NordVPN for Mac

Note that NordVPN does a lot of tracking and reporting back to various servers without proper user consent. This can get disabled by manually setting switches in its preference file.

I have used NordVPN for a 2-3 years now, maybe more. I use it on my Mac mini, iPhone, and iPad. It performs very similarly on all. If I run SpeedTest there is somewhat of a degradation compared to unprotected, but that is expected. I have gigabit fiber home internet, and typically, without using NordVPN, get in about 500Mbps downstream and 400Mbps upstream. This varies a lot though. With NordVPN I get around 350/225 for down/up. This is expected and acceptable. I have used it extensively in the USA, and occasionally, just to try it, I will use servers in other countries. I don't stream movies, and an not a gamer. On some recent travel to New Zealand and briefly in Australia, it worked fine using servers there. I was usually not on Wi-Fi. I didn't run Speedtest, but my experience was not noticeably different from not being on VPN. There seem to be some organizations that can tell you are on a VPN, for example, Amazon. This is a problem that Nord folks cannot seem to solve. It isn't a big problem for me, although it is inconvenient to have to pause my VPN. If it becomes widespread that some places won't work when connecting via NordVPN, or perhaps any VPN, it will be a big problem. The entire point of VPN is protection and anonymity.

I am FINALLY going to get off my b**t and get a VPN. But I am torn between NordVPN and Surfshark. As of now (still good holiday deals around), here is the current pricing: Surfshark: https://surfshark.com/deals?coupon=surfsharkdeal&transaction_id=10226543e2382f3fa54f7ed559df42&offer_id=115&affiliate_id=1351&source=macworldcouk&aff_sub=1-1-231047-6-663878-0&utm_source=Affiliates&utm_medium=1351&utm_campaign=affiliate&recurring_goal_id=104 NordVPN: https://nordvpn.com/pricing/bundle-nordvpn/ (One consideration: NordVPN actually "purchased" Surfshark, although they are still acting independently). On the surface, Surfshark looks to be the cheapest with an attractive rate of $2.05 a month is for 24 months, then the rate increases to $5 a month. While NordVPN is $4.69 a month (middle "tier plan), it has 3 free months, versus only 2 for Surfshark. Did not see any other Surfshark subscription deals. Here are some comparison articles: https://cybernews.com/best-vpn/nordvpn-vs-surfshark/ https://restoreprivacy.com/vpn/comparison/nordvpn-vs-surfshark/ I'm leaning towards NordVPN, although an individual I know uses Surfshark. I am not a gamer, which seems to be where Surfshark has an advantage. Also, I don't need an unlimited number of devices to install it on. 4 is fine for me. So, any recommendations?

With its new fancy look, somebody at Nord neglected to notice that when a country has a long name, United Kingdom in this instance, because the country's name is long, we can no longer see the server numbers (not enough space in the app window). Also, in the Recents list, the sever number can't be viewed, Well done, Nord! Give yourselves a pat on the back. Unbelievable.

The interface is not that user-friendly. But in general, I am satisfied with the program and how it protects my computer