Would you recommend the software Little Snitch?

I don’t know much about Mac software, but for Windows there are far better/more tunable/exact software that acts as an outgoing firewall, for far less money.

I use it, it’s awesome. Basically allows you to create a black/white list for all incoming/outgoing connections.

While its on, it remains in the background as if its not even there. The only time it appears is when a connection is made for the first time and asks you to set a rule for that connection. So for the first week or so it may get annoying, but after you have gone to all your habitual websites you almost forget its there

talk to @johnpowell about this. He uses it and likes it and mentioned it on this Q
He is also one of the resident computer gurus.

I use it, I rely on it, I love it. Lots of other products out there but this has been my go-to for years. Easy to use and I’ve never had a problem using it.

It is the first thing I install. I wholeheartedly suggest it to anyone that uses a Mac. It will be very annoying at first. But as you set rules you see it less and less. If your computer wants to make a weird network request a window pops up like this. I have cuaght a few weird things with it.

It seems like a good idea, but I’m a little leery of it since I wasn’t able to figure out what kind of backend it uses.
I’m a little surprised that OSX uses ipfw instead of pf, which a lot of the admins I know rave about (since I’m a linux guy, all my firewall knowledge is based on netfilter / iptables.) But I’ve looked it up on Ye Olde Wikie, and it seems perfectly adequate for needs.

It does remind me of a Windows program that my friend had in the early 2000s which monitored TCP and UDP connections and popped up anything “suspicious” according to a set of user-specified rules. I forget what that thing was called- I wasn’t using Windows at that time, and I have never heard of that program again since 2003 or so.

I would definitely recommend the use of some sort of IDS program like this. It seems easy to use, and just intrusive enough to keep users on their toes.

I find it funny seeing macpeople swoon about a program whose functions are inherent in every single firewall for windows.

@ragingloli I find it funny seeing someone trying to pretentiously backhand with an untrue statement.

@ragingloli I have a PC. The one advantage is see in Snitch [and wish I had an equivalent of other than Windows Firewall] is its lack of indebtedness to the corporate mega-complex.

@anartist ZoneAlarm might suit your needs. If it doesn’t, there are a great many other “personal firewall” products out there, with and without integral IDS.

More info – possibly too much ;^)