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Outbound Firewalls for MacOS

macOS comes with a built-in firewall that blocks incoming connections, but it doesn't control outgoing traffic. An outbound firewall helps monitor and potentially restrict outgoing data from your Mac, offering an extra layer of security.

Criteria\Firewalls Lulu OPNsense LockDown Privacy Radio Silence
Cost Free, open-source free, open-source Free , open-source free, open-source
Application Control Block or allow specific applications from accessing the Internet Cannot block or allow specific applications from accessing the Internet Blocks/allows by application, some domain blocking Block or allow specific applications from accessing the Internet
Interface - Specify which network interface(LAN, WAN, etc.) the rule applies to ---- ----
IP Address Block Connections to specific destination IP addresses or ranges Block or allow connections to specific IP addresses or ranges, both source (outgoing) and destination Limited, Domain blocking Not available
Port Block Connections to specific ports or port ranges Block or allow connections to specific ports or port ranges ---- Not available
Protocol Block specific communication protocols (TCP, UDP, etc) Block specific communication protocols (TCP, UDP, etc) ---- Not available
Rule Management Adding, editing, managing rules and custom ones is intuitive OPNsense utilizes a stateful firewall approach, meaning you typically only need to define rules for the initial outgoing connection Adding, editing, and managing rules is relatively simple. It doesn't offer the same level of detail or prioritization for individual connections compared to stateful firewall rules Adding, editing, and managing rules is very intuitive
Logging/Reporting Basic logging functionality OPNsense provides detailed logging capabilities for outbound traffic activity. You can filter logs by interface, rule, protocol, and other criteria. It also offers reporting features for visualizing traffic patterns and identifying suspicious activity Basic logging functionality to track blocked connections or application activity Offers basic logs with timestamps, application names, and allowed/blocked actions