OStatic

Ok, so, I decided to turn on the firewall on the mac after installing Leopard. I set the mode to "Set Access For Specific Services". I added in the apps I thought would need access from the outside. Here is what I observed:

1) Most apps, if they need access, throw up a prompt, and I can add them to the control list.
2) Some apps, like Skype, fail silently (grrrr!!!)

The skype icon bounces a couple of times and then fails silently. No errors, no prompts, no requests for access - nothing. Looking at the console log showed a cryptic message - "Check 1 failed. Can't run Skype". The firewall log gave us some clues.

So, is there a way to get skype to run WITH the firewall? How vulnerable is the machine (say, at Starbucks, where I have no router firewall protection) without a firewall?