If you’re one of the 100 million Mac users around the world, then you may be one of many under the impression that Macs are immune to cybercrime and hackers. However, Macs are still susceptible to various security issues just like any other device, so it is critical that you use a Mac VPN to secure your data. Read on to find out the other benefits of using a VPN for Mac.

One of the most important steps you can take as a Mac user is to install a VPN (Virtual Private Network). By using a VPN, Mac and MacBook users can be safe in the knowledge that the data they transmit online is shielded from prying eyes, making it impossible for hackers to infiltrate your machine. Not only that, but since a VPN will change your IP address to that of a remote server, you can use your VPN to unblock loads of geo-restricted content! We give you a detailed rundown of the best VPNs for Mac that will keep you secure and protected.

BestVPN.com Score 6.8 out of 10 All prices shown in US dollars These are the best VPN providers for Mac on the market today because each of them offers dedicated VPN clients that are optimized for macOS systems. Furthermore, they each provide world-class security and reliability, a large global network of server locations, and excellent speeds for Mac users. While the overall functionality of a Mac VPN client and a Windows client will be virtually identical, there may be a few minor differences as far as features and protocols are concerned.

Other than that, there shouldn’t really be much of a noticeable difference between a Mac and a Windows VPN client. Of course, the best VPNs for Mac will have a secure, reliable, and easy to use client explicitly optimized for your Mac. Top 5 Mac VPN clients 2018 Below, we’ve put together an in-depth list detailing each of the 5 best Mac VPN clients on the market today. Our top recommendation for best Mac VPN is ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN’s Mac application is fully-featured, extremely reliable, and easy to use.

With 148 server locations in 94 countries around the world, you are pretty much guaranteed to have a fast and reliable server close-by, as well as the ability to unblock all sorts of geo-restricted content. They provide military-grade AES 256-bit encryption to ensure that your Mac and your personal data that you transmit online are fully protected. Furthermore, ExpressVPN runs their own private DNS on each server, which means that no third-party will ever be able to catch a whiff of what you’re up to online. Other features include a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and split tunneling. They back all this up with a 30-day money back guarantee on all of their subscription plans. For any Mac user looking to safeguard their Mac and their own personal online privacy, ExpressVPN is an excellent choice.

VPN Stats. Server Locations 94.

Average Speed 77.14 Mbit/s. Simultaneous Connections 3. Jurisdiction British Virgin Islands Likes. Super fast - great for streaming! NordVPN is a Panama-based VPN service that is a superb option for privacy-conscious Mac users. Based in Panama, NordVPN is safely out the jurisdiction of the NSA.

Mac users can download the NordVPN macOS IKEV4 app from the App Store. Their macOS app is slick, easy to use, and offers great speeds and reliability. Simply fire it up and select from a list or on a map and you’re protected in a matter of seconds.

The macOS app also includes a kill switch, Onion over VPN, as well as a special list of servers optimized for P2P. Another awesome feature that NordVPN offers its users is their double VPN technology, which encrypts your data not once, but twice through the VPN tunnel, all while maintaining excellent connection speeds. NordVPN also boasts a strict no-logs policy, a network of servers in 62 locations, and a 30-day money back guarantee. VPN Stats. Server Locations 62.

Average Speed 59.23 Mbit/s. Simultaneous Connections 6. Jurisdiction Panama Likes. Christmas Special Offer: 75% OFF! CyberGhost is another excellent VPN for Mac users to consider. CyberGhost impresses with AES 256-bit encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and over 3,000 servers in 60 locations around the world. With excellent connection speeds and unlimited bandwidth, CyberGhost is a great VPN for Mac users who want to unblock popular streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, and BBC iPlayer.

CyberGhost is also one of the more generous VPN services out there, allowing for 7 simultaneous connections, providing 24/7 customer care via live chat, and offering an unprecedented 45-day money back guarantee. VPN Stats. Server Locations 60. Average Speed 61.97 Mbit/s.

Simultaneous Connections 7. Jurisdiction Romania Likes.

Christmas Special Offer: 77% OFF!. 45-day money-back guarantee. Private: Strong no logs policy. Based in Romania so no government spying! PrivateVPN is a Swedish-based VPN provider, which means they are under no legal obligation to collect logs.

Although their macOS app is extremely simple to install and works like a charm, their technical support staff go the extra mile and offer free remote assistance should you run into any issues installing or using the app. In addition to offering excellent security standards via AES 256-bit encryption, PrivateVPN provides their users with exceptional speeds for streaming content from Netflix or BBC. Additional security features include DNS leak protection, SOCKS5 and HTTP proxy, and port forwarding. They also offer 60 server locations as well as 6 simultaneous connections.

