

It only takes one click on the research button to anonymously request additional information for the current connection from the Research Assistant Database. Have you ever wondered why a process you’ve never heard of before suddenly wants to connect to some server on the Internet? The Research Assistant helps you to find the answer. You can then later review the Silent Mode Log to define permanent rules for connection attempts that occurred during that time. With Silent Mode you can quickly choose to silence all connection warnings for a while. There are times where you don’t want to get interrupted by any network related notifications.

Little Snitch for Mac runs inconspicuously in the background and it can also detect network related activity of viruses, trojans and other malware. This reliably prevents private data from being sent out without your knowledge. You can then choose to allow or deny this connection, or define a rule how to handle similar, future connection attempts. Little Snitch informs you whenever a program attempts to establish an outgoing Internet connection. But who protects your private data from being sent out? Little Snitch does! The application (version 4) received a positive 4.5/5 review from Macworld.A firewall protects your computer against unwanted guests from the Internet. Little Snitch's integral network monitor shows ongoing traffic in real time with domain names and traffic direction displayed. The dialog also allows the user to restrict the parameters of the connection, restricting it to a specific port, protocol, or domain. For that, a dialog is presented to the user, which allows one to deny or permit the connection on a one-time, time limited, or permanent basis. If an application or process attempts to establish a network connection, Little Snitch prevents the connection, if a rule for that connection has been set by the user. Little Snitch controls network traffic by registering kernel extensions through the standard application programming interface (API) provided by Apple. Unlike a stateful firewall, which is designed primarily to protect a system from external attacks by restricting inbound traffic, Little Snitch is designed to protect privacy by limiting outbound traffic. It is produced and maintained by the Austrian firm Objective Development Software GmbH. It can be used to monitor applications, preventing or permitting them to connect to attached networks through advanced rules. Little Snitch is a host-based application firewall for macOS.
