Firewall - Configuration/GUI of the Mac OS X 10.6 / 10.7 Firewall

First I would like to thank Apple
for making the Mac OS X operating system.
And thank you for the Lion update coming soon.
We properbly all are waiting to get the
Mac OS X 10.7 Lion update.
I have seen the full feature list of Lion:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/whats-new/features.html
All the great new innovation and apps is great stuff.
But I came to wonder about one thing though.
The internet apps like:
FaceTime, iCloud, iChat, AirDrop etc.
They more or less all requires custom ports on different
protocols to be opened and configurated.
Even the SIP for Facetime has to be enabled etc.
Like the FaceTime Firewall ports here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4245
In the full feature list page of Mac OS X Lion
there is not listed anything about the Mac OS X Lion Firewall!
In Snow Leopard we can't configurate the Firewall with
custom ports and protocols etc.
Everybody refer to the Hanynet NoobProof and WaterRoof
firewall apps. I'm using the NoobProof my self right now.
http://www.hanynet.com
But I think the Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion could do with a
much better and way more easier firewall GUI to be able to
configurate ports and protocols and firewall rules and even NAT.
Isn't the Mac OS X about doing it the easy way!
I think a Firewall in Mac OS X with only a On and Off button (more or less)
wont cut it any longer!
For people not knowing about Firewall its OK to have an On/Off button,
but for the user that know about firewall, ports and protocols
it would be great to have a button to go in an be able to configurate
making rules and opening ports on specific protocols and doing NAT etc.
The Mac OS X Firewall GUI created by Bryan Hill called
"Brickhouse" and now called "Flying Buttress"
updated last in 2005!
(Which I could NOT get to work in Snow Leopard)
it had a very good and easy
to use Graphical User Interface. (GUI).
See it here:
http://www.securemac.com/firewallsecurityshareware.php
Why isn't there any like that for the present Mac OS X????
Anybody know anything that will help in that direction???
Anybody know a nicer firewall GUI or App for
Snow Leopard / Lion ???
Please comment here.
Best regards
Jesper
from Denmark.

Thank you very much for responding to my thread Thomas and roam.
Wheter it is a question to run a firewall on Mac OS X or not,
is not my question. And thank you, but I do know the difference between a
GUI for the Mac OS X built in firewall and a 3rd party stand alone firewall.
If I and properbly many other Mac OS X users choose to run with a firewall,
many of us would like to be able to configurate as WE want it to be.
Many users have special needs that require speciel configuration of the firewall.
There are other things than Apple network technologies you know!
Running a firewall or not. There is Pro's and Con's on both. It's a free choise right. I respect both.
I have 8 CPU cores and 16 threads on my Mac Pro, so I think my Mac can handle a running firewall!
"Better safe, than sorry!" As they say "Over there".
;o)
Apple has chosen to make a firewall in
Mac OS X, then there must be a reason why it is there.
And besides that.
I would bet that, the more popular the
Mac computers gets in the future and the more marketshare
the Mac computers get over the hopeless Windows platform.
The more hackers will be interesting in hacking the Mac OS X.
So a firewall would be something to consider the more Apple has success.
I think that is quite logical.
I'm sure there is almost as many undiscovered security holes in UNIX
as there is on the Windows platform. It is just a question of time
before the hackers will point their weapons against the Mac OS X.
So let me explain a bit more precise what I need…
I'm used to configurate lots of hardware Routers with Firewalls. Doing things like creating firewall rules, opening ports on specific protocols, WAN-to-LAN and LAN-to-WAN, NAT IP redirection, enabling SIP, content filtering, wireless accesspoints with encryption and MAC Address filtering, creating VPN tunnels, setting up Remote Desktop on Windows and Mac computers for Terminal Servers etc.
I'm also administrating FTP servers and NAS harddisks.
All that is always being configurated in a nice intuitive user interface via my web browser. Wheter it is a Router, NAS disk etc. THATS WHAT I WANT with the Firewall in Mac OS X. An "intuitive graphical user inteface" where I easily can configurate the Mac OS X firewall or a stand-alone firewall for that matter.
Yes I self use on my Mac Pro the Hanynet NoobProof firewall GUI right now.
But both the Hanynet firewall GUI's are crap. Lets face it!
They work yes! But the User Interface is NOT Mac OS X standard right!!!
If you pair the user interfaces with standard unser interfaces of a normal end-user Gateway Router with Firewall. Like ZyXEL, NetGear etc.
The Hanynet NoobProof don't have the feature to
choose ports on specific protocols.
With Apple FaceTime there are ports on both the
TCP and UDP protocols that has to be open for communication.
On the other side the Hanynet WaterRoof GUI
I know that it has the features to configurate ports on specific protocols but!
The User Interface is waaaaaaaay too complex and is anything else than intuitive!
I can't find ether head or tale in WaterRoof GUI!!! Completely Lawsy Interface. It is SO non Mac like!
(it needs a interface designer like myself)
I mean, "The Mac" and Mac OS X is all about doing things the "EASY, Nice and Intuitive Way" right!
I can't be that I'm the only one in the world that need a better and faster configuration of the Mac OS X firewall, can it?! There must be hundred thousands of other Mac OS X users with the same wish.
I know I'm a "designer", not a "programmer".
The only thing I program is HTML, CSS and DVD Video titles.
So with all due respect.
*** The question is…
Does anybody know a Firewall GUI or stand alone firewall for Mac OS X Snow Leopard/Lion that are easier than Hanynets????????????????
=========
If I was an Apple employed that delt with Mac OS X security.
I would make the Mac OS X firewall user interface different.
Top level choise could be: ON, OFF and CUSTOM.
So people with non knowledge of firewalls could just choose ON or OFF
to their liking. And leaving the choise for people that would like
to customize the firewall settings with the "Custom" button.
And there after a nice intuitive graphical user interface
to make all sorts of custom settings JUST like on a Gateway Router with built in firewall.
A firewall like that could not hurt anybody could it???!!!
It's MY Mac, I want to rule over MY firewall.
I like the Mac OS X very much, I think it is absolutely brilliant,
but the Firewall settings is NO GOOD for custom firewall configurations.
Apple has to pay attention to it, the sooner the better.
Please feel free to comment.
Best regards
Jesper
Denmark.

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Message was edited by: Jonefer
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