Is a VPN worth it?

[exncite]

I get nervous about security on the internet. Is a VPN necessary or even worth it on Mac devices. Looking at NordVPN and not all that expensive. But is it overkill?

 

[IWT]

Is a VPN worth it?​

Yes. Definitely in my opinion. I use NordVPN, but there are loads of others.

See here for comparisons:

The Best VPNs for Mac in 2025

Apple computer users need privacy, too. We rate and review all the top VPN services, and based on our latest testing, these are the best Mac VPNs.

uk.pcmag.com

https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1gaaao8

The best Mac VPN

The best Mac VPNs available today, fully tested and ranked

www.tomsguide.com

I am not implying that you need one all the time, but for banking and other financial matters, it is highly recommended.

It is also advised if using a Hotel, shop, bus, train, restaurant WiFi system.

But, if your use of a Mac device is limited to news, sports and local matters, perhaps Apple Music and the like, the need diminishes.

You said "I get nervous about security on the internet." Well a VPN will reduce that considerably.

Ian

 

[Rod]

I have Express VPN full time on all my devices, iPhone, iPad MacBook Pro and for DRM avoidance overseas on my MiBox as well. There are lots of Pros an Cons about their value but at the end of the day if you want anonymity and increased security online a VPN will provide that.
This is what Express VPN says;

"A VPN, or virtual private network, is a secure tunnel between your device and the internet. VPNs protect you from snooping, interference, and censorship.

As you connect to a secure VPN server, your internet traffic goes through an encrypted tunnel that nobody can see into—including hackers, governments, and your internet service provider."

 

[Randy B. Singer]

I get nervous about security on the internet. Is a VPN necessary or even worth it on Mac devices. Looking at NordVPN and not all that expensive. But is it overkill?

If your concern is having your communications intercepted by hackers (e.g. when using public networks, such as in a café), VPN's are more or less an anachronism that have been made superfluous by current technology. Just about every Web site these days, and especially those that receive and transmit sensitive information, are encrypted from end to end.:

Are VPN’s Worth it?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/technology/personaltech/are-vpns-worth-it.html

The Washington Post Says There's 'No Real Reason' to Use a VPN
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/23/0...-post-says-theres-no-real-reason-to-use-a-vpn
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/02/17/dont-use-a-vpn/

Why VPNs are a WASTE of Your Money (usually…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_b8Z2kAFyY
Follow up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxpX_mubz2A

There ARE some (rare) instances where a user might still benefit from having a VPN. A VPN is useful if you want to access content that is restricted to only a certain geographical area (e.g. if you live in China and want to view Western news sites). It's useful if you are in a totalitarian country and you are concerned about your government eavesdropping on you. Finally, a VPN is useful if you are doing illegal things on the Internet (like downloading pirated videos or music) and don't want to be traced and caught, especially by your own ISP (your ISP nominally knows what sites you visit, but not what you do there). But I doubt that many users fall in any of those categories.

 

[IWT]

Randy:

To help me: are you saying that a VPN is NOT necessary on a bus, in a cafe, in a restaurant or in a hotel?

Or what about banking?

It's not that I'm arguing with you, rather I'm trying to understand

Ian

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Randy:

To help me: are you saying that a VPN is NOT necessary on a bus, in a cafe, in a restaurant or in a hotel?

Correct. Nowadays there is no risk of being hacked while using a public network. All Web sites that deal in sensitive information are completely encrypted. Anyone who tells you otherwise is living in the past.

Or what about banking?

Perfectly safe. All of your communications with your back, through their Web site, are encrypted. Even if bad guys were to intercept all of your communications with your bank via their Web site, they couldn't decipher them.

Go to your bank's Web site. Look at it's address. Does it start with "https" (rather than "http")? If it does, your communications with that Web site are fully encrypted. (If your bank's Web site isn't encrypted, it's time to quickly change banks. ALL banks have had encrypted Web sites for years now.)

It's not that I'm arguing with you, rather I'm trying to understand

That's why I gave you several links (to unimpeachable sources, I might add). Read them/listen to them. They aren't hard to understand.

The only source for contrary information are the VPN vendors. They, of course, have a good reason to lie to you.

One other interesting thing. Using a VPN might actually introduce a source of insecurity that you wouldn't have had otherwise.

"Many of the most popular VPN services are now also less trustworthy than in the past because they have been bought by larger companies with shady track records."

Note that, for instance, TunnelBear, used to be considered a decent choice. But they've been purchased by McAfee and are now highly suspect (among other things, they keep a log of your activities).

Don't let your paranoia guide you into throwing away your money for no reason.

