I don´t really use iCloud so have not noticed this. But thanks for bringing attention to this!Since January of this year Mullvad's own macOS app has been blocking iCloud syncing services, so that's things like Safari bookmarks and a number of other features.
They are aware of the problem and it's on their to-do list, but 8 months later it's still not done.
[Mac] Bookmark and iCloud sync not working with VPN on · Issue #2401 · mullvad/mullvadvpn-app
Hello, I have noticed that a sync between Safari bookmarks on Mac (10.14.6) and iPhone (14.3) stopped to work some time ago. I did a deep dive and it turned out that switching the VPN (both latest ...github.com
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Can Anybody Recommend a Great VPN?
- Thread starter HappyDude20
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I've been rethinking Surfshark, whose transparency about audits and company ownership is lacking, according to NYT's Wirecutter, in favor of IVPN, the current Wirecutter top pick. I read through IVPN's site and am pretty impressed. The price seems reasonable too. As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with Surfshark's VPN service, but not being forthcoming about some of its operational details when other VPNs are is a bit off-putting. Is it enough reason to switch? I'm not sure yet.
The Best VPN Service
You might not need a VPN, but if you want to add an extra layer of security to your web browsing, Mullvad has been our pick for years.
www.nytimes.com
One of reasons to choose one VPN service over another is trust. You can’t perform audits yourself so you have to have faith in what your provider is telling you and part of that is being open and transparent. Sometimes stuff does hit the fan, just look at what happened with NordVPN.I've been rethinking Surfshark, whose transparency about audits and company ownership is lacking, according to NYT's Wirecutter, in favor of IVPN, the current Wirecutter top pick. I read through IVPN's site and am pretty impressed. The price seems reasonable too. As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with Surfshark's VPN service, but not being forthcoming about some of its operational details when other VPNs are is a bit off-putting. Is it enough reason to switch? I'm not sure yet.
The Best VPN Service
You might not need a VPN, but if you want to add an extra layer of security to your web browsing, Mullvad has been our pick for years.
You have legitimate doubts. I recommend a switch.
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Yes, totally agree it's about trust, and I appreciate your encouragement to switch. I'm going to mull it over for a couple of days. I got wowed by a two-year 80% off deal with Surfshark, but trust is worth paying more for.
Here is SurfShark's 2021 Audit. According to the CEO of SS, all dings cited in the report have been corrected.
Thank you as always @Apple_Robert; you are most kind to post the audit report, and I'm sorry to say I misunderstood what the NYT was saying about Surfshark. Its misgivings about SS weren't because of a missing third-party audit; it was because it was not public about its ownership or leadership--the same fault with ExpressVPN. This detail may not be important enough to switch, but it makes me wonder why these companies would withhold these details.
"We dismissed ExpressVPN and Surfshark for not being public about their ownership or leadership. “Would you put your money in a bank where you don’t know what laws govern it or who owns it or who manages it?” asked security researcher Kenn White. “Would you go to a financial adviser using a fake identity?”
(https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-vpn-service/#the-competition)
Valid concern. Express VPN is located in supposedly based in the same area as SS. The CEO of SurfShark is Vytautas Kaziukonis. That is all the intel I have at the moment.
I use and love ExpressVPN. It’s fairly fast, doesn’t give me any problems on any of my devices and it just works.
Not sure. Possibly to protect from bad actors on the world stage? There’s a lot of evil leaders out there who aren’t fans of VPN’s.
I prefer an Open Source VPN that can be vetted. Not a proprietary model - where you don't know the coding and are trusting the 'word' of the company.
Did the same with KeepSolid/VPNUnlimited. Also have NordVPN as they are recommended by many, but I have very slow speeds with them, will probably not renew and try out ones that are mentioned here.
NordVPN has been caught up in a few debacles now. Not one that I would choose.
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idk what the OP settled on, but as far as I am concerned there are only 2 VPNs i would trust and that is:
ProtonVPN
and Mullvad
of the 2 I prefer ProtonVPN but you can check Mullvad and see which one you like best. When using Proton make sure you have WireGuard and VPN Accelerator turned ON.
