Is there Mac Firewall Software?

Owned by Marc Miller
Dec 04, 2018

Purpose

You are wondering if there is any Mac Firewall Software out there?

Answer

By default, Macs come with a Firewall under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Firewall.

However, the default Mac Firewall is designed to be simplistic in configuration, which limits you on allowing Applications to either Block or Allow connections, which is basically an 'all or nothing' method that can work to a degree.

For some things, however, you may need a much more control that what this will offer, such as specifying the IP ranges you wish to allow to have access to your Mac, or which ports should be open in certain situations.

With that said, here are some options:

List of Mac Firewall Software

Murus

Murus (https://www.murusfirewall.com/) provides an interface to help do a little more specific configuration such as defining IP ranges as groups' as well as services.

The free version, Murus Lite, can allow you to do some basic firewall tuning, such as IP Range Allow/Block configurations and some management.

Muru Basic offers a little more control such as creating Custom Rules and much more adaptive firewall setup.

Murus Pro adds additional features, including an App to help visualize the log information if you are looking into understanding more about Network Security and Filtering.

Murus Basic and Pro do cost money if you want the extra features.

Intego's Mac Internet Security

Intego's Mac Internet Security suite includes VirusBarrier and NetBarrier that is covered on a subscription basis.

NetBarrier is the configuration tool for fine tuning your firewall a little further with a nice User Interface.


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