Mac users can feel free to try PrivateVPN risk-free thanks to their 30-day money back guarantee. VyprVPN is a Switzerland-based VPN service that would excel as your Mac OS or iOS VPN. VyprVPN is ideal for accessing geo-restricted content on TV streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. VyprVPN also allows up to five simultaneous devices and offers 24/7 live customer support. This VPN includes better than average server speeds, strong encryption protocols and proprietary technology for added security. If you prefer to sample your Mac OS/iOS VPN before committing, you can use VyprVPN’s free 3 day trial.

Gramic on September 18, 2017 I looked at NordVPN - it is good in that it has servers everywhere, but, when the VPN server drops, unless you set up the app to kill with it, you're left connected with no VPN security. It's the same when you first connect - you have to open your browser, so if you restore previous session, every website you were visiting, now gets to know your IP address, until you connect and establish a VPN connection to NordVPN servers. I use AirVPN and prefer that it locks your network immediately if the VPN connection drops, and because the network is locked, you can continue to look at your browser. Douglas Crawford replied to gramic on September 18, 2017 Hi gramic, Well. The NordVPN client does have a per-app kill switch. You can choose which apps will be shut down in the event of a VPN disconnection. This is very handy, but it is not a firewall-based kill switch like AirVPN's.

So if the NordVPN client itself crashes, the specified apps will not shut down and can continue to access the internet. I'm not sure what you mean by having to open your browser. You can run the client before you open your browser.

Douglas Crawford replied to Anna on September 18, 2017 Hi Anna, Netflix, iPlayer and Hulu are actively trying to block VPN users from using their services. They do this simply by blocking IP addresses that are known to belong to VPN providers. There are ways around these blocks (such as a provider regularly recycling its IP addresses), however, and some providers are better at it than others. In our reviews we always test to see if we can access US Netflix and iPlayer. At present I know that NordVPN and ExpresVPN work with these services (you may need to contact ExpressVPN to ask which servers they recommend using).

We are currently working on a system to regularly check which VPN serverces do and don't work with Netflix and iPlayer (and hopefully other services going forward). JJ on May 29, 2017 After in-depth reading reviews on VPNs to use in Canada, Friends suggest Hotspot Shield being #1 and others have crappy service.(Free vs Paid). Should I go with ExpressVPN (despite Buffered is Best)? Its a split 50/50 for torrenting US shows + streaming online tv from Hong Kong/Taiwan/Korea using my MacBook Pro (Sierra) + looking into Kodi for Asia programs / Soccer Games for the elderly + using Android for Asia radio, etc. What are your suggestions? Is it 100% completely safe from Spys, cyber security? I was told CISCO has a way around that can hack into our internet even the Gov't can't.

Originally I partly installed OpenVPNGate than deleted after running into problems with Sierra. Will having VPN affect Hardware Upgrades on Mac? Douglas Crawford replied to JJ on May 29, 2017 Hi JJ, - Both ExpressVPN and Buffered are good for torrenting US shows.To stream shows from Hong Kong/Taiwan/Korea, you will need a service with servers in those countries. Buffered has a server in South Korea, but ExpresdsVPN has servers in all these countries. Nothing can be 100% guaranteed. Both Buffered (Gibraltar) and ExpressVPN (British Virgin Islands) are based in British Overseas Territories.

How this might or might not affect vulnerability to UK spying is unclear. For most purposes, though, I'd say both services are fine in this regard. If you run the VPN in software, then all data will be encrypted as it passes through the router. So it doesn't matter if the router has a backdoor.

Running a VPN will have no effect Mac hardware upgrades.

Has anyone successfully gotten the built-in Mac OSX VPN client to connect to an RV340 using L2TP/IPSec? We have tried virtually every combination of settings we can think of, but it simply doesn't work. It seems to get close, but then complains of 'Authentication Failure.' We're absolutely sure we have the user credentials and the preshared-key correct, but we cannot get the built-in Mac OSX VPN client to connect to our RV340 with L2TP.

We did manage to get the built-in Mac OSX client to connect using Cisco IPSec, but we'd like to have the L2TP option working and available. We had similar problems trying to get the Windows 10 built-in VPN client using 'L2TP/IPSec with pre-shared key.' It won't work, either! I suspect the problem has something to do with how the RV340 is storing and fetching the preshared-key value. We noticed log entries from signon attempts showing mangled strings for the key (almost like there are a few extra random chars added to the end of the actual, correct string!) The RV340 has Firmware Version: 1.0.01.17 Thanks Rick. One suggestion RE: the mangled PSK strings, maybe check if there are special characters in the PSK, and if so try removing them. Yes, a horrible 'solution' if that works, but just a suggestion.

