far away mac » Firewall

NoobProof: Mac GUI For ipfw (Firewall)

Brian Stucki — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:08:41 +0000

Noobproof provides a very simple front-end for ipfw. It takes just five steps to setup a rule.

The program is free and can be downloaded here.

NetBarrier X5: Protection From Internet Attacks

Brian Stucki — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:58:45 +0000

NetBarrier X5 is a very powerful way to protect your Mac while it’s connected to the internet. Some of the most interesting features are:

Blocks hacker and vandal attacks
Blocks ads from websites
alerting you of any application that tries to create a network connection, or “phone home”
filters all outgoing data to ensure that no sensitive information leaves your computer
see your network traffic in real time

The interface is nice and straight-forward. The purchase page is a bit overwhelming, but as far as I can tell it is $50 for a one seat license. You can find out more on the developer’s website.

WaterRoof: Advanced Firewall For The Mac

Brian Stucki — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:43:58 +0000

If you’re going to use your Mac as a server connected to the internet, you’ll want to be sure it’s secure. One of the best ways to do this is by using a firewall.

WaterRoof is an IPFW firewall frontend for Mac OS X with a easy interface and many options. Start from a fresh-clean system installation and be ready in 1 minute with routing/bridging, NAT and port redirection, bandwidth limits and everything you need to fine tune your ipfw configuration.

I thought the setup wizard was especially useful.

WaterRoof is free and can be download from the developer’s website.