Little Snitch
Little Snitch is a Mac firewall that shows which apps connect to the internet and lets you allow or block those connections. It’s made by Objective Development, based in Austria.
Criminals have used its name in fake downloads or scams, so get it only from obdev.at.
What it is
Little Snitch helps people see where their apps send data. It can ask before allowing a connection, remember your decisions and block connections using rules or blocklists.
It runs locally and records which app connects, the server name and address, and how much data is transferred. Its network extension needs permission to inspect and filter connections. Server locations are looked up in a database stored on your Mac.
Little Snitch has been available for more than 20 years. It is an established tool for controlling app connections. Blocking a connection that an app needs can stop that app working properly.
Who makes it
Objective Development is a software company founded in 2004 and based in Vienna, Austria. Its legal name is Objective Development Software GmbH. Its website is obdev.at.
Is it the real one?
Every Mac app carries a signature from the developer who made it. Apple checks who the developer is before handing out the certificate, and macOS refuses to open an app whose signature has been tampered with.
HARD hasn’t yet recorded the signature on a real copy of Little Snitch. Its Mac app shows who signed the copy you have.
Its bundle ID, the name macOS knows it by, is at.obdev.littlesnitch or at.obdev.LittleSnitchConfiguration or at.obdev.LittleSnitchNetworkMonitor or at.obdev.littlesnitch.networkextension or at.obdev.littlesnitch.endpointsecurity. Download it only from obdev.at, not from an ad or a link someone sends you.
Fakes. In June 2020, Malwarebytes found a pirated Little Snitch installer shared through a Russian torrent forum that installed ThiefQuest malware, originally called EvilQuest.
What it connects to
In normal use, Little Snitch talks to these places on the internet. A firewall that asks before apps connect, like the one in HARD’s Mac app, will show them.
| Address | Why |
|---|---|
sw-update.obdev.at | Checks for software updates. |
What it can see
macOS asks you before an app can use these. You can change them any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Network Extensions | Allows its network filter to inspect and block connections; its optional DNS proxy encrypts server-name lookups. |
| Full Disk Access | Optional, for the Little Snitch Endpoint Security extension to control access to low-level network devices that can bypass ordinary filtering. |
| Location Services | Optional, to place your Mac on the connection map and save the locations of networks you join. |
Security record
Problems with Little Snitch or Objective Development in the last three years, newest first. Keeping the app up to date covers the ones that were fixed.
| When | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Little Snitch 6.3 could crash its network filter when DNS encryption was enabled on macOS Sonoma, leaving connections unavailable or filtering inactive; version 6.3.1 fixed it. | ↗ | |
| Version 6.2.1 could stop checking automatically for updates, leaving affected users unaware of fixes; version 6.2.2 fixed it but required a manual update check. | ↗ | |
| A macOS 15.3 bug prevented Little Snitch from seeing or blocking ICMP traffic, such as ping; Apple fixed it in macOS 15.4. | ↗ | |
| A macOS Sequoia bug could stop Little Snitch receiving traffic information or enforcing rules when Apple's firewall was also enabled; Apple fixed it in macOS 15.2. | ↗ | |
| Little Snitch 6.1 could send some server-name lookups unencrypted despite DNS encryption being enabled; version 6.1.1 fixed it. | ↗ |
References
- Objective Development — About us obdev.at
- Little Snitch — Official product page obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — Code identity help.obdev.at
- Little Snitch 4 Help — Code signature issues help.obdev.at
- Objective by the Sea — Application notifications and bundle identifiers objectivebythesea.org
- Little Snitch Help — System Policy installation error obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — What is Little Snitch? help.obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — Installing Little Snitch help.obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — Network Monitor settings developer.obdev.at
- Little Snitch — Download obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — Software update help.obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — DNS encryption settings help.obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — Berkeley Packet Filter help.obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — Map help.obdev.at
- Little Snitch 6 Help — Automatic profile switching help.obdev.at
- Malwarebytes — New Mac ransomware spreading through piracy malwarebytes.com
- Little Snitch — Release notes obdev.at
- Objective Development — ICMP filtering failure obdev.at
- Objective Development — Apple's built-in macOS firewall breaks third-party firewalls obdev.at
- Objective Development — DNS encryption failure in Little Snitch 6.1 obdev.at