Firewall question(s), need explanation

[Lester52]

I did some reading about the Mac firewall via Apple's website and some books at Borders today, and despite all the reading I did I still wasn't able to find the answer.

Under the Mac firewall there are the settings block all incoming connections and stealth mode. As someone who is extremely paranoid and just doesn't want any computer issues I'm not fully sure what is the best setting to use. I understand that stealth mode is supposed to make your computer not respond to ping requests, but what exactly does block all incoming connections do? It sounds like it would do what the name suggests, but does block all incoming connections make it so others aren't able to connect to your computer?

I also noticed that if I choose stealth mode and then choose block all incoming connections that stealth mode, while still having a check next to it, is greyed out. So if I check stealth mode and then check block all incoming connections, is stealth mode still on even though it's greyed out?

 

[GGJstudios]

Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: About the Application Firewall
Protecting your computer with a firewall
Using the Firewall pane of Security preferences

 

[-aggie-]

If you block all incoming connections, then nothing comes in, including pings, so essentially stealth mode is on. However, you really can't do much with ALL connections blocked (or there is a lot you can't do), so you block connections as they come in that you don't want to allow access for whatever reason, while running in Stealth Mode.

 

[GGJstudios]

To have the firewall prevent incoming connections to non-essential services and applications, select “Block all incoming connections.”

Essential services are a set of applications that allow your computer to find services provided by other computers on the network. This setting prevents connections to all other sharing and application services.

 

[Lester52]

But is stealth mode still enabled even though it's greyed out (though still with a check mark next to it) with block all incoming connections selected? I looked through all the firewall pages I could find on Apple's website and at some books at the book store, but none were clear if stealth mode would still be active if block all incoming connections was chosen.