You may have heard recently about an IT security issue called "Shellshock" where a key part of many operating systems – including all versions of Mac OS X - has been shown to be vulnerable to hackers.
If you've been reading the press, I'm sure you've seen phrases like "will take years to eradicate,""affects millions," and "worse than Heartbleed."
Before you take the family to your off-the-grid shack in Montana, here's what you really need to know about Shellshock.
First off, if you're running Mac OS 10.7 (Lion), 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or 10.9 (Mavericks), then you should run the Bash Security Update available from Apple via the links below or through Software Update under the Apple Menu.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1769 (10.9)
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1768 (10.8)
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1767 (10.7)
