Firewall iP – blocks outgoing traffic

Author: Yllier  //  Category: Apps

Decide yourself, Security for your iPhone and iPod touch

Firewall iP is now available on CydiaStore for only $1.99.

Firewall iP allows you to block outgoing connections (TCP & UDP). It hooks into applications from AppStore and Cydia. Firewall iP will alert you if the app wants to establish a connection to a host and shows you the hostname. Then you have the options to allow/deny the connection once/always or allow/deny all connections for the application.

You can decide if the application will send data. Developers will no longer be able to collect stats about you (UDID, phone number, usage statistics…) or even collect personal data. With Firewall iP you can cover all app analytic providers which aren’t in PrivaCy and also custom analytics.

You can block some content too. Now you are the one who decides!

In the control app you can edit the rules for each 3rd party application as well as add new applications to the list. It also offers a switch to disable Firewall iP and a SBSettingsToggle for the same purpose.

Cydia itself is excluded for obvious reasons.

  • Block outgoing TCP & UDP connections selectively
  • Shows you the hostname for the connection
  • Block analytic providers which PrivaCy can’t
  • Block unneeded content
  • Easy to use interface & control app
  • Edit the rules you did set
  • Add apps manually
  • Low memory & CPU consumption

After installation and a respring it will start to monitor outgoing connections.

Detailed usage instructions by iClarified: how to use Firewall iP


BigBoss Authors: Mark Bruce & Kory Lee

Tags: , , ,

78 Responses to “Firewall iP – blocks outgoing traffic”

  1. DistortedLoop Says:

    A little confusing from the write up alone whether this will block iTunes Store apps as well, though the screenshots show it will do. Cool.

    Does it impact battery life or other performance factors?

  2. Yllier Says:

    battery life: no, it’s only active when a application with a graphic user interface is running.

    performance: no, not really. it doesn’t need much RAM. I designed it to use as few resources as possible.

  3. ZeroDegre Says:

    I bought this app since I think it will get better with time.

    Would it be possible to give us the ‘full’ control of the app?
    I mean, make it work with BigBoss apps & Cydia as well.

    I really can understand these guys need those ads to cover their cost, but since I pay for this, I would like to use it the way I want (And hide ads I’ll never click on) to improve some loading time.

    Apple Native Apps : ie the ones provided with the phone right?

    Because I tried one called “Savoir Innutile” and nothing pops-up when I ask it to update the database… It just make it fail.

    Thanks to the dev if you could answer me :)

    Great app anyway

  4. seb Says:

    Hi,

    Very great app. Works very good.
    I only have problem with ebay app… Ebay crash to springboard while firewall is activated.

    Good continuation on this great and very useful project.

  5. Yllier Says:

    this app works via code injection with MobileSubstrate. BigBoss uses special permission on his app which exclude it from code injection.

    about Cydia: The developer community really doesn’t want anybody to block ads in Cydia. And btw. you can be sure that Cydia doesn’t contact any bad hosts. after all it’s open source :)

  6. Yllier Says:

    I’m glad you like it. just add Ebay manually in the control app and then allow all connections. that should fix it till I release a new version.

    I will investigate the issue with Ebay.

    Firewall iP has been tested with many many apps, but it’s impossible to check every one available ;)

  7. Yllier Says:

    oh, and btw. Apple’s native apps are those which ship with the iPhone. but if there is enough demand I will open them in the next bigger revision (which will be 1.1)

  8. jam Says:

    Hi,

    thx for this app, but humm. o’m not sure to understand its utility ?
    Indeed, Sauryk (or others), added through cydia the option to block informations which were sent to bad guys… ??

  9. NonoKurd Says:

    From the perspective of being able to control ALL internet traffic, I think that this app is more than welcome. But since it does not allow to block effectively Apple native apps, I will wait until version 1.1 to purchase it. Two thumbs up on the wonderful idea!!! This app will allow to control your data cost if you’re on prepaid plan or your provider does not want to block all data on your iPhone.

