Important
While enabling the firewall in system preferences for other security reasons it does NOT firewall down SSH.
The Mac firewall will prevent the following ports from being accessed from off campus (unless connected via vpn):
- ssh
- VNC
- sunrpc
- net-assistant
- mdns
- mysql
- telnet
- ftp
- SMB
- Print Sharing
- AFP
- NFS
The firewall configuration in mac is a bit more complicated and requires an assessment of the system to ensure enabling the firewall does not impact functionality. It also requires setting up a launch daemon to ensure the firewall stays on after reboots or connections using VPN. This installer: https://utexas.box.com/v/cns-pf-firewall takes care of the work, but we recommend submitting a ticket to The CNS help desk if you need assistance.