artie, I have just finished printing the LS PDF (56 pages) some which don't concern me and some do seem a little formidable. You were right, I have been inundated with what to deny or allow. Apps like itunes, iphoto, and software I have purchased, are they safe to click 'forever'? One item that came up more than once,is CRSUD-swscan.apple.com which when I googled it has different opinions about allowing. I couldn't find a definitive answer. Do you have a rule of thumb regarding whether to allow or deny. There are several images in the PDF that I don't know how to access.
I've started this thread in response to jaybass's quoted (off-topic) post elsewhere.
First, remember that no LS rule is final, so if you goof, you can always undo your mistake; it's a pain, but better safe....
My basic approach, then, is to be fully aware of what
belongs on my deuced Mac(hina), to question anything unfamiliar, and to avoid complicating my life, and with that in mind...
1. I allow all Apple and 3rd party apps to check for updates "Forever". (I had three different Apple items at one time.) Requests by 3rd party apps aren't always identified as update checks, but if I've selected the option in the app's preferences and the connection is to the developer's website, I'm satisfied.
2. I've gotten a bunch of requests from both Apple and 3rd party apps for UDP connections via nmblookup to port 137; they deal with LAN functionality, and I've denied them all forever. (The
only app connections I allow are
apparently benign ones to developers' websites.)
3. I deny "Forever" all connection requests for things I either know or think I know that I've got neither need nor desire for. (Location services, Dashboard, and the iTunes Store are examples.)
4. I'm very wary of connection requests emanating from browsers, and I automatically deny "Until Quit" all such requests. (That may be an exaggeration, but I can't imagine why at the moment.) This may be unwarranted paranoia, but I prefer that websites be complete in and of themselves, and I've often closed pages without seeing what I was looking for rather than allow connections (and either searched for a different site with the same info or passed on it).
I hope you find this helpful, and I hope others kick in with all that I've forgotten, overlooked, and gotten wrong.
(Please clarify "
images that [you] don't know how access".)