Apps keep requesting firewall approval . . .

[AndyMoore]

Not sure what's going on here but every now and then when starting iTunes the firewall approval notification appears and I have to enter the admin id and password. Even though I've done this several times before. This is usually after a reboot or logout and not just after an application update, it's more often. This also happens with Azereus although I don't use it much now. It's not just these two applications but I can't remember what else it has happened for specifically.

Is this normal?

Another thing that's bugging me is now I'm on MobileMe (.mac) when I reboot I have to setup the iSync preferences again. Have to re-tick the box to tell it when to sync and set the drop down to Automatically, tell it that I'm registering the same computer and then it ask if I want to Merge all the data or copy it. And I have a "Previous Local iDisk . . ." icon appear on my desktop. No idea why.

These problems are getting quite annoying now.

 

[GGJstudios]

What are your firewall settings? System Preferences > Security > Firewall.... what do you have selected?

 

[AndyMoore]

I have "Set access for specific services and applications" selected so I expect to get asked the first time a run and application or after an update but not more often than that which it is doing at the moment.

 

[GGJstudios]

I have "Set access for specific services and applications" selected so I expect to get asked the first time a run and application or after an update but not more often than that which it is doing at the moment.

Have you added the apps you want to the list? It would help if you can post a screen shot of that window.

 

[AndyMoore]

Not everything is shown because I can't expand the preferences window but all my needed applications are there.

 

[GGJstudios]

Does it ask for your password every time you launch every app? Or every time you launch Safari, for example? Or does it ask only the first time you launch any app AFTER a reboot?

 

[AndyMoore]

Just rebooted and started iTunes to confirm one way or the other and got this. Even though as you can see from the screen shot before, incoming connections are allowed.

 

[AndyMoore]

Before pressing Allow, I went back into the firewall settings and iTunes has been set to Blocked! It's the only application that has changed though.

 

[AndyMoore]

Problem still there. Applications such as iTunes ask for firewall approval (Allow or Deny) after a reboot.

Tried deleting /Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf.plist and clearing the PRAM (?)
Nothings worked.

 

[ihabime]

are you running any application enhancers, shapeshifter, service scrubber or anything that might alter an app internally? As I recall, leopards firewall uses code signing to verify which apps are allowed, so any change in an App package means that it has to be re-authorized.

 

[AndyMoore]

Interesting . . .

I'm using plugin to Growl for iTunes, can't remember if it's called GrowliTunes or some thing similar. Not at home at the moment.

Doesn't make any changes to iTunes though.

 

[ihabime]

Hmmm, the problem seems more widespread than I thought, I have my firewall set the same way, but the only things on my list are quicktime player and itunes and I use most of the programs you have listed.

Did you have to authorize mDNSResponder too? If so there's a thread about that on the apple forums, resetting the PMU seems to have helped some, but not all of the people there.

You might try making a second user account and seeing if it still happens there.

 

[AndyMoore]

I've seen those other posts and the 3 items they all list have never appeared for me, so I think it's a separate issue.

 

[richard.mac]

i find that apps which update using the Sparkle framework tend to ask for permission to allow conenctions after they are updated. to fix this just remove and re-add the application to the firewall.

some apps however always ask like Coda.

 

[AndyMoore]

Think I'll try an archive and install tonight, see if that gets rid of it.

 

[GoKyu]

I have the same problem with Adium and Acquisition....they *always* ask me if I want to accept incoming connections the first time after I've rebooted (which doesn't happen often, admittedly, but it's still a little annoying.)

My firewall settings are set to allow incoming connections on all of those programs. Maybe that's just the way the people programmed it?

-Bryan

 

[ihabime]

I have the same problem with Adium and Acquisition....they *always* ask me if I want to accept incoming connections the first time after I've rebooted (which doesn't happen often, admittedly, but it's still a little annoying.)

My firewall settings are set to allow incoming connections on all of those programs. Maybe that's just the way the people programmed it?

-Bryan

I blame it on Apples crappy re-implementation of the firewall, they threw out decades of secure unix firewall knowledge just to roll their own in leopard.

Adium has never asked to authorized, but it still works fine for me.

 

[apfhex]

i find that apps which update using the Sparkle framework tend to ask for permission to allow conenctions after they are updated.

+1. This is why it's such an annoying problem with Transmission. However, it's not consistent. Adium also uses Sparkle and I let it update automatically — it never asks me for permission. But if I let Transmission update automatically, it will never stop asking me, even if I remove it and re-add it to the firewall prefs. The only way I can stop it is if I download the new version manually and re-add it to the firewall prefs afterwards. Then, it won't ask me again. Until the next update.

But to go further away from Sparkle being the cause... iTunes and Safari also occasionally (very randomly) ask for permission. Only after a fresh startup too, but not every time, just some of them. >_< Leopard's firewall is just broken.

 

[AndyMoore]

Just done an Archive & install. OS X is downloading all the updates, jeesh! Loads!