Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu on macOS Big Sur

Re:Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu ... by malandrew on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @12:06PM (#24839003)

This is a big breach of trust in terms of Apple always being on the side of user privacy.

If someone knows enough to install these firewall apps, then they know enough to figure out what they want to enable/disable even for Apple applications.

If Apple thinks certain rules cause issues, they certainly could work with the developer of these apps to educate users of adverse effects when certain things cause unintended issues for the user. The decision should still lie with the user. Bypassing firewalls by privileging some traffic is not okay.

Looks like for now, the only real option is an external device you always connect through running pfsense or another firewall, which is not too big a deal for use on a home network, but requires carrying around another device when on other networks.

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Re:Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu ... by lifty on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @12:11PM (#24839070)

I would love if there would be a small appliance based on a raspberry pi zero or something of similar size, that could be controlled/configured from an app on your phone. This device would be powered through a usb cable (no data) from your laptop, and act as a WiFi hotstpot that you can use to route all your traffic via the VPN or network of your choice. Even if your laptop would be infected by malware or a rootkit, it would be impossible to avoid the little physical VPN/firewall.

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Re:Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu ... by ignoramous on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @12:41PM (#24839498)

https://firewalla.com/ might be it, though I am sure there are other similar products.

Disclaimer: I work on a similar product but for smartphones.

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Re:Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu ... by lifty on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @01:41PM (#24840236)

This looks awesome! Thanks

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Re:Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu ... by tankenmate on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @12:16PM (#24839131)

This is basically what pi-hole is, as to controlling it from a phone app, well it has a web interface.

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Re:Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu ... by lifty on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @01:40PM (#24840225)

That's how I use pi-hole as well. But I would like something that has wireguard and tor as well, in a nice maintainable package or little box.

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Re:Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu ... by wyld on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @01:08PM (#24839849)

I've been pretty happy with the PiHole Remote app https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pi-hole-remote/id1515445551

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Re:Apple's apps bypass firewalls like LittleSnitch and LuLu ... by dkonofalski on Tuesday October 20, 2020 @12:26PM (#24839290)

>If someone knows enough to install these firewall apps

Your statement implies that it's difficult to install these apps. Installing Little Snitch is no different than installing any other macOS app. Also, this isn't specifically against Little Snitch, it's about any app that could potentially compromise a user's network traffic. Little Snitch is obviously a desired use of these features but how do you then differentiate it from the undesired uses?

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