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VPN recommendations for entire Mac_iOS system

gugy

gugy

macrumors 601
Original poster
Hi,
I am looking into a VPN recommendations for entire Mac and iOS devices. It doesn't need to be free, but of course if the best alternative is free, even better.
I am wondering if I can pay a monthly subscription that entails all my devices. Thanks
 
I heard of Avast. Looks like a reputable company.
Also, Hotspot Shield has a lot of positive reviews.
 
Last edited:
gugy said:
Hi,
I am looking into a VPN recommendations for entire Mac and iOS devices. It doesn't need to be free, but of course if the best alternative is free, even better.
I am wondering if I can pay a monthly subscription that entails all my devices. Thanks
Click to expand...

I belive that you can pay a monthly subscription that entails all your devices for most your VPNS - they allow more than one device - however, if you really want a vpn that is decent I would either recommend PIA and basically a VPN based on the fact tha:

1) it doesn't log your activity - cause if it does you might as ewll not use a VPN
2) to some extent the VPN's location is important, to the extent that location determines/affects the vpn's ability to keep your stuff privacy
3) IF YOU are looking to P2P do they allow it? Do they allow port forwarding (less important) etc

But really on of the best resource to consult for VPN is daam daam: https://thatoneprivacysite.net/

oh and i personally would not recommend either tunnelbear or hotspot...
 
I had tunnelbear for 1 year and have now nordvpn you can get 79dollar 2 years...
Both works fine.
 
I use Keep Solid's VPN Unlimited. Infinity lifetime is $150 but occasionally it's even less. It occasionally stops connecting but I just pick a different city and it kicks in. Does the job.
 
gugy said:
Thanks.
Interesting to see this resource.
This is such a grey area. It's hard to trust any company according to their reviews.
Click to expand...

Right...reviews and quality of service can change overnight for this type of thing.

That VPN comparison site is great. However, an important facet missing from the spreadsheet is whether or not there is a "kill switch" for their service. A "kill switch", when enabled by the user (check box or such in the app’s Preferences), disables all internet access for the computer if the VPN connection fails, thus avoiding IP exposure and exposure to your ISP in such a situation.

Tunnelblick, commonly the only way for Mac users to connect to a VPN service's OpenVPN protocol, does NOT have a kill switch.

For Mac users I'd recommend getting a VPN service that has a dedicated Mac connection app with a kill switch.
 
There's also BufferedVPN.

I have it and tunnelbear.

Just to throw this out, TunnelBear doesn't allow torrents if that would be a dealbreaker for anyone.
 
BrianBaughn said:
Right...reviews and quality of service can change overnight for this type of thing.

That VPN comparison site is great. However, an important facet missing from the spreadsheet is whether or not there is a "kill switch" for their service. A "kill switch", when enabled by the user (check box or such in the app’s Preferences), disables all internet access for the computer if the VPN connection fails, thus avoiding IP exposure and exposure to your ISP in such a situation.

Tunnelblick, commonly the only way for Mac users to connect to a VPN service's OpenVPN protocol, does NOT have a kill switch.

For Mac users I'd recommend getting a VPN service that has a dedicated Mac connection app with a kill switch.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more.

First, it is a grey area - for me it helped me choose who I almost definitely did not want to subscribe with. And as to choose who you like to subscribe with, that's still area as you OP and BrianBaughn mentioned.

Second, I agree with KillSwitch, ask/check VPN providers if they have that. However, In addition to KillSwitch I use Little Snitch as my killswitch, to get double security sort of/make it more fail-proof...
 
I use Private Internet Access and am extremely happy with the service and their support.

Native Mac OS and iOS apps are available, and many of the PIA endpoints support Port-forwarding and P2P use too.

Costs me about $40 or so for a year, which is peanuts for the value and security.
 
I use both torguard and expressVPN both very good (and ExpressVPN lets you watch US Netflix in the UK) 🙂
 
In regards to the kill switch and PIA, does the switch only kill internet for the user using PIA? I am in a household where I am the only one using a VPN. The others are unsecured Windows heathens.
 
Windscribe, works really well, with pelnty of locations to choose from. There was a deal $12 for a year.
 
ExpressVPN. They have an app or you can manually config your devices. And if you use the app there is a kill-switch function.
 
fhall1 said:
I'll second PIA - I've been using them for 3 years now on my Mac and iOS devices
Click to expand...
Does PIA affect your connection speeds? Also, do you know how many devices you can use at the same time?
Thanks
 
It does - but most folks probably wouldn't notice it. I am lucky enough to be in one of the TWCMaxx areas they built out before becoming Spectrum. So without the VPN enabled I get approx 320Mbps down and 22 Mbps up. With the VPN connected I get approx 100Mbps down and 22Mbps up. If you had standard 100Mbs or 60Mbps service you would probably not notice much of a decrease in download speed.

They allow 5 concurrent connections.
 
fhall1 said:
It does - but most folks probably wouldn't notice it. I am lucky enough to be in one of the TWCMaxx areas they built out before becoming Spectrum. So without the VPN enabled I get approx 320Mbps down and 22 Mbps up. With the VPN connected I get approx 100Mbps down and 22Mbps up. If you had standard 100Mbs or 60Mbps service you would probably not notice much of a decrease in download speed.

They allow 5 concurrent connections.
Click to expand...
wow, that's a big decrease. I get from TWC 100/150mbps. So I guess would be OK.
If I understand correct, I can always cut (kill switch?) the VPN if I need to download/upload huge files and get the max speed.
 
Yes - it's easy to disconnect on a Mac - there's an icon in the menu bar - you click on it and select "Disconnect"
 
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