# New Mac User??  Please Help ASAP



## sandman423 (Nov 30, 2008)

Well I recently bought a Macbook Pro today and I love it but I installed Little Snitch today and everything I was opening started asking me if I want to allow TCP/IP Connection for everything I opened...

I Installed Firefox and The popup box came up and I was sick of getting the pop-up box to ask me if I wanted to allow access so I clicked forever and I accidentally hit Deny so Firefox won't connect to the internet anymore...

I am a NEW Mac and I checked everything from Firewall settings but I can't find the permissions to allow Firefox access again..

I Uninstalled Little Snitch and Reinstalled Mozilla but it is still blocked...

Please help me get the permission back so Firefox can connect to the internet.

It is not in Firewall settings, Parental Settings...I did a Disk Utility Repair Permissions, etc. nothing works.

Please help me...It was really annoying to get a popup window asking if I wanted to give access everytime plus I can't edit it.  I find the Switch from Windows XP to Mac OS X 10.5 to be hard.

I got this Setup..I installed Little Snitch then When I chose the wrong thing I uninstalled it...

This is the kind of popups I get..

Ok I just opened A App to see if I could get the popup box to allow connections and here is what it says Word for word I took a Screenshot of it but don't know hot to block the ip address..

It says this...

GarageBand
wants to connect to configuration.apple.com on TCP port 443 (https)

IP Address:
Reverse DNS Name configuration.apple.com
Established by /Applications/GarageBand.app/Contents/MacOS/GarageBand
Process ID 439

Once | Until Quit | Forever
Any Connection
-> Port 443 TCP (Https)
-> configuration.apple.com
-> configuration.apple.com & Port 443 TCP (https)
Deny Allow

That is what pops up.


(options I get to choose from)  (It is like working on Vista)


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## ora (Nov 30, 2008)

That's what little snitch does! 

When you first install it you end up having to allow all the things you regularly use, so for instance generally i allow all firefox http connections forever but deny any connection from word forever. After a bit you have permanently allowed or denied all the basic stuff you do, so when you see that warning its something unexpected making a net connection, which is what little snitch guards against.

To allow Firefox access to the net, go to your applications folder and open 'Little Snitch Configuration'. In the new window that opens, scroll down till you find the rules relating to firefox, then either delete them, or edit them to allow whatever types of conenction you are happy with.

The switch is hard at first, but trust us, it gets better quickly!


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## sandman423 (Nov 30, 2008)

I uninstalled Little Snitch and sure enough I still can't connect to anything so do I have to reinstall??  I don't like the Vista Feel of little Snitch is there a way to completely remove it?

I Re-installed it..Is little Snitch worth it??

Also which Apps are a Necessity for a MacBook pro User??

Which Unrarer is the best??  Which is better for Playing ALL Formats of Movies?  I Don't like the Quicktime...

VLC Player is Awsome and so is a Macbook Pro...It worked once I reinstalled Little Snitch


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## ora (Nov 30, 2008)

Cool, glad that fixed it. LS is a good thing if you are worried about info about you being sent to the net and applications phoning home. I use it and lots of others do but its not a necessity. It is a bit like UAC in vista though in that it asks you a lot of questions when you start using it but after you allow connections for the programs that need them you barely notice its there.

For rar format I tend to use Unrarx. Its ok, though it gives an error of no files to expand if it tries to expand to a locked folder, so sometimes you have to change the destination for the unrar process to make it work. For video i also use VLC, which is amazing, but you should also download flip4mac which lets Quicktime play WMV (VLC wont play as many wmv files ) and also perian which adds other formats to quicktime. Once you have them you should find almost anything plays in VLC, and those rare files that don't will play in quicktime.


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## nixgeek (Nov 30, 2008)

I haven't used Little Snitch, so I'm not sure exactly how they prefer that you remove the application.  It's possible that maybe you dragged the application to the Trash and deleted it when in fact there might have been an uninstallation process that needed to take place.  Best thing to check is the ReadMe files included with the application.  That will show you the proper way for removing said application from your Mac.  Common knowledge is that you typically drag the application from wherever it is (usually the Applications folder) to the Trash and delete it, but it's always best to check the documentation.


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## sandman423 (Nov 30, 2008)

Anyone use LittleSnitch?  Is It worth having for a Mac??  I heard macs don't have virus issues aside from a very little trojans running around.


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## DeltaMac (Nov 30, 2008)

Little Snitch is NOT anti-virus software! That is not its purpose. LS main purpose is to give you the opportunity to intercept out-going internet communications. This might also include network related activity of viruses, trojans and other malware, but that's not the primary use for LS. It's to allow you to decide if ANY outgoing communication is allowed. Once LS is setup, you usually don't even know it's there.... watching....


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## nixgeek (Nov 30, 2008)

DeltaMac said:


> Little Snitch is NOT anti-virus software! That is not its purpose. LS main purpose is to give you the opportunity to intercept out-going internet communications. This might also include network related activity of viruses, trojans and other malware, but that's not the primary use for LS. It's to allow you to decide if ANY outgoing communication is allowed. Once LS is setup, you usually don't even know it's there.... watching....



....Creepy!


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## sandman423 (Nov 30, 2008)

o ok so is it worth it??


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## DeltaMac (Nov 30, 2008)

I'll waffle on the answer....
If you need it, and it helps you, then it's a good deal.
Many folks get along just fine without needing to know, or don't experience any issues with un-asked-for internet communications. If you are one of those, then $30 may not be 'worth it'
If you do have issues, or just want to know, then nothing else (AFAIK) works as effectively, for only $30.

- just a suggestion - you may want to spend more familiarization time with your Mac, before you do a lot of 'tweaking' - to get a good feel for how the Mac works when there are no mods to the system. That may help you to know when an 'outside' influence is affecting your system in some way....


