Little Snitch 5 Released for macOS Big Sur With New Design, Improved Network Traffic Monitoring, and More
Austrian developer Objective Development today announced the release of Little Snitch 5, a major new version of its popular network monitoring utility on the Mac. Whenever an app attempts to connect to a server on the internet, Little Snitch shows a connection alert, allowing you to decide whether to allow or deny the connection.
The headline new feature of Little Snitch 5 is integration of new network filter technologies introduced in macOS Big Sur. Objective Development says the app's underlying engine was rebuilt to replace the previous kernel extension-based approach, which is no longer supported by macOS. The app has also been redesigned for macOS Big Sur.
Little Snitch 5 now captures connection information in the background. The app no longer requires the Network Monitor application to be running in order to collect this information, resulting in reduced memory and CPU consumption. The new monitoring system is now capable of holding traffic information from up to one year ago, versus one hour previously.
System administrators now have the ability to configure settings via a command line interface, making Little Snitch scriptable for the first time. This interface provides both historical and real-time log data of all network connections.
The app has also moved to drag-and-drop installation, meaning that restarting is no longer necessary for installation or updates.
Little Snitch 5 is available now on Objective Development's website for $45 per individual license. Existing customers who purchased Little Snitch 4 after November 1, 2019 can upgrade to Little Snitch 5 for free. Customers who purchased Little Snitch 4 prior to November 1, 2019 are able to purchase Little Snitch 5 for a reduced price of $25.
Little Snitch 5 requires macOS Big Sur. Users still running macOS Catalina or older can still purchase and run Little Snitch 4, which includes a free update to Little Snitch 5, giving users the freedom to choose when to upgrade.
Popular Stories
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below.
Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important.
Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped.
The new ...
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year.
Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
...
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out.
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas.
The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device.
The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