  10. Yllier Says:

    Just for clarification: PrivaCy blocks traffic to 4 Analytics providers, but there are more. And yes, I’ll add support for Safari, Mail and the others when I release the 1.1 (because of the huge demand)

  11. Mark Says:

    Fabulous idea! Will purchase when it can block whatever I want. I want to block any and all apple applications. Firewalls should be as configurable as a user wants.

  12. Max Says:

    Odd, I don’t see it in the Cydia Store. It doesn’t turn up in search either. Any idea why?

  13. Nathulal Says:

    What would also be useful if have a set of user defined hosts which will always be allowed/disallowed for all applicaitons. So you dont have to approve/disapprove the same host for multiple apps. Then if we have problem we can go to the app level and override the all apps default setting.

    Nice app keep up the good work.

  14. Yllier Says:

    I’ll keep your suggestion in mind when I start working on 1.1 (now I need to work on minor updates so I can take care of the current issues). As you can imagine it’s quite hard to pull off such an app because it has to work with (almost) all apps.

  15. Yllier Says:

    you might not wanna do that, because then you won’t be able to recieve emails, buy apps in the mobile AppStore… ;)

  16. Anonymous Says:

    doesn’t work with dictionary.com even after manually adding the app to the approve list

  17. Yllier Says:

    That issue should be fixed with upcoming 1.01. Should be available in a few hours

  18. Yllier Says:

    iClarified has posted detailed instructions on how to use iFirewall iP:

    http://iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=5884

  19. Jerry Says:

    Excellent! The author of ‘Little Snitch’ on the Mac indicated a while back that a port of his app to the iPhone would not be a problem, but nothing happened since. So I’m very glad to see that Yllier decided to write this – well done!

  20. Rodion Says:

    Yes,yes, please add native apps support in next version!

  21. Michael Says:

    Dear Yllier<

    Many thanks for your excellent app!
    What we need in the next version-Apple Native Apps support.

  22. Ben Gillam Says:

    Hi Yiller :) great app purchased last night.

    Will support for incomming connection blocking be possible at some point, for example to block ssh or at least warn when a connection is attempted?

    Thanks

  23. Max Says:

    Yllier, or anyone else know?

  24. jam Says:

    ok great app.
    i bought it yesterday too, because it’s really a good thing.

    Well, i think a few more things would be good :
    - ability to export/import rules (for futur restore.. )
    - possibility to block/allow connection only during the session (until app is launch again)
    - allow wildcard for rules

    that’s all for the moment!

    i’m sur you’re full with work.. so, good luck, and thx again! :)

  25. Yllier Says:

    I’m really glad you all like the app. I’m going to implement more features in the next bigger release.

  26. Zanekills Says:

    I feel bad for the devs.. it’s blocking admob…

  27. Carbone Says:

    F*** admob,
    dont feel bad for something that clutters and slows your phone for other peoples personal profit.

  28. Yllier Says:

    This app was not intended to block ad provider. The devs need the revenue for a living and it also supports development of apps.

    But I didn’t whitelist ad-providers because it’s a firewall.

  29. wHoKares Says:

    sounds like a great app; only questions would be:

    does the firewall app in any way, shape or form affect teh battery drain? perhaps helps drain it faster?

    just wonderin’

  30. Yllier Says:

    this may be better answered by users, but my experience is it’s not

    the only case an app would respond a bit slower would be if you deny a connection and then it would constantly try to establish it.

  31. oscahie Says:

    Yllier,

    Does your firewall also block connections from processes running on background (ie. SBSettings, CylayDaemon, etc). I ask because I do have Cylay installed and after installing Firewall iP I had some issues with it, mainly I couldn’t locate my iPhone through the Cylay’s website, as if the push notifications were being blocked and therefore the daemon was not responding to the location requests. I added the Cylay configuration App (is separate from the daemon) to the exceptions list and after a few reboots now it seems to be working again…

  32. David Says:

    Where is the toggle graphics for Firewall IP for SBSettings. There is an icon, but the icon is empty? Is this a bug?

