Hold off on upgrading to macOS Sequoia if you use cybersecurity tools

Apple made macOS Sequoia available to the general public last Monday. On Thursday, TechCrunch reported that several third-party security tools had reported issues with the new version of the Mac operating system.

According to TechCrunch, the source of the problem is unclear. Security firm CrowdStrike vaguely mentioned “network stack changes” in an alert sent to its customers and decided to stop supporting the new operating system. In a statement to TechCrunch, DoubleYou’s Patrick Wardle joked, “maybe if Apple spent less time and money on marketing and more on actually testing its software, we’d all be better off!”

The TechCrunch report does not address whether the companies conducted beta testing of macOS Sequoia before its official launch and whether this is a new issue that has surfaced. Apple released a beta version of Sequoia to developers at WWDC last June and has been regularly updating the beta before rolling it out to the general public on Monday.

Other companies in the TechCrunch report include ESET, Microsoft, and SentinelOne. ESET addresses the issue in the post, indicating that the issue affects ESET Cyber ​​​​Security version 6, an older version that will “soon reach end of life.”

The same report also found that Firefox was having issues with Sequoia. A Reddit post suggests the issue is firewall-related, and a Terminal command provides a fix.

The release of a major macOS update generates a lot of buzz and excitement, which can prompt users to update their Macs as soon as the software becomes available. However, it’s usually a good idea to wait a few days or weeks before updating, especially if you have greater security concerns or can’t afford downtime.

It might even be a good idea to wait for the first release point update from Apple or any updates to critical apps you use. If you’re using a company Mac, you’ll need to contact your IT department first—IT likely put safeguards on your Mac to prevent installation.

A CrowdStrike sales engineer said the company is working on the issue but isn’t optimistic about a fix from Apple: “While we would love to see a quick fix to address this issue, we’re operating under the assumption that it won’t happen and we’ll have to fix it in our code by releasing a sensor update.”

Learn more about the new version of the Mac operating system in our macOS Sequoia super guide.