Automatically limit network activity on Mac when tethered to iPhone

benjer

I occasionally use my iPhone to tether when I'm in a pinch. Since I don't have an unlimited plan, I typically turn off some potential data hoggers on my Mac, such as Dropbox. However, are there any utilities that would let me only allow certain network activities on my Mac when I switch it on. For instance, could I tell my Mac to only let Safari and Mail access the Internet for a short period of time?

On a side note, am I the only one that finds it difficult to search the new(ish) AI forums?

kevin kee

Have you checked this?

Speed Limit (not maintained as of 2014)

Throttled (only 10.4.x - 10.8.x)

Waterroof (10.7): http://www.hanynet.com/waterroof/

IceFloor (10.8): http://www.hanynet.com/icefloor/

For those on 10.7 or newer, the easiest solution to the bandwidth limiting part of the question is Apple's Network Link Conditioner (NLC), a free utility that was originally included with Xcode. Then Apple got all sandbox-happy, so now it's a separate download from Apple's developer web site, called the Hardware IO Tools for Xcode. The important points going for NLC are that it's from Apple, it's got a very straightforward UI, and it works. Some of the other suggestions given in other answers fail some or all of these criteria, particularly in failing to work on newer OSes.

edited October 2016

benjer

For those on 10.7 or newer, the easiest solution to the bandwidth limiting part of the question is Apple's Network Link Conditioner (NLC), a free utility that was originally included with Xcode. Then Apple got all sandbox-happy, so now it's a separate download from Apple's developer web site, called the Hardware IO Tools for Xcode. The important points going for NLC are that it's from Apple, it's got a very straightforward UI, and it works. Some of the other suggestions given in other answers fail some or all of these criteria, particularly in failing to work on newer OSes.

Thanks! I downloaded the tools and am using the NLC. At the very least, I can have peace of mind that I'm not accidentally burning through GBs of data when I tether because I forgot to turn off Dropbox or something. Most of the 3rd party tools I can find have various drawbacks and are harder to use.