  33. Artem Eyzips Says:

    Here are the questions i have before i buy this app which is very promising:
    -will this app interfere with 3G unrestrictor, will it harm my ability to use skype while i am on 3g
    -Does it show when ANY app is connecting to internet while app is not active? (like the iphone is sleeping and suddenly something goes on line without me knowing, otherwise when i start app why do i need block it? (may be i am dumb and don’t get the concept)
    -what type of data app collect and how it is being used against me ( in other words why do we need this app) i am not being sarcastic by any means, i ask those questions respectfully, i like the idea of having firewall, i need to know why.
    Thank you very much.
    arteyzips@yahoo.com

  34. Anonymous Says:

    jam, Privacy (from saurik) does’t block everything, just collecting data from the big providers (and it doesn’t do stuff like blocking ads).

  35. Yllier Says:

    1. nope, it won’t interfere with 3G unrestrictor.

    2. despite the whole data collector thing this is also an issue: http://www.macworld.com/article/143047/2009/09/phone_hole.html?lsrc=rss_main

    when an app is running and the iPhone is sleeping you will only see the alert when you turn it on. till then the connection is blocked

    3. http://www.macworld.com/article/143047/2009/09/phone_hole.html?lsrc=rss_main and http://i-phone-home.blogspot.com/

  36. Rusty Shakleford Says:

    Does it drain battery with a constantly running app such as biteSMS’s quickreply. Seems like it has been

  37. Artem Eyzips Says:

    Thank you very much, this is great response and very useful and thoughtful app, it has been carefully crafted and well executed, i bouyght ir and i like it.

  38. David Says:

    I am experiencing some unusual behaviors:

    Even with the rules set to allow all connections, I find that a number of audio streaming app (such as ooTunes) will crash to springboard or give an “out of memory” error after running a period of time (ranging from half an hour to hours). If I have the firewall off, the crash does not happen.

    Can someone verify this?

    PS: Again, where is the SBSettings Toggle for Firewall IP? I can’t find it.

  39. Rusty Shakleford Says:

    The toggle is installed automatically. Try going to sbsettings/ set toggles and move rows. You should see it , move it on up then respring. I can answer my own question adn say I have noticed no battery drain with bitesms XD Thanks for the great app keep the updates comin

  40. David Says:

    Rusty, what is the graphic you see in the toggle? I can see the toggle all along. It is just that the toggle is just an empty space, and there is no graphic/icon inside it, like SSH or Wi-Fi logos for those toggles.

    Help?

  41. Yllier Says:

    about the toggle thing:
    I could have never designed an icon for each available SBS-Theme. 1. I’m no good gfx guy.
    2. doing the gfx would have probably cost more time than developing the toggle.
    3. each theme should have it’s own default image for toggles. if it doesn’t then it’s not following BigBoss’s rules:
    Blanks: Each theme must implement a blank on and off png icon. from here: http://thebigboss.org/guides/sbsettings-theme-creation/

    I hope the great gfx-guys who made the themes will make an toggle for Firewall iP too.

  42. Yllier Says:

    are those audio streeming apps running in background? can you please give me the name of all which are causing problems so I can investigate it.

    thanks

  43. Yllier Says:

    please compare with with firewall iP on and off. and don’t forget to install Firewall iP 1.1. Lots of small issues have been fixed

  44. David Says:

    Yllier,

    I tried the app BOTH running normally and running in the background. It appears that the app crashes faster if running in the background than in the foreground.

    The most troublesome one is Tuner Internet Radio (TIR). The second most troublesome one is ooTunes. In both cases, if I have the Firewall turned OFF before I start the apps, then the apps run normally.

    Also, is the toggle for Firewall supposed to have NO graphics (i.e., just a blank square)? Is this odd?

  45. Yllier Says:

    strange, have posted this a while ago, but it doesn’t appear.

