Why are Lulu or Little Snitch not included in Privacy Guides’ tools page, as Michael Bazzell suggests they are important for taking privacy further on proprietary OS’s like macOS?

They are still great apps to use for what they do and provide. Just because an app is not recommended doesn’t by default mean it is bad. They are still reputable apps that work well. Just know that. But I guess they are not recommended here is likely because they do not pass the many thresholds PG …

[image] Firewall section Site Development It will help monitoring your internet traffic, point out any suspicious connections, unusual bandwidth consumption and if there are any non-consensual tracking/telemetry done or was introduced recently and to catch malware. Linux:…

There is a ongoing discussion of Little Snitch here that may provide insight. [image] Little Snitch (Software Firewall for macOS) Tool Suggestions Realized it was not mentioned yet here. They just launched a new version This is really a no brainer when it comes to priv…

The LS thread reads like it or even both would be added as a recommendation but it still hasn’t? Not complaining just curious as to the hold up.

I’m more curious as to why Little Snitch or LuLu is often recommended (not here, but overall on the web) but something that hooks into the native pf firewall like Murus is not.

[image] gapless: Murus My best guess is that people don’t know about it. Even I didn’t. Thanks for sharing. Is this the one you’re talking about? I ask because you didn’t link it. Murus - macOS Firewall Unchained Murus MacOS Firewall

Yes, that’s the one. Apologies for not linking. Never used it. Murus (and Vallum) just came up back when I was considering macOS. Seemed well regarded amongst people on netsec forums and subreddits.

[image] Weewaawoo: The LS thread reads like it or even both would be added as a recommendation but it still hasn’t? Unless they are tagged with a decision, its still just in the discussion phase. Since the thread isn’t super active (no responses in 6+ months) and doesn’t have a lot of votes, …

Because despite having them, MacOS tunnels and bypasses them at the OS level. As usual, Apple does not respect user preference. A network-wide blocker is preferable to this to avoid Apple doing shenanigans behind your back.

You are right, but don’t you think for most people it just better to configure Lulu and stuck with it, instead of not installing any kind of third party firewall to let Apple collect any information they want?

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Why Lulu or Little Snitch is not recommended?

Questions

phnx February 24, 2025, 10:22am 19

macOS is closed source anyways. On my GrapheneOS phone, I wouldn’t use a closed-source firewall, but on macOS, I don’t really see the harm. Little Snitch has a great reputation, is notarised by Apple, and you can easily see what connections it makes with Wireshark if you are so inclined.

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Why Lulu or Little Snitch is not recommended?

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