Hey guys. I see people mention it all the time, but I've never seen a thorough explanation. is there a generally accepted best way to stop plug-ins or programs in general from calling home on a Mac?

Thanks so much

 

System Prefs.
Firewall.
Turn on, and add programs and block comms

 

Little Snitch is good firewall program

 

Easiest way : Just stay offline.
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Little Snitch and modify /etc/hosts file...

 

Agreed with these folks

• Keep the studio machine offline
• Use Little Snitch
• (or) Modify Hosts file

The Little Snitch daemon runs in the background, and alerts you when an application is attempting to communicate/connect to sources online
When the alert pops up -- it allows you to set rules (allow or deny, until quit or always) -- Works well !

 

Little Snitch is the best choice if you don't want to be offline (Pyrus Malus has explained already how it works).
However, you'll need sometimes to modify also the Host file (anyway this rarely happens with audio apps)

 

Thanks guys for the great advice.

So, Little Snitch is something that you can just kind of set and forget about it once installed?
Let's say you are using Ableton. Will LS see Ableton calling home or is it the actual plug-in that is calling?

Does it take up a lot of memory running in the background?

 

+1

 

Little Snitch is an outstanding piece of software that helps and prevents home callings.