About NetworkMonitor

NetworkMonitor is an independent editorial site about a specific corner of Mac security: outbound firewalls, network monitoring, DNS privacy, and the day-to-day workspace habits that determine whether any of it actually gets used.

It exists because the good information on this topic is scattered across forum threads, vendor marketing and half-abandoned blog posts, and because most search results rewrite the same shallow paragraphs. We would rather cover a small subject thoroughly than a large one badly.

The two themes

Everything here sits under one of two headings. The first is understanding your Mac's network behaviour — what leaves the machine, how outbound filtering works, and how to read what you find. The second is the comfort of a well-organised, locked-down Mac — because a security tool you never look at is the same as no tool, and whether you look at it is mostly a question of how your workspace is arranged.

How we write

Guides are written against real setups and revised when macOS changes. We name limitations, including of the tools we recommend, and we are explicit about the difference between a measure that matters and one that is security theatre. Where a simpler or free option does the job, we say so.

Independence and affiliation

This is an editorial resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Objective Development, the makers of the Little Snitch product, nor by any other software vendor discussed here. Product and company names are used descriptively. Where we link to a tool's official site, it is because obtaining Mac software from mirror sites is a genuine hazard — not because of any commercial arrangement, of which there are none.

No tracking

The site sets no cookies, runs no analytics, and serves no advertising. There is nothing to consent to. See the privacy policy for the short version.

Corrections

macOS changes yearly and some of what is written here will age. If you find an error, tell us — corrections are made promptly.