By Graham K. Rogers

Objective Development has released an update to its application Little Snitch for OS X that some consider essential to safe computing. The latest version is now 3.3.1 (4071). Updating requires that the computer be restarted.

While the firewall will help protect a system from outside probing and connections that might be made, there is nothing to prevent the hundreds of "call backs" that applications installed make each day.

While some of these are legitimate and may be authorised by the owner of a computer, many programs or other installed items may be sending back considerable amounts of data. Little Snitch stops that, if necessary.

Some applications may try and connect to several URLs or IP numbers and Little Snitch will display the information so that a user can authorise (or not). For some software, the authorisation might be "always" while other connections can be permitted on a one-off basis. A user may also prevent connections.

Even those users who install Little Snitch are sometimes taken aback by the number of connections some developers think need to be made.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand where he is also Assistant Dean. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.