 

[Rod]

Perhaps you feel “safe” in America but I don’t trust the Indonesian Government not to abuse their powers to collect and/or contort information gathered on any foreigner for the purpose of extorting bribes. We have personal experience of this practice.
I prefer not to give my ISP any voluntary information.
There are several widely known, popular websites that I simply cannot load without a VPN eg. Macrumorsforums and reddit.com.
Then there is Australian TV content that I subscribe to, blocked by DRM without a VPN.

So, yes https is secure, until it isn't. http was secure then we had to add SSL/TLS to it.

"But is HTTPS secure? If you’re looking for a quick answer, it’s yes. But that positive response is only true so long as:

• HTTPS is properly implemented, and
• the mechanisms that enable HTTPS are protected."

Just like 128bit encryption and 12 digit passwords, they are no longer sufficient.
Perhaps in a country where you trust your government, in a world where your bank, health and taxation organisation doesn't fend off dozens of cyber attacks daily, where your IP address cannot be abused: "While it is often overlooked by most users, it is a powerful tool that malicious actors can take advantage of to get insights about our online activities." What Can Someone Do With Your IP Address?

Is a VPN overkill? Maybe but I have specific needs for one and as for online security I would prefer overkill in the hostile environment the web has become especially when it comes packaged with features I need anyway.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Is a VPN overkill? Maybe but I have specific needs for one ...

As I said in my original post, there ARE specific situations where a VPN might be valuable. And I listed both wanting to access content that is blocked in your country, and highly untrustworthy governments as possible reasons to want a VPN.

It isn't that "https works until it doesn't." It always works exactly as it is supposed to. But if you have a highly untrustworthy ISP, they still know what sites that you visit (though they don't know what you do on them), and they may keep a log of sites that you have visited and report that to the highly untrustworthy government. I don't think than anyone in the West has to worry about this. But I can see how you might be ultra paranoid in the Far East, because they ARE out to get you.

On the other hand, if you have a highly untrustworthy government, using a VPN may actually make you a target for unwanted attention. If your untrustworthy ISP sees that you are always using a VPN, they may report this to the government, who might become suspicious of your activities. This isn't the technology's fault. It works exactly as it was designed to. It's just that nothing can perfectly hide 100% of your online activities, not even the best VPN. Note that this isn't a reason to go around telling everyone that they NEED a VPN. Just about everyone in the West DOES NOT need a VPN.

 

[exncite]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I looked at the sites you listed Randy. Kinda of hard to follow for someone with my skills. For example, what is a tunnel? (Don't have to answer that.) I've received texts and e-mails from foreign sources, so how did they get them? We also spend time each year in Spain and going to Greece this fall. How secure are they from hackers? Don't know, but if anything I can do to help protect us, why not do it? $50/year will not put me in the poorhouse, so I'll likely go ahead and "waste" it.

 

[MacInWin]

For example, what is a tunnel?

It is a term used for the secure part of a VPN setup. Basically, your data passes through a "tunnel" so nobody can get at it. In reality, it just travels through the internet but is encrypted al the way to achieve that security.

I've received texts and e-mails from foreign sources, so how did they get them?

The Internet is international. Not sure what you mean by "how did they get them." Who is they and what is them? If you mean how did someone get your email/phone number, if you have ever entered that on any website ever, that information is out there.

I have VPN, but not for security. I travel and like to watch baseball, but can't get it overseas, so I VPN back to the US to watch.

 

[RadDave]

Years ago I choose Private Internet Access (PIA) as my VPN - was well rated back then but has lost some of its status - we no longer travel internationally so our needs are at home and during on car trips locally staying at hotels with Wi-Fi access - I will still turn it on when connected to one of these Wi-Fi networks but their security may be much better now negating its need, as mentioned by Randy. Most of our financial websites are under at least 2-FA if not more protection, so we do not use PIA at home on either my laptop or wife's iMac. Now if I were in situations like Rod and others or still traveling across national borders, I likely would explore the more recent VPNs but not a need for us at the moment.

Also at home at least, I've been using Steve Gibson's website Shields Up (makers of SpinRite) since my old PC days to scan the ports on our computers - as an example on my M2 MAir, all of my 1056 ports are in 'Stealth' mode (first pic) with my VPN off - the test failed because Gibson could ping my computer (importance?); out of curiosity, I turned on PIA which put me in Washington, D.C. and re-ran Shields Up (second pic), a big difference although their server computer was being scanned and not mine (notice the different IP numbers) - so you might have some fun with Steve's site - a lot of information there about security. Dave

P.S. I do take my laptop on local trips but while connected to a non-home network, I've not run the Gibson scan - maybe next time?

.

