firewalls

[voodooevil]

i know this is a huge discussion….
but i feel better keeping anti malware on my machine…..i think norton is crazy annoying, but i like knowing there is an outbound firewall with norton.
i only use my mac on a home network using a nighthawk RS700s router.
my plan is to use a paid version of malwarebytes along side some sort of outgoing firewall. i tried little snitch mini, but not sure if that combo is secure enough….i am always tempted to put norton back….

 

[Ruggy]

When you say on my machine, do you mean 'as opposed to nothing' or do you mean 'instead of on the router'?
Because you say you use it on a single router and that router should already have strong anti malware with Netgear Armor.
You could also look at other options like using secure DNS like Cloudflare that blocks these things.
I would definitely look at the firewall in the router as your primary defence.

 

[voodooevil]

thanks for the reply…as my machine i mean my macbook….
netgear armor is activated on my router.
but i am concerned about unauthorized outbound traffic and can not figure out if it monitors outbound.
i worry about bitdefender being like kapresky . not saying they are but i am not sure if i want to use them.
but i will at least look into the firewall on my router a little more because maybe i am overthinking things…
thank you for a helpful comment

 

[ipaqrat]

🏆 While there's no scenario where it's okay to go without a firewall, one can go overboard, multiplying the effort to manage, with no additional return. Same goes for Malware, as multiple scanners typically compete for system resources.

At the enterprise level, I see kinda often, panicked software buying triggered by FUD spread on golf courses, resulting in costly self-denials of service. Then we (even more expensive engineers) have to un-duck it all (except not "duck").

Consider escalating gradually; try to keep your cost and complexity to the minimum. Buying into Norton doesn't necessarily equate to desirable results. Use Lil Snitch on the local machine. Improve rule sets on the router. My guess is you'll find Lil Snitch and Malwarebytes is fine to secure the laptop when you're outside your LAN. This doesn't let you off the hook for being mindful as you use your software; these are all just tools - YOU are the weapon.

As for Norton in general, it's owned by Gen Digital, which has collected number of hit-and-miss consumer security apps with patchy history and provenance. Gen is co-headquartered in both Arizona and in the Czech Republic. This does not support any conclusion, though it happens to be in the lap of known persistent adversary, which has grown somewhat more adversarial, of late. And also the Czech part is close to Russia.

 

[voodooevil]

🏆 While there's no scenario where it's okay to go without a firewall, one can go overboard, multiplying the effort to manage, with no additional return. Same goes for Malware, as multiple scanners typically compete for system resources.

At the enterprise level, I see kinda often, panicked software buying triggered by FUD spread on golf courses, resulting in costly self-denials of service. Then we (even more expensive engineers) have to un-duck it all (except not "duck").

Consider escalating gradually; try to keep your cost and complexity to the minimum. Buying into Norton doesn't necessarily equate to desirable results. Use Lil Snitch on the local machine. Improve rule sets on the router. My guess is you'll find Lil Snitch and Malwarebytes is fine to secure the laptop when you're outside your LAN. This doesn't let you off the hook for being mindful as you use your software; these are all just tools - YOU are the weapon.

As for Norton in general, it's owned by Gen Digital, which has collected number of hit-and-miss consumer security apps with patchy history and provenance. Gen is co-headquartered in both Arizona and in the Czech Republic. This does not support any conclusion, though it happens to be in the lap of known persistent adversary, which has grown somewhat more adversarial, of late. And also the Czech part is close to Russia.

i think i will keep clear of norton……
i will use malwarebytes, the apple firewall and little snitch “mini”….i appreciate the info