What's wrong with old distro versions?

[mrKR22]

I was wondering, I have mandrake 6.0 . Can I update it's kernel to the latest available one? and if so, what is the advantage of having mandrake 7.2 or later? Besides all the new/updated apps it comes with.

thanks,
kr

[bdl]

Older distros equal older software, libs, kernels. Therefore you are more open to bugs and security problems, whereas with a newer version at least most of the vulnerabilities to date *should be* taken care of. Running distros based on debian or slackware is a move in the right direction; with tools like autoslack / slackUp and apt-get / dselect, you can update your system on the fly and *try to* stay one step ahead. However, I think it's ok to run an older distro version as long as you are aware of the problems you may encounter and at least take a few steps to secure yourself.

[mrKR22]

thanks for the info