    The toggle has no gfx because I can’t make an icon for every theme out there. that’s the job for the themers.

    if I would do it it would take me longer than coding the toggle ;)

    each theme should have default icons (one for on and one for off) for toggles. if it doesn’t have it then it’s not following the rules for SBS-Themes which can be found here: http://thebigboss.org/guides/sbsettings-theme-creation/

  46. Yllier Says:

    my post about theming is number29.

    abou the apps: please add them manually in the control app and disable FiP for them by using the switch in the top bar (v1.1, available on cydia).

    I will get those apps and see what can be done

  47. David Says:

    Yiller,

    Using the new 1.1 new features fixed the app crash problem of streaming apps, as long as the app is not being used in the background (using backgrounder).

    IHeartRadio is also experiencing some problem, in that it takes a LONG LONG time for the station list to appear if the firewall is turned on (though it will function afterward), whereas it only takes a few secs to load up if the firewall is turned off.

    I supposed this is a workaround, though I suspect the underlying problem still exists.

    As a suggestion, perhaps you can make an icon JUST for bigboss’s default theme for your app, since the VAST VAST majority of people will just use bigboss’s default sbsettings toggle anyway. This way, it will be minimal work but will cover the majority of users.

    Good app you made, I must say. My second paid Cydia app (after iBlacklist).

  48. iPhoneaddicted Says:

    I just bought it and it is great : )
    but you should update the price on Cydia
    2.49 $ US

  49. Condor Says:

    Well, the program looks good but in version 1.1 you can’t block connections from Cydia/Icy/Rock and this mean when some programs are in white list may be other unwanted apps or hosts also are in white list. Well definite i feel disappointed.

  50. Erik Says:

    suggestion: additional feature would be to add a bandwidth meter for the chosen app. just like the default data usage counter of the iphone.

    thanks

  51. Erik Says:

    also please check ninja assassin.. the program will stop working before the menu.. the workaround is to add the game first in firewall ip to allow all connections then later deny all. thanks

  52. Johhny Quest Says:

    Hey I’m having issues with the latest version, causing my phone app to crash and sometimes not be running at all. Get messages on the lockscreen about an at&t connection and sometimes am not able to make a decision phone locks up. Downgrading to older version in the mean time but please fix the phone issue.

  53. Johhny Quest Says:

    EDIT Ok someone tells me I blocked visual voicemail on one of the popups they say its port 5400 and thats causing my issue. Only problem is, mobile phone isn’t listed in firewall ip apps so I cant re allow the connection nor do I see it in my global deny or anywhere else for that matter. How do I re-enable the connection? IMO that connection should not be allowed to be blocked because this is a pretty serious issue. Cannot find a support site so let me know where I should be asking this PLEASE

  54. Jack Says:

    Confused, there’s an updated version on rock but not one on cydia. Also looking for support site.

  55. Fred Says:

    It would be great if you could choose to block routes like EDGE or WIFI. That way you would be able to block the apps to go through EDGE and not to WIFI. You would also be able to create an exeption to allow MMS to use EDGE connection.

  56. Stephen Says:

    I updated to the latest version and my phone keeps trying to connect to 172.16.46.167. It’s not a specific app that keeps trying to connect to this address. It’s just the phone in general. I tapped “deny once” and the phone still works fine so I assume this it’s safe to permanently block this ip? i looked up the address on DNS stuff but couldn’t find much. Anyone getting the same thing? Have any idea what it is?

  57. Stephen Says:

    Also like to note that wifi is off, so it’s not my home network or anything.

  58. Erik Says:

    please implement import/export of global deny/global allow list.

  59. Jim Says:

    Does “global allow/deny” rules override apps that have “allow all connections”?

  60. DJAnik Says:

    After installing this app I faced very weird problem. Iphone is failing to wakeup after being idle for sometime. It is not able to receive any calls or messages. I need to reboot it regularly to make the iphone active again… I am not sure whether this is due firewall ip, but this is the only app which i installed in this week. and only after that this problem started. May be this is useful to dev to debug it.

