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LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

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Re: LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

#171

What I want for all these services (Little Snitch, ESET, etc) is an EasyList-like ... list. A community-aggregated and reviewed list of servers that don't merit my connection. I'd pay a monthly subscription fee for that. I'd also like separate lists for * "this wifi is public, be extra cautious" * "this wifi is public, be nice and don't torrent, do backups, etc" * "I'm on a metered connection (e.g. LTE), don't run to…

What if I start a DNS service that blocks every ad server domainname in the "EasyList"? Personally I avoid using third party DNS, but if there is demand for this...

I do this on my home network. It works well, so I encourage you to build this out.

As an added bonus As a service you could point the dns entries to your own web server and serve up cat pictures or motivational pictures in place of ads.

Re: LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

#172
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My solution right now (on macOS) is Gas Mask[1] (a menubar hosts file manager) combined with some very nice hosts files[2]. It certainly kills of most of the pop-ups I run into. [1]: https://github.com/2ndalpha/gasmask [2]: https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

I handle this for my whole network with a pi-hole[0]. [0] https://pi-hole.net

This is the way. No need to individually configure all your devices. My DHCP will hand out a local DNS to each client that maps all the ad/malware domains to 0.0.0.0, so if you’re on my network, even as a guest, you get blocking for free.

Re: LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

#173
post #127

What I want for all these services (Little Snitch, ESET, etc) is an EasyList-like ... list. A community-aggregated and reviewed list of servers that don't merit my connection. I'd pay a monthly subscription fee for that. I'd also like separate lists for * "this wifi is public, be extra cautious" * "this wifi is public, be nice and don't torrent, do backups, etc" * "I'm on a metered connection (e.g. LTE), don't run to…

I know it's not the same thing, but I use TripMode on macOS for your last two points, which selectively blocks app access based on what network you're connected to.

I also love TripMode. Uses a kernel extension which some users may dislike but so nice to turn off Dropbox/Google Drive/Arq/iClouds backup services while tethering at Panera

Re: LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

#174
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I handle this for my whole network with a pi-hole[0]. [0] https://pi-hole.net

When I tried pi-hole I was amazed by it. Until the day I discovered someone in China hacked it :-///

That’s terrible. Did you move on to something else?

Re: LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if I start a DNS service that blocks every ad server domainname in the "EasyList"? Personally I avoid using third party DNS, but if there is demand for this...

https://adguard.com/en/adguard-dns/overview.html

What if I let the user run it locally? I point a local dnscache at a local, customised "root.zone" that blocks all these EasyList ad server domains? User could have several alternate root.zones that provide different "profiles". To switch profiles simply switch root.zones.

(I used to do this for myself. Then I stopped using caches altogether. Now I do everything with tinydns, cdb and a customized stub resolver.)

Or what if I resolve all the ad server domains in the EasyList each day from various checkpoints around the world and publish an IP blocklist? Then users can import it into their application level firewalls.

Re: LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

#176

What I want for all these services (Little Snitch, ESET, etc) is an EasyList-like ... list. A community-aggregated and reviewed list of servers that don't merit my connection. I'd pay a monthly subscription fee for that. I'd also like separate lists for * "this wifi is public, be extra cautious" * "this wifi is public, be nice and don't torrent, do backups, etc" * "I'm on a metered connection (e.g. LTE), don't run to…

I’d do a one time fee of $10 or something. But a fee forever is not appealing. I would rather commit to running a certain number of compute jobs a month to trade cpu or storage or whatever. And do that forever. I barter my unused cpu for your whitelist service that aggregates community activity.

or maybe the old skool option of paid upgrades? $10 first time fee to get the current list. then, as you start to notice things not getting blocked, purchase the upgrade/updated list?

I guess it depends on the monthly fee? $10/month, nope. $12/year-$1/monthly or $10/year-1payment to get monthly updates, quite possibly. i do understand updating/maintaining a fresh list will cost someone somewhere money.

Re: LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

#178
post #75

Dumb question: is something about OS X’s built in firewall that’s insufficient? Always love new projects like this, just curious though.

In the FAQ, bottom of page: > Do I need LuLu if I've turned on the built-in macOS firewall? > Yes! Apple's built-in firewall only blocks incoming connections. LuLu is designed to detect and block outgoing connections, such as those generated by malware when the malware attempts to connect to it's command & control server for tasking, or exfiltrates data.

Confusing, since they use the PF filter, you can absolutely block outgoing connections, atleast by port, app or user

Re: LuLu: An open-source macOS firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections

#180
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Until the company is acquired. And then the disclaimer disappears silently.

Which... has never happened with the company behind Little Snitch.

And it never happened to every other company that has been acquired...
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