 

[Rod]

I should also mention that iCloud+ if you subscribe to that, I do because I need the storage anyway, provides a few additional security features. One of which is Private Relay. Legal - iCloud Private Relay & Privacy- Apple
This effectively hides your IP address. See; iCloud+
It does cost AU$5.00 a month for us (there are cheaper plans) but we share our 200GB of storage via Family Sharing. If you don't need the international advantages of a VPN it's a good privacy option. There is also Hide My Email.

 

[MacBiter]

I have absolutely no banking or financial apps on my phone, so for me it's a big NO. But if you do, then probably "yes".

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I looked at the sites you listed Randy. Kinda of hard to follow for someone with my skills. For example, what is a tunnel?

It's shorthand for something that is fairly simple. When you are using a VPN, your data doesn't go directly to the site that you are interacting with. Instead it goes to your VPN service's server. Once your data is in your VPN's server, your data is entirely secure. Your VPN's server then sends your data directly to the site that you are interacting with. If anyone hacks into your communications, all that they can see is that you have interacted with your VPN service's server. They can't see anything beyond that. So they have no way of knowing where the information was sent or where it is coming from, other than your VPN's server. Your communications between your VPN's server and your computer are encrypted.
So, the analogy is that you have sent your data through a secure tunnel between your computer and your recipient. Your VPN is the metaphorical tunnel. At best, the only thing that anyone might be able to see is things going into the tunnel and things coming out of the tunnel. They can't read your data, or figure out where it is going or where the data you receive originated from.

We also spend time each year in Spain and going to Greece this fall. How secure are they from hackers?

It's irrelevant. They could have all the hackers in the world. Since all of your sensitive data is automatically encrypted these days without even having a VPN (and, by the way, supposedly even the FBI shouldn't be able to decrypt it), they can try to hack you all that they want. They will be wasting their time. They can't decrypt your data.

Don't know, but if anything I can do to help protect us, why not do it? $50/year will not put me in the poorhouse, so I'll likely go ahead and "waste" it.

Is IS a waste. Not only are you not buying yourself any more security, you are slowing down your Internet communications (I've yet to see a VPN that does not extract some sort of performance penalty; sometimes a very noticable one), and you may be subjecting yourself to LESS security because many VPN services have been bought up by untrustworthy actors, and they make money by selling your data:

"Many of the most popular VPN services are now also less trustworthy than in the past because they have been bought by larger companies with shady track records."
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/technology/personaltech/are-vpns-worth-it.html

I'm trying to keep you from being unnecessarily paranoid and buying snake oil. If the only reason that you want a VPN is because you are concerned about security in a first world country, you are being conned if you pay for a VPN. Sensitive Web communications are all already encrypted these days. There is even less need for a VPN for security purposes than there is for having anti-virus software on a Macintosh.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

please disregard

 

[snubby]

About a year ago one of TV networks ran a segment on VPNs. For what it's worth, it was stated that Sweden was the top country when it came to privacy and security. They take both very seriously.

 

[exncite]

Just thought I'd follow-up.As I get older and watch what goes on around me in this world, I get more and more less trusting. So I did sign up with NordVPN. Was pretty easy and able to set up on all our devices. Randy, you will be happy to know that I did take your advice and cancelled within the 30 day window so should be getting a full refund (or close to it). I did so because there were sites that wouldn't load. If I disconnected, then they did. From all the comments I've read, here and other sites, I decided it wasn't much use. I do appreciate your guy's guidance.

 

[Randy B. Singer]

...From all the comments I've read, here and other sites, I decided it wasn't much use. I do appreciate your guy's guidance.

I'm sorry that you had to go through the trouble. A personal peave of mine is folks who try to tell you that you have to buy something that you don't need. Anti-virus software, cleaning apps, VPN's, firewalls, etc. Except for in some very limited use cases, you don't need them. In fact, as you have found, not only are these apps unneeded, in many cases there are significant downsides to using them.

 

[snubby]

I'm sorry that you had to go through the trouble. A personal peave of mine is folks who try to tell you that you have to buy something that you don't need. Anti-virus software, cleaning apps, VPN's, firewalls, etc. Except for in some very limited use cases, you don't need them. In fact, as you have found, not only are these apps unneeded, in many cases there are significant downsides to using them.

Randy,
Do you feel the same way about password managers?

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Randy,
Do you feel the same way about password managers?

No, not at all. Why? Has someone told you that password managers are worthless?

Of course, the Mac OS has a password manager that it comes with. Keychain. But it's not as nice or as full featured as something like :

1Password ($36/year):
https://1password.com/downloads/mac

There is also this free option:

MacPass (Free)
https://macpassapp.org
(Password manager. Insanely more powerful than Apple's Keychain.)