Additionally, VPNs encrypt your data so that even if a cyber criminal was to intercept it, it would be undecipherable. This secure virtual tunnel between your Mac and the VPN server helps protect against an outside party viewing your browsing activity. Once you connect to the VPN server, the data that is sent and received while you browse online travels through what’s like an enclosed tunnel. Most VPN providers include multiple server locations throughout the world, so you can select the location of the server you want to connect to, and change it as desired. For instance, if you’re sitting in San Francisco and connected to a VPN server in Sydney, websites you visit will see your IP address as coming from Australia. It provides you with a different IP address than your own, and your traffic comes from where the VPN server is, rather than your location. Whether you are running MacOS X High Sierra or a previous version, a VPN connection can let you work and play online using a secure network connection.

For instance, you might want to connect to “Coffee Shop Wi-Fi,” but without looking closely you instead connect to “Coffee Shop WiFi” or “Coffee Shop Free Wi-Fi.” Once you’re connected to that network, the party who set it up can view your browsing activity as well. This is sometimes dubbed an “evil twin” because the network name is often set up to look like the legitimate hotspot that it’s copying. This enables the hacker to access the sensitive information between you and the websites you visit, such as usernames and passwords, or information used to make purchases online.Īnother way hackers can gain access is by setting up a rogue hotspot that looks like the legitimate hotspot that you are trying to use. In a Man-in-the-middle attack, an attacker gets in the middle of your device and the web server that you are trying to reach. This helps protect you against threats like Man-in-the-middle attacks and rogue or “evil twin” hotspots. A VPN for Mac provides you with security online and a private network, even when you’re using the Wi-Fi connection at your local coffee shop to play your favorite game apps. However, even a secure computer might use an unsecured Wi-Fi network. Mac computers are generally known for being in the secure Mac ecosystem. This gives you online privacy and anonymity, and security against cyber criminals gaining access into your Wi-Fi connection and intercepting the data that gets sent and received while you browse online. Your browsing data, while connected to the VPN, is encrypted and associated with the IP address of the VPN server rather than that of your Mac. A VPN essentially creates a secure tunnel between your Mac and the VPN server.

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