First dynamic firewall in beta test for Android

The app - WhisperMonitor - is now in an early beta and officially only available for the Google Nexus range of smartphones, but the plan is to expand the range of Android handsets the firewall supports, Infosecurity understands.

According to Moxie Marlinspike, the security researcher behind Whisper Systems, the monitors all network traffic leaving the Android smartphone and ask the user for instructions as regards filtering rules.

In use, WhisperMonitor is billed as providing a software firewall capable of dynamic egress filtering and real-time connection monitoring, giving users control over where their data is going and what their apps are doing.

"When enabled, WhisperMonitor will monitor all outbound network traffic and issue dynamic prompts in order to determine egress filter rules", says the app's information text.

Infosecurity notes there are three flavours of WhisperMonitor 0.3 currently available - a 64-bit Linux installer, an OS X installer, and a 64-bit Windows installer.

Once installed, the app is said to provide a simple interface to modify or update rules defined by application.

WhisperMonitor also optionally records the connection history of the software installed on the Android device, giving users "insight into where it is connecting and how often."

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