[launchd-dev] feature request - determine if a port/socket has been created/opened.

[dev.admin at ntlworld.com]

Dev,

Impressive as launchd is, I would like to suggest
a feature request.

Recently, I was looking into the possibilities of
writing a LaunchDaemon that would essentially be
a first line of defense against trojans, with
minimal disruption and maximum effectiveness. In
essence a launchd firewall.

The idea was to monitor if a list of ports were
opened and if they were, then to ideally close the
port, or alternatively, down the network connection.

Originally, I tried using the Sockets -> Listeners
properties but that just created sockets which then
forced a network down state.

In this particular example, I would require launchd
to be able to monitor whether a port or list of ports
were opened and then to initiate a response. Keeping
with current syntax, an extension to the Sockets
property with 'Monitors' or something similar.

I can appreciate that this request is diluting the
original intention of launchd, but I've communicated
with other users and it seems to be that others are
finding uses for launchd beyond it's original purpose.

Andrew.