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Nov 30, 2008)

Agree with DeltaMac here -- your Mac already has all the protection it needs out-of-the-box -- no need to scramble for anti-virus software, network monitoring applications, or anything of the like.

All major applications are safe on your system -- Adobe, Microsoft, etc.  Little Snitch was primarily designed (in my opinion) for the extremely paranoid: those who think that even though Adobe says "we don't collect your information -- we just activate and validate your software over the internet" that they're lying and somehow "stealing" identities or gathering information they shouldn't.  For those kinds of people, Little Snitch is the de facto way to block unwanted outgoing transmissions.


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## Satcomer (Dec 1, 2008)

ElDiablo are you calling me paranoid?  I use Little Snitch and was VERY SURPRISED how many programs call home even after been running for a while. 

Sandman you can be very preventive in getting trojans and such for a Mac or any other computer. I urge every computer on the net to use OpenDNS.com and open a free account after start using the service. This way you can use the service (for free) and with the free account you can use the PhishTank service to block known reported phishing sites. Plus you can use the free DNSChanger to eliminate the only known trojan for the Mac. Beside if you were already using OpenDNS.com then you would have not even got the known trojan because they blocked access to the site (porn site asking for a QuickTime plugin to see a video).


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## nixgeek (Dec 1, 2008)

I would imagine that LS tells you about all of the apps that do phone home in order to check for updates.  Is that the case?  If so, can those be excluded so that you're only informed about the unusual outbound connections?


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Dec 1, 2008)

Satcomer said:


> ElDiablo are you calling me paranoid?  I use Little Snitch and was VERY SURPRISED how many programs call home even after been running for a while.


True, programs communicate with the mothership through the internet.

I have yet to experience one piece of software that was communicating something that I did not want it to communicate.

I don't mind my programs "phoning home" to check for updates, or to validate my registration.  I'm not going to block those programs on principle alone -- they have a valid reason to do so, and I'm not going to block them from doing so.  I highly doubt that my quality of life and daily activities will be so much as impacted in the most miniscule amount whether I let Word check home for updates or PhotoShop verify my serial with Adobe or not.

If and when "phoning home" is proven to be collecting information about me that will then be proven to be willfully and maliciously used against me, _then_ I'll start blocking connections... but so far, there isn't a malicious program out there that collects information, phones home, then uses up all my money in my bank account.  I know what's on my system, and I know what gets communicated without the overhead and nuisance of some program informing me of every transmission.

So, yes: I am calling Little Snitch users paranoid.  Sue me.


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## fryke (Dec 1, 2008)

I'm using LittleSnitch. It's a great utility. A _little_ paranoia is healthy. If you don't mind your utilities to check for updates: No problemo, just let them! But I like to have a little control over outgoing connections.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Dec 1, 2008)

Right, to each his own!

Some control outgoing connections with programs that intercept transmissions, others control outgoing connections by knowing which programs do it and why.

And, you're spot on -- my UNIX securities instructor taught us to be paranoid of everything -- packet analyzers, firewalls, tarpits, log analyzers, port monitoring software, connection sniffing, etc.  He had his shizzle locked down like the pentagon, and you couldn't so much as sneeze or change directories on the system without him knowing.

...but then again, that was on a University network with thousands of users (some malicious, some curious, some just lost), and it was more of "be wary of what _people_ are doing on your system," not "be wary of what every little _application_ is doing."

I guess a follow-up question should be: what outgoing connections were you wary of and had Little Snitch block, and for what reason?


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## Doctor X (Dec 1, 2008)

Did you try contacting the technical support of Little Snitch?

They have guides and the like. . . .

There are some very good guides for beginner Mac users.  Pogue's _The Missing Manual_ series is a good one.  You can get the guide for 10.4 very cheap.  Do not expect it to make you a Unix programmer, but it will answer a lot of your questions.

And as I believe Philip K. Dick quipped, paranoia is not the irrational belief that people are "out to get you" but that _things_ are out to get you . . . it is not your boss, but your boss' _phone_ that is out to get you.

--J.D.


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## VirtualTracy (Dec 1, 2008)

I too use Lil' Snitch and admit to the occasional bout of paranoia ... but I sometimes wonder if being too paranoid to press the _"Fart Button" _is being a little too extremist? 

I s'pose an expert could use Lil' Snitch to look for *stuff* calling home that originated from malicious sources that shouldn't be on ones hard drive in the first place ... alas, I am not of that breed and should probably forfeit my right to use the app.


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## mmazhar (Dec 18, 2008)

hey guys sorry if it sound so stupid but i need to remove Little Snitch for my MAC, i already removed the application in the trash but its still up on the toll bar as if i did nothing, so what can i do to remove it totally .Thanks


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Dec 18, 2008)

Use the Little Snitch uninstaller:

http://www.obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/faq.html


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## mmazhar (Dec 18, 2008)

i can't find it in the application coz i already removed it to the trash but it still pop up the warning box every time !! from where i can removed it totally


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Dec 18, 2008)

Then simply download Little Snitch again, run the installer, and select "Uninstall."


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## mmazhar (Dec 18, 2008)

thx man i will try tht ...


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## Satcomer (Dec 19, 2008)

ElDiabloConCaca said:


> I guess a follow-up question should be: what outgoing connections were you wary of and had Little Snitch block, and for what reason?



Like third party programs calling home even when the program (no System Preferences pane or preference file) asking it ti call home. I have found several program (and immediately removed them) that did that. I 80% attribute that to bad programming with 20% having devious intentions. I guess that is the price I pay for sticking myself out on the freeware/shareware ledge. 

I like it when the developer will respond to my (and other beta testes) emails and fixes the problem.


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