So for some in the corporate world, your defacto computing suite is Office. And for students in college, most institutions with 365 email, also push Office 365. The problem here, is that when you graduate or leave a company, you need to own Office. And for Mac or Windows, this can be a costly subscription.

Here is where a “donate-ware” office program that is a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, formulas and database come to mind as Libre-Office!

I use this for my mac and windows computers at home. While I am entitled to a Windows 365 access from my work, I like to keep all work separate. Thus the solution for me, is Libre Office. Now, others I know, have express similar use of another free office application called appropriately, Open Office. I’m not familiar with Apache’s Open Office and not used it. But its likely I will download a version to try, and compare.
In the meantime, Libre Office was somewhat of a lucky use for me. A emeritus lost some files and had only backed up to floppy disk (yes, floppy) of these waaaayyy back in the days of Word Perfect. And his texts were in German. The accomplishment of being able to read the floppies via a working USB drive was encouraging but even more, Libre office not only opened but imported and saved as later Word files, keeping the German text intact! A life saver and I encouraged donating for this alone!

Currently Libre Office (for Mac) is as version 7.6.4 with newest version at 24.2
I used it for documentation and opening older files I come across like Excel, that I used to keep items I sold on ebay on. Looking back is… interesting.

Libre Office downloads

Apple Released another update for Ventura. This one is 13.5.2 Security Update with no further information (Apple doesn’t disclose other than what CVE is involved).

Highly Recommend that users update to this. If not prompted, go to System Settings/General/Software Update and select when its listed.

How to Get MacOS Installers

 

This article will discuss where to download and access installers for macOS Monetery, macOS Big Sur, macOS Catalina, MacOS Mojave, MacOS High Sierra, macOS Sierra, Mac OS X El Capitan, OS X Yosemite, OS X Mavericks, Mac OS X Mountain Lion, Mac OS X Lion, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Mac OS X Leopard, Mac OS X Tiger, and others too.

 

Where to Get Mac OS Installers From

The following links, using Safari Browser, point to locations from Apple website where you can download various MacOS system software installers.

• macOS Monterey (App Store link)
• macOS Big Sur 11 (App Store link)
• macOS Catalina 10.15 (iTunes App Store link)
• macOS Mojave 10.14 (iTunes App Store link)
• macOS High Sierra 10.13 (iTunes App Store link)
• macOS Sierra 10.12 (Direct DMG download link)
• OS X El Capitan 10.11 (Direct dmg download link)
• OS X Yosemite 10.10 (Direct download link)
• Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8
• Mac OS X Lion 10.7

New versions of MacOS installers are typically available through the Mac App Store, accessed through a computer that is compatible with the latest Mac system software release. NOTE: You MUST use Safari as other browsers like Firefox, will give an error with the AppStore.

Older versions of Mac OS X installers can often be downloaded as well, but from different sources.

For earlier versions of Mac OS X, including Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9, Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8, Mac OS X Lion 10.7, Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6, Mac OS X Leopard 10.5, Mac OS X Tiger 10.4, and before, the process to obtain those installers differs a bit.

Downloading MacOS Installers via Terminal

Mac users can download the latest macOS installer available from the Terminal by using the following command string:

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer

You can also download specific installer versions by using the following syntax, replacing the asterisks with version number:

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version **.**.*

For example, to get macOS 11.3.1 the syntax would be as follows:

softwareupdate --fetch-full-installer --full-installer-version 11.3.1

Downloading Mac OS X Installers from App Store “Purchases”

If you had at one point in time purchased or downloaded a version of MacOS or Mac OS X from the Mac App Store, then you should be able to re-download it from the Mac App Store by going go the “Purchases” section. This can typically be used to access downloads for installers for MacOS Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, Mavericks, and Mountain Lion, though there are some caveats and exceptions.

