Mac network monitor: name the app, then deny it
The deploy is still running. The menu bar says the link is busy. A new host shows up, and the speed number has no process name on it.
That is the search behind a Mac network monitor this week. Two other apps answered it, and they almost share our name. One puts a live rate in the menu bar. One is a paid firewall that, from 8 November, starts a new install by watching. Network Monitor is the third answer: a list of processes, a map, and an allow-or-deny alert on the Mac you SSH from.
The rate is the easy number
A menu-bar meter earns its place when a backup fills the pipe or a download stalls. You glance up, you see the rate, you wait it out. The open-source app called NetworkMonitor, by kevinabouhanna, is built for that glance. Its OpenDMG page, with version 1.30.2 on 11 November 2026, describes live network speed and a daily data total per app. The page says the app is free, under Apache-2.0, and sends no telemetry. It also says you can see who every app talks to, and block ads, trackers, and any app's connections.
The 1.30.2 notes are the part worth reading twice. They cover keyboard and VoiceOver focus. PatakoLabs did not publish 1.30.2. If the version number is why you landed here, the change on that page is focus. The speed meter was already the product.
Outbound spends the first session learning
Outbound 1.4.2 came out on 8 November 2026, build 89. The changelog says a new install starts in Learn mode. Setup skips approval prompts and notification prompts. The permission for notifications comes after setup. Traffic can flow while you watch, and the questions arrive later. That is a real choice of posture, and it is the line in 1.4.2 that changes how the first hour feels.
The rest of the notes are smaller. The window is narrower. The notch island stays closed when the pointer passes near the notch. An Intelligence Test for Claude Code and other coding agents works again. Allowing one connection clears the other waiting alerts for that site. If an app keeps retrying a blocked server, the island stays quiet for ten minutes, and Outbound's own connection list still records every retry. The build is signed with a Developer ID, notarised, and needs a licence key. The changelog sends you to a pricing page. This post leaves that price on their page.
Outbound asks for macOS 14 or later. Learn mode is their setup. On the PatakoLabs app the filter stays off until you approve the network extension. After that, the posture is a menu-bar choice you make yourself.
One alert, then a city
Take the same deploy on Network Monitor. Connections group by app, with the host, the address, the port, the protocol, and the rule that already applies. The inspector shows the path of the binary. The first time that process reaches out, the alert has four answers: once, for 15 minutes, until the app quits, or forever.
Then the map. An arc runs from this Mac to the server. Cities sit in three piles — allowed, ask, and denied — and choosing a city shows who is talking to it. The city comes from a database stored on the Mac. No IP address leaves the machine for the lookup. The page credits DB-IP, under CC BY 4.0.
A tighter rule wins. When two rules are equally tight, deny wins. One new rule can clear every queued alert it already covers. Tracker lists, whether a hosts file, a domain list, or Adblock format, deny known trackers for every app at once.
The menu bar holds the posture. Alert asks every time. Silent Allow and Silent Deny decide with no prompt. Those modes are decisions. A speed graph and a daily byte total live on the other app's page.
The public notes are still version 1.0, dated 29 October 2026. This week added no release. The page asks for macOS 15, Sequoia, or later, which is a step above Outbound's macOS 14 line. Rules and connection history stay on the Mac. There is no account and no analytics.
The filter turns on from /Applications: Settings, then Filter, then Install and Enable Filter, then approve it under System Settings, General, Login Items and Extensions. The support guide walks through that once.
The download is the missing piece
The product page says a public Mac App Store listing and a direct download are still absent. The support guide and the privacy policy are what that page says are ready for the listing. This post has no download link, because the page has none.
A speed question belongs on the 11 November open-source page. A "let it run while I watch" install belongs on Outbound's changelog. A "name the process and deny it on the deploy Mac" question belongs on the list, the map, and the four-way alert.