When you create a bootable backup like this, you can restart your Mac immediately from the external drive you use for the backup, should any problems arise. During major system updates, problems with power, or simply glitches in the updater, can cause the update to fail, and possible render your Mac unstartable. With a bootable backup available, you can get back to work right away if such a problem arises.