ARCHIVED: In Mac OS X, how do I enable or disable the firewall?
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Mac OS X includes an easy-to-use firewall that can prevent potentially harmful incoming connections from other computers. To turn it on or off:
Mac OS X 10.6 and later
- From the Apple menu, select
System Preferences
window appears, from the menu, select (10.7 and later) or (10.6). .
When the - Click the tab.
- If the orange padlock icon in the lower left side of the window is closed, click it, and then authenticate with your Mac's administrator username and password. This will allow you to make changes.
- Click (10.7 and later) or (10.6) to enable the firewall. Click (10.7 and later) or (10.6) to disable the firewall.
- To configure the firewall, click
- For the strictest setting, check .
- Check to allow digitally signed applications access to your network without prompting.
- Click to have your computer ignore pings and similar software that attempts to discover your computer.
- Use the plus and minus buttons to add and remove applications from the firewall. When added, you can either allow or block traffic to them.
Click to save your settings.
(10.7 and later) or (10.6). In the sheet
that appears, choose from the following options:
Mac OS X 10.5
- From the Apple menu, select
System Preferences
window appears, from the menu, select . .
When the - Click the tab.
- If the orange padlock icon in the lower left side of the window is closed, click it, and then authenticate with your Mac's administrator username and password. This will allow you to make changes.
- To configure the firewall, at the top of the window, click one of
the radio buttons:
- is the best choice for most users; it will block most incoming connections, but allow you to make exceptions for trusted services and applications.
- activates the firewall in its strictest mode.
- deactivates the firewall.
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Last modified on 2018-01-18 13:51:33.