I will say IMO that all of the RV routers are pretty terribly for remote-access style VPN; OpenVPN is the best you have, and even that is dog slow. Recommend going with another vendor if this is a feature you need, or at least stepping up to an ISR (the 891F can be purchased for less than $500 in the right places). If you must use an RV, I recommend using plain IPsec (what Apple calls 'Cisco IPsec'), as it will perform better than L2TP. L2TP kind of needs to die in my opinion. Update: I got this to work with my Macs and iOS devices, though it still does not fix the OP's original issue for using L2TP. Nevertheless, I am posting it here in case it helps others. Using the following procedure, I was able to get Cisco IPSec VPN working on macOS and iOS for a Cisco RV340.

On the router: 1. Do not mess with IPSec profiles at all, at least for getting your Mac and iOS clients connected. I wasted tons of time with those settings, but they do not seem to apply. VPN Passthrough: be sure that IPSec is enabled. Under Client-to-site, create a new group.

Free Mac Vpn Client

Under Add a New Group, go with the default option, Cisco VPN Client. This threw me off big time since I'm not using the Cisco VPN Client (i.e., Cisco AnyConnect), so I wasted hours messing with the third party client settings. Don't do what I did! Keep it simple. Pick your interface, e.g., WAN1, and input a pre-shared key. For User Group, click to add the admin group (or other group that you created in an earlier step). Leave the default DNS server for the LAN IP of your router.

In my setup, I left everything else blank and saved the settings. I did not want or need split tunnels, etc. On the Mac or iOS device: 1. Create a new VPN connection using the built-in client. No special software needed.

Select Cisco IPSec as the type. Enter your router's WAN IP address (or, depending on your setup, its domain name or dynamic DNS name). Enter your username and password. Click on Authentication Settings, enter the pre-shared key and group name of your client-to-site group. Blam, be happy, you now have IPSec VPN working on your Mac and iOS devices. In hindsight, this all seems pretty simple but I burned an entire day on realizing that you don't need to mess with some of the settings.

I set up client to site. It doesnt ask me what ipsec profile to use so i dont know what setting it is using. With osx vpn setup exactly how you said it it was done. It refuses very quickly so i know its failing for the handshake. I rechecked preshare key and password at least ten times and tried to keep them simple with no special characters, i even used the default cisco account because i saw that was having issues. Please help with exact settings, see if you are missing anything. Cisco is not helping.

Sorry for the delay. Here are the steps I used successfully to allow macOS and iOS clients to connect to our office VPN using IPSec for a Cisco RV340. On the router: 1. Under VPN, VPN Passthrough, set IPSec to Enable.

Vpn Client For Mac

Under VPN, Client-to-Site, click Add and create a Group. Use the following selections: Cisco VPN Client (select), Enable (checked), Group Name (whatever you prefer, mine is HNA), interface (select your WAN, mine is WAN1), Preshared Key (create one), user group (click Add, mine is for admins), mode is Client, IP range is whatever you want (but must be different from the remote and local LAN subnets), Mode Configuration (enter the router's local IP address). Under System Configuration, User Accounts, create the accounts for those who need VPN access. Be sure that each user is part of the group used in the next step. Under System Configuration, User Groups, you should already have a group for admin. Edit the group.

Be sure that all of your users are in the group and EzVPN/3rd Party contains the group name that you picked earlier (mine is HNA in this example). This is it for the router end of things.

On the client (macOS in this example, but also works for iOS), click on System Preferences, Network, then the plus sign. Select VPN, VPN Type Cisco IPSec, and choose a service name.

Click Create. Enter the server address, username, and password (these must match the user data you entered into the router's list of users). Click Authentication Settings, select Shared Secret and enter the one you picked in step 2 (preshared key), and finally enter the Group Name (mine is HNA). Click OK, then Apply.

Test the connection. It should work. I am including several screen shots that correspond to each numbered step above.

I've followed your instructions and am able to connect the Macintosh to the VPN but then am unable to communicate with anything on the LAN behind the VPN router. On other VPN routers, the assigned IPs are within the LAN subnet but Cisco (or at least this router) doesn't permit that. How do I get traffic flowing between the two IP ranges? Do I need to configure a second VLAN?

Mac Os X Vpn Client

Do I need to add entries to a routing table? The LAN is 172.23.10.0/24 and I'm using 172.23.11.0/24 for the VPN clients.