However, there’s no denying that Little Snitch is the best application in its category. It does get better over time, but some folks may not have the patience to wait that long. Casual users will likely become annoyed or confused by the frequent notifications that pop up when rules are first created.
While Little Snitch is a quality utility, it is admittedly only for experienced and knowledgeable Mac users. The great thing is that rules can be edited or deleted at any time, so mistakes can easily be corrected. Dealing with Little Snitch’s notifications are bothersome at first, but as more rules are created for third-party applications a lengthy list will accumulate and less intrusions will be made. There is a collection of pre-defined rules for common Mac programs like Mail, iChat, and Safari by default.
Once a connection is allowed or denied, a rule is created in the Little Snitch Configuration utility. Little Snitch puts you in the driver’s seat by telling you when outgoing connections are attempted – leaving the choice of whether to allow or deny them entirely up to you. What we really want to avoid is a malicious piece of software stealing your personal information and sending it off to someone else without your knowledge. In other cases, programs may be transmitting technical information about a computer for marketing & research purposes. This is typically done for legitimate reasons like checking for software updates or validating serial numbers to prevent piracy. Many applications nowadays periodically “phone home” or check in with their creators’ servers to exchange information. What if there’s already something installed on your computer that’s trying to make a questionable connection to the internet? That qualifies as an outgoing connection, which is where Little Snitch comes in.įrom Objective Development Software GmbH, Little Snitch is a $29.95 application that gives Mac users (running 10.4 or later) more control over the internet traffic originating from their computer. The problem, even though it works well, is that it can only block incoming connections to your computer. Tiger’s firewall is located in System Preferences > Sharing, while Leopard’s firewall can be found at System Preferences > Security. That’s why turning on Mac OS X’s integrated firewall is a good idea.
Little Snitch is a $29.95 third-party firewall that covers everything the built-in one does not.Īlthough Macs are inherently more secure than Windows PCs, that does not mean they are invincible. While it is effective, it does not manage all connections to and from a Mac. Mac OS X features its own firewall, which resides in System Preferences.
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