Firewall settings not saving

Question

Level 3

981 points

Firewall settings not saving

I have my Firewall set to "Set access for specific services and applications" and when a Application is opened it will ask for access if it needs it (in my example, Transmission) and then incoming traffic will be allowed. However, on my system it asks me EVERY TIME one of these applications needs access. In the system preferences, there are about 8 program on this list to Allow incoming connections, but it's almost as if OS X is not "remembering" this setting.

I don't know if I have to say Allow every time between logging in and logging out or between booting. I can launch it after booting, say Allow, and then close and reopen and it won't come up, but if I reboot I am prompted again, even though it's on the list in System Preferences to Allow. Why is this? I Repaired disk permissions thinking that might have something to do with it but it didn't.

For what it's worth, I upgraded to 10.5 from 10.4.10.

MacBook (Standard Black C2D w/2x1GB Crucial RAM), Mac OS X (10.5), PowerMac Quad G5 @ work, Tiger, refurb w/4GB RAM

Posted on Nov 13, 2007 10:19 AM

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Answer 1

Alan Ivey Author

Level 3

981 points

Nov 16, 2007 12:30 PM in response to Alan Ivey

I just upgraded to 10.5.1 and the problem is still occurring.

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Answer 2

Alan Ivey Author

Level 3

981 points

Nov 17, 2007 12:38 PM in response to Alan Ivey

Anyone? It's still asking me everytime a program wants access, even though it's in my list to allow.

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Answer 3

wartooth

Level 1

0 points

Feb 2, 2008 9:04 PM in response to Alan Ivey

Hi Alan,
I too am having the same issue (and have been since upgrading to Leopard). From the little investigation I have done, Leopard asks for permission for third party apps only, and only after a restart of the computer or an upgrade of the application (much like it asks for updated keychain permissions also).

Have you found a solution to this?

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Answer 4

KJK555

Level 4

2,906 points

Feb 3, 2008 12:08 AM in response to Alan Ivey

open preferences > security > firewall and check the "lock" in the lower left corner. If it is "locked" your changes won't be saved.

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Answer 5

Alan Ivey Author

Level 3

981 points

Apr 29, 2008 1:10 PM in response to KJK555

The lock being locked or unlocked does not affect this. In fact, I have added programs to that list manually before launching them yet I'm still asked. I let this thread go a while before I thought the problem was occurring when I changed wireless networks, but I've since been on the same network for several days and every time I run certain applications I am still asked if I want to Allow or Deny. It's very annoying and making me contemplate turning off the OS X Firewall and setting up ipfw with WaterRoof or something.

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Answer 6

Jul 9, 2008 7:48 AM in response to Alan Ivey

I am also having this issue with OS X 10.5.4 on both my laptop and tower.

In my experience sometimes the firewall exception rules get corrupted and your selections do not get memorized, even though they appear in the list in System Preferences. Sometimes deleting the rules and re-adding them is a fix.

I have also dealt with applications that cannot be added permanently no matter what you do. For example, with Transmission I can either allow the OS to enter the rule on first run after selecting 'Allow' or manually add the application in the preference pane but it will still prompt for Allow or Deny on every launch.

It's frustrating that this has not been fixed yet in 10.5.4.

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Answer 7

Ra_

Level 1

10 points

Jul 10, 2008 4:20 AM in response to Alan Ivey

I got the same problem.

But now it even happens with the new iTunes (7.7).
Of course I manually added iTunes to the firewall, setting to accept incomming connections but the message pops up on every launch, this is so annoying!

Is there a fix for this?

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Answer 8

Sep 11, 2008 4:09 PM in response to Ra_

i have the same issue, tried the same fixes with no luck. Even iChat asks me for permission the 1st time I launch it after a reboot. It definitely seems like the firewall is just ignoring the settings i've made for allowing specific apps. No one has a solution yet?

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Answer 9

Sep 16, 2008 5:55 AM in response to Alan Ivey

What seems to work most of the time is to go into System Preferences and manually remove the entries for any apps you are having trouble with. Then, when you open the apps in question answer the Deny/Allow question in the Finder. That preference seems to stick more often that adding entries manually.

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Answer 10

Sep 16, 2008 9:12 AM in response to Tom Cassel

Thanks, Tom. I'll give that a try and see if it works better.

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Answer 11

Oct 15, 2008 8:45 PM in response to Jeff Sobel

I'm having the same issue with Leopard 10.5.5 and iTunes 8.0.1 , anyone know of a fix yet? It's rather frustrating, I've tried removing and adding iTunes in my firewall permissions settings a few times.

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Answer 12

Dec 1, 2008 2:26 AM in response to Alan Ivey

I've got the same issue here. Only have four non-Apple programs running that are set in the Firewall preferences. Sometimes after a restart I get a dialog box asking if one of these should have access (not same one each time). Sometimes I get no dialog and the firewall simply blocks the app. Sometimes the firewall follows preference setting.

It's really a bit tedious / frustrating. Does anyone know if there is a fix (or even acknowledgement) of the issue yet?

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Answer 13

Dec 12, 2008 7:11 AM in response to Alan Ivey

This problem started a few months ago for me with iPhoto. Today, it started to affect iChat. I've looked for a relevant plist file, but I can not find one. I also tried the manual add, as well as repairing permissions. No luck so far.

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Answer 14

Jan 15, 2009 7:43 PM in response to discodonman

I don't know why this problem is flagged as solved. Nothing suggested here fixed it on my machine running 10.5.6.

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Answer 15

Jan 16, 2009 8:45 AM in response to Daphne Maurer

It is certainly not solved. Also, moving to 10.5.6 didn't help either.

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