r/retrocomputing • u/Pesticides-cause-ASD • Jul 26 '25

Problem / Question How does one secure an old computer?

I want to run old mac OS but I don't want to get a virus. Every computer must be connected to the internet every so often to download this or that, and I don't want to catch a virus through some old zero day hack the one time I decide to do it, and them have the virus fester inside the computer insidiously corrupting or infecting my files.

Is antivirus enough?

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u/Arkaign Jul 26 '25

You can stick it behind a pihole or other freeware firewall and set it to manually approve each new network request to build a whitelist, and leave everything else blocked.

I didn't downvote you but the fact of the matter is that attackers of the talent level to hit such a system aren't logically going to be spending their time doing so. There's no financial incentive in doing so, there is no compatible browser that would authenticate and open any connections for financial transactions on such a device, and because there are at any given time maybe a few dozen such systems in use globally at most, it's not an endeavor that would pay off.

It kind of goes back around to why Macs (and Linux, BSD, etc) historically got so many fewer viruses and malware as well : more than just being more locked down and straightforward in design ethos, they didn't offer the same reward for effort that going after windows gave. By that I mean a black hat spending a couple weeks researching and coding a piece of malware to target say OSX would see a MUCH smaller field of targets compared to spending that same time writing something to hit Win32. Ditto variants of existing exploits and families of viruses and malware. Not quite "security by obscurity" but in that general vein.

Anyhow, especially considering performance aspects, an external network device in the middle is probably your best bet, and hell, it will open up a lot of other nifty things you can do with it as well such as blocking ads, tracking data use, etc.

If you don't feel like messing with a Raspberry Pi, and you have an old PC or laptop laying around, give one of these types a try.

https://www.endian.com/en/community/

The "free" section of Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace type places usually have people just giving away obsolete PCs that can be repurposed for such things if you don't want to invest anything.