1. You must use Safari Browser
2. Open the App Store
3. Go to the “Purchases” section (newer App Store versions must go to Account > Purchases)
4. Scroll down the list of Purchased items to locate the Mac OS X Installer version you wish to re-download, then click on the download button

This works particularly well if the Mac you’re downloading the software onto is running an older version of Mac OS X.

This approach for re-downloading older OS X installers from App Store Purchases section works for obtaining many older versions of Mac OS X, particularly if the machine doing the downloading is running an older Mac release too. For example, re-downloading Mavericks from Yosemite, whereas if you’re running the App Store from newer versions of MacOS you’d need to follow the links further above to download the installers directly, or via the App Store links.

Downloading Mac OS X Snow Leopard

If you’re a registered Apple developer then you may be able to download Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Mac OS X Leopard directly from Apple ADC using the following links:

• Download Mac OS X Snow Leopard (DMG file, via Apple ADC downloads)
• Download Mac OS Leopard (DMG file, ADC download link)

Downloading / Buying Mac OS X Mountain Lion, Lion, Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Apple also sells some older Mac OS X versions for convenience:

• Buy Mountain Lion from Apple for $20
• Buy Lion from Apple for $20
• Buy Snow Leopard from Apple

For buying even older versions of Mac OS X, you may have some luck searching on Amazon or Ebay and buying old physical copies of the installer disks. Keep in mind those earlier Mac OS X software updates used to cost a significant amount of money to update to and so even if they’re hold they can still carry a premium.

Another option is to peruse the Apple Vintage Software collection at Archive.org which may have image files of older system restore disks and other older system software, just beware that archive.org is not an official distributor of Apple software so appropriate precautions should be taken and only download from there at your own risk.

Finally, if you’re looking to download much older classic Mac OS software, check out this article which discusses finding original classic Mac OS System releases that go back far before the transition to Mac OS X and Unix underpinnings.

(Credit OSXDaily for info/links)

Malwarebytes for Mac  is a lightweight, cross-platform app from Malwarebytes Corp. for finding and removing malware and adware infections. Features include speedy scanning, automatic update of malware signatures, a friendly user interface, and a quarantine capability.

Malwarebytes for Windows is a free and/or premium anti-malware and web browser protection. Recommended to all my Windows users for years.

Malwarebytes for Mac 4.9.7 is a free installer download for macOS 10.12 and later that includes a Mac app, kernel extension, launch agent and launch daemon. The free version provides automatic updates and manually triggered scans. A Premium subscription at $39.99 per computer per year offers automatic (“real-time”) scans with a free 14-day trial. (Business and enterprise versions are also available with central management consoles, and there are Windows and Android versions available, plus Malwarebytes for Chromebook.) The latest version adds support for Apple’s redesigned Macs.

• Added native support for Apple Silicon (M1) hardware.

Malwarebytes for iOS is a security app for Apple’s mobile devices that “combines spam call blocking, text message filtering, ad blocking, and protection from scam websites”, using features built into iOS in conjunction with the company’s data on scammers, malicious websites and other threats.

The app uses iOS Call Blocking & Identification to check incoming calls without sending your personal information, checking a Malwarebytes list of known scammers and also checking for “neighbor spoofing”, while allowing all calls from numbers in your Contacts list. You can also add any number you want to allow without adding it to Contacts, and you can report numbers used by spammers/scammers. Call blocking can be set to either “Warn”, which labels suspicious calls as they arrive, or an optional “Block” mode, which silences them, and they won’t appear in your call history.

Text Message Filtering  checks texts from sources that are not in your Contacts database against lists of known scammers and phishing links, flagging apparent problems while keeping its hands off messages that look legitimate.

Web protection works only in Safari, checking URLs against a list of malicious sources. The app includes several configuration/customization settings, but you configure and enable other parameters using Apple’s iOS Settings. See Malwarebytes for iOS user guide [PDF] for more details.

Malwarebytes for iOS 1.4.4 is an $11.99/year subscription for full functionality, with a 30-day trial period, for iOS 11 and later. Ad blocking and text message filtering are provided in the free version.