  61. DJAnik Says:

    BTW I am having 2g running on 3.0 version. and I can see all signal bars. Main thing is when I am unlocking my cell it shows all signal bars but still can not receive the call. I need to reboot the cell completely.

  62. Jim Says:

    this prog wasn’t running correctly for me when I was on 3.0 but I didn’t have any issues after updating to 3.1.2., not sure if updating would solve the problem for you though.

  63. Anonymous Says:

    Show on the creen

  64. Junior Says:

    Have been googling a lot of reviews before finally purchasing the app. After trying it for one day, all i can say is “I F..KING LOVE IT!!” have highly recommended to my buddies. Good development guys! Will definitely support for future development. Development cost time n money, please dont leech.

    Have not encountered the above mentioned conflicts so far…

    Cheers!

  65. Junior Says:

    Hi Yiller,
    my firewall ip hav been workin fine till recently, i was unable to access most app(safari, mail, etc) except for cydia and rock. I tried allowing all connections but dun seem to wrk untill i uninstalled. I reinstalled but same prob. Tried rebooting after uninstall then install but same problem is occuring. Any suggestions? Im on 3gs 3.1.2.

  66. Alex Says:

    hi yiller,

    i’m a legitimate user. since upgrading to 1.3.x, i am unable to view the detailed rules for “always allow” and “always deny”. it would just close the program.

    btw, there is a spelling error in the program. it was spelt as “allways deny”.

    thanks mate!

  67. Alex Says:

    It is fixed in 1.35. Thanks!

  68. Ryan Aslett Says:

    So I bought firewall ip hoping the log files would contain more than the domain name and port. Is there a way to dial up the logging to contain the entire http request? Thankx

    Ryan

  69. Treb Says:

    I bought this app expecting it to be able to block ads on 4chan [found in subdirectories of static.4chan.org/support/*] and it is unable to block them. I am only able to block the hostname which then causes formatting errors. I don’t understand how the program is not be able to do this…

  70. John D Says:

    I installed Firewall IP and now ever since I installed Words with Friends, friewall ip doesn’t seem to work as well. It really doesn’t seem to work with Words w/Friends. It keeps on asking what to do but never seems to acknowledge my input by continuing to ask the same requests. I uninstalled firewall ip and reinstalled but it still doesn’t work. When I open the firewall ip itself, it crashes every time 2 seconds after installing. My question is…how can I COMPLETELY uninstall ALL of the firewall IP files,logs, sys files, etc.. and start completely fresh, even where it asks for my input on all my other apps, not just new ones??

    Thanks

  71. John D Says:

    I meant it crashes 2 seconds after I open the actual Firewall Ip app via the flame icon. Btw…yllier, this Is an awesome app!! Thanks

  72. Armand T Says:

    heyy bigboss i purchased this app from the cydia store the payment is already processed but the purchase button did NOT turn into “install” for me and it still hasent yet

    any suggestions?

  73. daz Says:

    dont have facebook or google for confirmation and payment on iphone….is there another way to pay for it and download it??

  74. joebobby Says:

    Yeah, this App is freaking awesome!!! (Seen it on a friends iPhone)

    Wish i could get it but i am searching for another way to pay for it too…:(

  75. phillee4473 Says:

    Love this app. Useful for blocking information that I don’t want to get out. Also useful to determine where apps are going without permission… :D Kills/discovers ads that I haven’t blocked with host file.

  76. mogi Says:

    This app is the one of the best cydia apps you will ever get! It manages your in going and out going internet traffic so it is good to save data, it can also block ads!

  77. someone Says:

    Is it possible to see the exact link that an app is trying to connect to, instead of just the hostname?

  78. Jojo Lapin Says:

    Wanted to buy this app on Cydia, no way! The paypal page font display is too small, and no zoom is available! so I cannot read the text and cannot pay. The amazon.com page “sign in” button does not respond… it does not work. I could not sign in and pay. PLEASE: ASK Cydia devs TO FIX THIS otherwise there is no way to buy apps!
    The problem has been reported on several forum, with no solution.
    IOS 4.1
    iPhone 3 GS

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