Little Snitch's Secret Weapon: Precisely Controlling Safari's Search Helper

While configuring Little Snitch on a new Mac, the author discovered Safari's search helper process silently connecting to Google's ssl.gstatic.com. Changing the search engine or blocking the connection worked, but the latter interfered with Gmail authentication. The solution? A clever Little Snitch rule using the 'via' function, blocking only the search helper's connection while allowing Safari itself, showcasing a powerful, little-known feature. This highlights a subtle but significant aspect of browser-search engine background communication.