If your Mac is connected to the Internet or a network, there may be a number of attempts being made by others to see who is connected to the network. If you would like to remain invisible and would prefer that your Mac not be detected when a discovery attempt takes place, you can use an option located in the Firewall app on your Mac that makes it literally invisible on the network so any discovery attempts cannot find it.
The option that I am talking about is called Stealth Mode. It lets you make your Mac a little more secure by not letting it respond to any discovery attempts.
You do not need a third-party app as the feature is available right within the Firewall app. Here’s how you can use it.
Turning on Stealth Mode
1. Click on the Apple logo in the top-left corner, and select the option that says “System Preferences …” to be taken to the system settings.
2. On the system settings panel, click on the option that says “Security & Privacy.”
3. Click on the “Firewall” tab on the screen that follows.
4. If the Firewall is not enabled on your Mac, you need to first enable it. To do so, click on the lock icon in the bottom panel, enter in your admin password, and then click the option that says “Turn On Firewall.”
5. Once you have enabled the Firewall, a button called “Firewall Options …” should appear on your screen. Click on it.
6. When the Firewall Options panel opens, you will find a couple of settings. There should be an option called “Enable stealth mode” on the panel. Tick-mark the box for that option, and then click on “OK.”
7. Stealth Mode should now be enabled.
From now on your Mac will not respond to any discovery attempts that take place on the Internet or on your network, and those people pushing the attempts wI’ll not be able to find your Mac provided the Stealth Mode remains enabled.
For network troubleshooting or any other reason, if you wish to turn off Stealth Mode, you can do so by going into the Firewall Options and unchecking the checkbox that you selected in the previous steps.
Conclusion
Keeping your Mac safe is a top-most priority task, and if you are concerned about it, you can enable the above little feature that takes care of any attempts to find your Mac on the network you are connected to. All attempts to find your Mac will be in vain!
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Mahesh Makvana
Mahesh Makvana is a freelance tech writer who’s written thousands of posts about various tech topics on various sites. He specializes in writing about Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android tech posts. He’s been into the field for last eight years and hasn’t spent a single day without tinkering around his devices.
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