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Best VPN for Mac

craigyy said:
Hi All,
I've been having a lot of people tell me nowadays for security it is best to use a VPN when online, I've tried a few free ones which seem to slow my speeds to a snails pace, I'm reluctant to try a paid for one in case it does the same.
Are there any ones considered the best at the moment?
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Free VPNs usually drops down your speed due to excessive server loads. They have limited VPN servers which fail to accommodate an extensively large number of customers trying to connect their VPN. Geographical restrictions over websites and censorships placed by governments can be really painful whether you are using a Mac or some other device.

I was also suggested to use a VPN on Mac for the sake of online security and online freedom. I performed a thorough analysis and ended up downloading ExpressVPN on my Mac. https://www.vpnanalysis.com/5-best-vpns-for-mac/
It works like a charm. I do not experience any significant speed issues with it and hardly miss any of my HBO or Netflix shows ;)
 
Brandon Hobart said:
I was also suggested to use a VPN on Mac for the sake of online security and online freedom. I performed a thorough analysis and ended up downloading ExpressVPN on my Mac. https://www.vpnanalysis.com/5-best-vpns-for-mac/
It works like a charm. I do not experience any significant speed issues with it and hardly miss any of my HBO or Netflix shows ;)
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Don't trust any sites like the one linked by this user. They are either run by the VPN companies themselves, or they are effectively advertising sites with the owners collecting click through fees. You will find they all look fairly similar. They do not include an in depth and fair comparison of VPN providers.

The only site I have found to be effective is https://thatoneprivacysite.net There may be others, but this is the only one I could easily find.

EDIT 18/11/20: I can no longer confidently recommend this site as unbiased. They have recently sold their content to another company which has advertising disguised as ‘Top Ten lists’.
 
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steve23094 said:
Don't trust any sites like the one linked by this user. They are either run by the VPN companies themselves, or they are effectively advertising sites with the owners collecting click through fees. You will find they all look fairly similar. They do not include an in depth and fair comparison of VPN providers.
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Yea, I respect your opinion and I think that you are absolutely right at your side. But, let me clear that I only intend to share my experience of using VPNs and the source from where I got one. I also went through the link which you have shared but I discovered that both of the sites contain almost similar contents and reviews that can be trusted. It is an online open forum for every user. Nobody is meant to object anyone's comments over here. Every thread may get many comments and several opinions. Now it is upon you whom you trust or not.
 
Brandon Hobart said:
I also went through the link which you have shared but I discovered that both of the sites contain almost similar contents and reviews that can be trusted.
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The site I linked and yours are not equivalent.

I have done some digging around with a number of these sites and they all have similarities which add up to my conclusion that they are marketing tools and therefore do not give a fair and balanced review of VPNs. Often the quality of journalism is poor in places e.g. poor spelling and grammar. The 'journalists' don't appear to exist anywhere else on the internet. The content doesn't provide much in depth detail about the VPN providers. The recommended VPNs are often the same list of five or so, seemingly randomly shuffled around in ranking. They have click through links to the provider and undoubtedly receive a fee for referral. When you dig down through the domain owner details they are often very suspicious.

The site you linked is associated with 'thepro marketing', so that puts the final nail in their coffin.

The site I linked does not exhibit these criteria. In fact it has a lot in it's favour, including a lot more detail about providers, being referenced on a number reputable news sites, being very critical of some services and including referrals and links to other non-commercial privacy orientated sites.

Brandon Hobart said:
Nobody is meant to object anyone's comments over here.
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That is incorrect. MacRumors has rules for appropriate debate. https://macrumors.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201327723
 
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steve23094 said:
This site I linked and yours are not equivalent.
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Oh, bro! I did not say that both the sites are equivalent. I just said that both of them have a similar type of ideas that can be trusted because the VPN I bought from this site meets my expectations.
I'm pretty much convinced about your views about these sites. I know that there are a number of sites particularly listing the top five VPNs in the market. But, I don't know everyone of that works on the same strategy that you have talked about.
The reason for me to share the info here is that I have recently purchased ExpressVPN from the above-mentioned site. And I had been given a special discount because of the Black Friday deals. So, if they have got any money from my click, then why my account info seems to be correct to me? I mean, there is no any particular loss of money then how do they receive any money from my click?
 
Brandon Hobart said:
Oh, bro! I did not say that both the sites are equivalent. I just said that both of them have a similar type of ideas that can be trusted because the VPN I bought from this site meets my expectations.
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Just because the VPN you chose happens to meet your expectations it doesn't mean the site you referenced can be trusted to provide a balanced review for all the reasons I have already raised. It's far from independent.

Brandon Hobart said:
The reason for me to share the info here is that I have recently purchased ExpressVPN from the above-mentioned site. And I had been given a special discount because of the Black Friday deals. So, if they have got any money from my click, then why my account info seems to be correct to me? I mean, there is no any particular loss of money then how do they receive any money from my click?
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You misunderstand how click through advertising works. Wikipedia has some articles which will explain it for you.
 
Windscribe had a delicious Lifetime deal a few weeks back so I jumped on it and haven't looked back.
 
