Any good Mac OS X firewall ?

Discussion in 'other firewalls' started by Abdallah, Nov 30, 2014.

  1. Abdallah

    Abdallah Registered Member

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    I am trying to find firewall similar to WFC but in Mac OS X ,

    I found an application called little snitch and another one called handsoff as I remember ,

    little snitch looks like what I was looking for ,

    is there any other suggestions about what firewall I can use on Mac similar to Windows Firewall Control ?

    Abdallah
     
  2. NormanF

    NormanF Registered Member

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    I've used paid Intego NetBarrier as a graphical front end to Mac OSX's firewall for years.

    Its all you really need to manage the OSX UFW firewall.

    You do NOT need AV or anti-malware in Mac OSX as its a UNIX operating system.
     
  3. vojta

    vojta Registered Member

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  4. NormanF

    NormanF Registered Member

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    Like the article says, OSX is a minor target because its not as widespread as Windows.

    OSX is UNIX, like Linux. And people who run Linux don't bother with an AV or anti-malware. Same for the Mac crowd.
     
  5. vojta

    vojta Registered Member

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    So it's not about being UNIX, it's about not being a successful platform.
     
  6. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    It is about UNIX. The task for the malware coders is much harder in a UNIX based system and even more so in OSX because it is so locked down. While OSX is a minority in the OS world, its users are a pretty well off minority and there would be pretty good economic rewards for infecting Mac systems on a large scale. It hasn't happened because the basic system architecture is very secure and a malware coder has a lot more barriers to overcome to get into the system. Coding malware for Windows is a lot easier. This is from someone who is definitely not a Mac user.
     
  7. vojta

    vojta Registered Member

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  8. funkymonkeyboy

    funkymonkeyboy Registered Member

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    Little snitch is good. I used it ages ago but it could be overkill on a Mac. I run with only an occasional on demand scan. I have used macs for years and have never had any sort of malware. I'm not saying it will never happen, just extremely unlikely.
     
  9. J_L

    J_L Registered Member

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    Source? By default only allowing Mac App Store and trusted vendors is more secure, but that is like not downloading from shady sources or clicking yes to UAC when suspicious.

    I don't see how building malware for OS X itself is any harder by a large margin.
     
  10. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    It's very hard to get root access in OSX but pretty trivial in Windows considering how many users run it in an administrator account. The malware coder can assume that the majority of Windows systems out there are being run with elevated privilege levels that just require saying yes to a prompt to modify key system files. UAC is a warning system, not a wall. In OSX, these files are hidden from an ordinary administrative account and require special software to access. Smoke and mirrors that not only keep the users from making mistakes but make it harder for malware to get in.

    I didn't mean to imply that Mac users are all wealthy by any means but they would make a good target for certain kinds of malware like phishing and stealing account logins. For botnet zombies, Windows has the advantage.
     
  11. m0unds

    m0unds Guest

    I'm a fan of murus - it's just a graphical frontend for pf, and uses drag and drop rule orientation. it's also helpful for learning pf if you don't have experience w/it on BSDs.

    you can find it here: hxxp://murusfirewall.com/
     
  12. Tyrizian

    Tyrizian Registered Member

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    I would recommend Little Snitch.

    I use it on my MacBook Pro, you honestly can't go wrong with it.
     
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