I heard iVPN has a good reputation but I didn't double check on that.
One thing to note, VPN main useful feature is that it shield your internet usage from your ISP or from a public Wifi network like Hotels or Work. It doesn't do much more.
Some people think if they use a VPN they are invisible on the internet and that is not true. If you login to Google account while you use a VPN they still know its you, in fact there are many ways they can identifiy you like cookies and browser fingerprinting. Rabbit hole goes deep.
ProtonVPN
and Mullvad
of the 2 I prefer ProtonVPN but you can check Mullvad and see which one you like best. When using Proton make sure you have WireGuard and VPN Accelerator turned ON.
I heard iVPN has a good reputation but I didn't double check on that.
One thing to note, VPN main useful feature is that it shield your internet usage from your ISP or from a public Wifi network like Hotels or Work. It doesn't do much more.
Some people think if they use a VPN they are invisible on the internet and that is not true. If you login to Google account while you use a VPN they still know its you, in fact there are many ways they can identifiy you like cookies and browser fingerprinting. Rabbit hole goes deep.
I agree that there's a lot of misunderstanding about what VPNs can and can't do, and to be wary of any VPN that advertises it provides "complete anonymity." I found this Wirecutter article to be a straightforward explanation:
What Is a VPN and What Can (and Can’t) It Do?
A VPN can secure a public Wi-Fi connection and reduce some types of online tracking, but is it reliable to access video sites or limit tracking? Read on to see.
www.nytimes.com
What I didn't know was that some ISPs are throttling VPN connections.
Thanks for the heads up. Have been using them for several years and renewed for 2 years earlier this year, but have not been using them much due to the slow speeds, so will stay away for now. Don’t think I can get my money back, but at least I have disabled auto renew.
Keepsolid has been serving me well with their speeds and servers, but sometimes have trouble with auto connecting on my iPad.
At the moment PIA has a better deal on their website than Stacksocial.
Notwithstanding my earlier grumble about Mullvad's macOS app I have always found their speeds to be exemplary. I don't have a gigabit connection, but have always got maximum throughput on my 30Mb and 100Mb. I have a strong suspicion it's because they have a very sustainable business model. They charge a flat 5 euros a month, they never provide discounts for longer subs or special deals. This probably means that they can make a proper investment into servers, which other providers cannot. Couple that with a great deal of trust I have in them and their transparency makes Mullvad my VPN of choice.
Another thing to keep in mind with low cost providers (especially with a lot of server locations) is if they are running on a VPS or a dedicated server. Winscribe's recent hack was because they were running on a VPS and they had even rented that out to a few other providers such as ExpressVPN compromising some of their customers as well. IVPN, Mullvad and Proton are the only three I have come across that go on the record saying they only use dedicated hardware.
PIA has some shady dealings with Malware as well if you don't trust Nord I wouldn't trust PIA either.
Also isn't PIA located in the US? I thought the general wisdom was avoid US-based companies.
I agree that there's a lot of misunderstanding about what VPNs can and can't do, and to be wary of any VPN that advertises it provides "complete anonymity." I found this Wirecutter article to be a straightforward explanation:
What Is a VPN and What Can (and Can’t) It Do?
A VPN can secure a public Wi-Fi connection and reduce some types of online tracking, but is it reliable to access video sites or limit tracking? Read on to see.
What I didn't know was that some ISPs are throttling VPN connections.
You can get around the throttling if you have a VPN that uses OpenVPN XOR on TCP 443 like mine does.
Actually TCP 443 is overkill for most since XOR obfuscates the traffic anyway but you can’t really throttle TCP 443 without breaking the net.
I think the speeds you see on Mullvad is because they use Wireguard protocol which is faster. I would be interested to see your results with ProtonVPN with Wireguard and VPNAccelerator turned on, is it similar or not.
My speeds are quite good with Mullvad regardless of protocol. I pay for 500/500 to my ISP.
Wireguard
OpenVPN
