Flying Buttress

What is Flying Buttress?

The Flying Buttress app offers advanced firewall configuration capabilities, addressing the needs of users who require more granular control over their network security. Unlike the simpler interface of Apple's built-in Firewall preferences, Flying Buttress provides a range of powerful features, including the ability to create firewall filters with specific qualifiers on host or network addresses, as well as filters that operate on protocols other than TCP or UDP. Users can also configure per-filter logging, with options to log allowed connections and exclude certain denied connections. The app supports NAT port forwarding and custom NAT configurations, as well as the ability to apply different filter settings to different network interfaces. Additionally, Flying Buttress offers a persistent, searchable firewall log entry database with a graphical log viewer, as well as scriptable control of the firewall through cron or other shell automation. Users can also access and easily edit the raw firewall configuration text, with an integrated ipfw filter syntax checker. The app further allows users to quickly and easily switch between different firewall configuration sets, providing a flexible and comprehensive solution for advanced network security management

Highlights

• Firewall filters with qualifiers on host or network addresses
• Firewall filters for protocols other than TCP or UDP
• Per-filter logging configuration, including logging of allowed connections and exclusion of certain denied connections
• NAT port forwarding and custom NAT configuration
• Different filter configurations on different network interfaces
• Persistent, searchable firewall log entry database with graphical log viewer
• Scriptable control of the firewall through cron or other shell automation
• Access and ability to edit the raw firewall configuration text, with an integrated ipfw filter syntax checker
• Ability to quickly switch between different firewall configuration sets