Gabrielanicolao said:
So can you tell me what are the purposes of VPN because I have read on so many forums that VPN also works to stop hackers from spying the data.
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If you want to know how a VPN works and when to use it there are lots of resources on the web with explanations. Or you could start a new thread (otherwise I fear this one could spiral off topic). This thread is predominantly for helping someone choose a VPN, not why.
 
steve23094 said:
If you want to know how a VPN works and when to use it there are lots of resources on the web with explanations. Or you could start a new thread (otherwise I fear this one could spiral off topic). This thread is predominantly for helping someone choose a VPN, not why.
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OK, thanks I understand but can you tell me which VPN is good because I look to switch towards a quality Mac VPN
 
Gabrielanicolao said:
OK, thanks I understand but can you tell me which VPN is good because I look to switch towards a quality Mac VPN
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That's a difficult question, there isn't one 'best' VPN. I recommend you look at the link I posted earlier in the thread, it compares lots of VPNs over lots of different criteria.

I use Private Internet Access. It's fairly good but there are some issues. Their iOS app isn't particularly great but I help mitigate that by using the app OpenVPN Connect. I don't use their macOS app either, I use Viscosity but that costs additional money. Sometimes PIA's London servers experience slowdown (probably overloaded) but not all the time. Overall I would mark PIA 3.75 out of 5.

When my PIA sub ends I might look at a different supplier. I'm considering NordVPN, I like the fact they are based in Panama. For me being out of the legal clutches of prying governments is important. So you see your decision will depend on what is important to you.
 
I think the best solution is to buy a NAS and set up a VPN at home, so you can connect when you are elsewhere. The Sinology NAS and routers work like a charm.
 
dollystereo said:
I think the best solution is to buy a NAS and set up a VPN at home, so you can connect when you are elsewhere. The Sinology NAS and routers work like a charm.
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And that achieves a completely different result, namely (hopefully) secure access to your LAN when remote not anonymising your internet access.
 
steve23094 said:
That's a difficult question, there isn't one 'best' VPN. I recommend you look at the link I posted earlier in the thread, it compares lots of VPNs over lots of different criteria.

I use Private Internet Access. It's fairly good but there are some issues. Their iOS app isn't particularly great but I help mitigate that by using the app OpenVPN Connect. I don't use their macOS app either, I use Viscosity but that costs additional money. Sometimes PIA's London servers experience slowdown (probably overloaded) but not all the time. Overall I would mark PIA 3.75 out of 5.

When my PIA sub ends I might look at a different supplier. I'm considering NordVPN, I like the fact they are based in Panama. For me being out of the legal clutches of prying governments is important. So you see your decision will depend on what is important to you.
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I understand. Do you know about ExpressVPN and PureVPN because I just read about VPN for Mac in the discussion, it recommends ExpressVPN and PureVPN. Have you ever experienced these 2 or can you rate them?

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dollystereo said:
I think the best solution is to buy a NAS and set up a VPN at home, so you can connect when you are elsewhere. The Sinology NAS and routers work like a charm.
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Can you please tell me what is NAS and how it works? because I'm looking for a reliable solution.
 
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dpavid said:
Started with HMA and switched to ExpressVPN a couple years ago.
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Thank you for sharing your experience but I also want to know about PureVPN because I read many opinion but some are positives and some are negatives.

Do you have ever experience PureVPN or your friends?
 
craigyy said:
Hi All,
I've been having a lot of people tell me nowadays for security it is best to use a VPN when online, I've tried a few free ones which seem to slow my speeds to a snails pace, I'm reluctant to try a paid for one in case it does the same.
Are there any ones considered the best at the moment? I don't really want to pay through the nose maybe like 30-40 GBP a year.
Many Thanks,
Click to expand...

Most home routers nowadays offer a VPN option. When I am on a questionable wifi network I make a VPN connection home and browse from there. This is not suitable for heavy use but for occasional mailing and browsing it works fine. And it is free.
 
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Gabrielanicolao said:
I understand. Do you know about ExpressVPN and PureVPN because I have just saw a link in posted in the discussion by Brandon Hobart in the start of the second and in that list he recommended ExpressVPN and PureVPN. Have you ever experienced these 2 or can you rate them.
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Can you please tell me what is NAS and how it works? because I'm looking for a reliable solution.
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A good router or a NAS (network attached server) like the one I have DS216J, provide VPN solution that work fast and are very reliable. As Jan said above, you can then make a secure connection home and browse the internet from anywhere were you don't trust the provider. It work as following:
You are somewhere were you don't trust the internet, you connect home via a secure connection VPN, and you browse the internet tunnelling with this connection home. Everything is encrypted from your location to home, so you are protected.

The box acts as a small server, is very practical, to stock photos, films and share files with friends. It's plenty fast for streaming and moving files. I really like that my files are stocked locally and not elsewhere in the world. The VPN option they bring is just another extra feature they have.
 
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Hello! I was searching for VPN for my iphone a month back and came across Best VPN for iPhone & MAC this black friday. All top rated VPNs for iOS (iPhone & iPad) and MAC are mentioned here. So you'd have great choice here. Give it a visit and check these VPNs. Btw I use this PureVPN on my MAC too and it works good.

It helped me figuring out which ones are best and cheap for me so definitely its going to help you too!
 
Ben Harley said:
Hello! I was searching for VPN for my iphone a month back and came across Best VPN for iPhone & MAC this black friday. All top rated VPNs for iOS (iPhone & iPad) and MAC are mentioned here. So you'd have great choice here. Give it a visit and check these VPNs. Btw I use this PureVPN on my MAC too and it works good.

It helped me figuring out which ones are best and cheap for me so definitely its going to help you too!
Click to expand...

This is yet another fake review site. No real reviews just click through links to generate the domain owner money.
 
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