PureVPNs VPN client for Mac offers premium encryption to enhance your online privacy and security.
Free Download – PureVPN for PC, Windows 7,8,10 and Mac September 12, 2017 Qasim Saif Apps, Software, Tools PureVPN is the new tool available for you to use in your systems.
Recent changes: - Integration of Stealth VPN protocol - New protocol: IPsec - OSX Sierra compatibility - Improved UI - Connect/Disconnect directly from status bar - Logout functionality - Now features a new and far effective support system
Multilingual
PureVPN's VPN app for Mac has gone multilingual. Users can now use PureVPNs Mac VPN client in English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, and French languages and enjoy the best VPN service.
Auto-Reconnect Option
![Purevpn Purevpn](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125717194/198632690.png)
PureVPNs best VPN services' Mac VPN app comes with auto-reconnect feature which quickly reconnects the client if the VPN connection drops. This keeps PureVPN users secure at all times.
Improved UI
The updated UI for best VPN for Mac allows users to connect/disconnect via status bar menu and navigate to modes via dashboard. UI of the app's settings have also been updated and improved.
Purpose Selection
The best VPN Mac client helps users select the best settings via a single click for a particular purpose. For example, if a user wants to un-throttle their bandwidth while staying secure on the internet, they simply have to choose I want to stream and the best VPN service will instantly connect with the most suitable configuration.
Wi-Fi Security
Users are neither safe on private, nor on public Wi-Fi. This is why PureVPNs best VPN services' Mac VPN client encrypts all user data to secure their privacy and data, allowing them to be safe on all wireless connections.
Optimized for OS X Sierra
The Mac VPN client also supports OS X Sierra. PureVPNs Mac client has been optimized to work with all Mac versions including v.10.12x, allowing users to enjoy the best VPN service.
Encryption
Editor Rating: Good (3.5)
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$11.00
Pros
Excellent geographic diversity of servers. Specialized servers. Allows P2P and BitTorrent. Excellent privacy policy. Works with Netflix.Cons
Few servers. IKEv2 and OpenVPN not supported in client. Unfriendly interface.Bottom Line
PureVPN offers robust protection for your web data with an excellent collection of servers and strong privacy protections, but it isn't the fastest Mac VPN we've tested.
Editors' Note: Since we first reviewed PureVPN, the company has come under fire for disclosing user information to the federal government in response to a criminal investigation. The specific information that was disclosed appears to be in line with PureVPN's privacy policy, and therefore we stand by the current score and evaluation of the service. We have reached out to PureVPN for more information and we will reevaluate this review as necessary.
Because the internet wasn't built from the ground up with privacy in mind, it's up to individuals to secure themselves. That's why you need a virtual private network, or VPN, even for your Mac. PureVPN offers a great selection of servers, imposes robust privacy protections on the back end, and plays nice with BitTorrent and Netflix. When we tested PureVPN on Windows, it impressed us with its incredible speed. That wasn't the case in our Mac tests, and PureVPN's design can't match the high polish of other Mac VPNs. It's still a fine service, but we recommend our Editors' Choice winner TunnelBear on macOS for its combination of great looks and scorching speed test scores.
What Is a VPN?
Switching on a VPN adds the encryption that the designers of the internet simply didn't include. When active, the VPN routes your traffic through an encrypted tunnel between your Mac and a server controlled by the VPN company. That tunnel keeps out all prying eyes—even those on the same network as you, and even if they own the network. It also protects your data from being inspected by your ISP, which is important since Congress has given the green light for internet companies to sell your data.
SEE ALSO: The Best VPN Services for 2019
Because your web traffic appears to come from the VPN server and not your Mac, anyone trying to track your movements online will see the VPN server's IP address instead of your own. That's important, because advertisers and others use IP addresses to help identify individuals online.
If you connect to a VPN server in another country, your web traffic also appears to come from that country. If you're someplace with highly restrictive governmental controls on internet access, the VPN can tunnel you out to sites blocked by the state. You can use this same technique to watch region-locked content online. The BBC, for example, has video streams available only to people within the UK.
A VPN is an extremely valuable tool, now more than ever. But it's important to know that no single security tool is a magic bullet. It's still important to protect yourself and your devices with robust antivirus, a password manager, and so on.
Features and Pricing
I cover the company's full set of features extensively in my review of PureVPN for Windows. I'll summarize the relevant points here.
In addition to the Windows client, PureVPN offers an Android VPN and an iPhone VPN, as well as Linux and macOS VPNs. The company does not have a free version, though it does give a seven-day money-back guarantee, and subscriptions start at $10.95 per month. You can save a little money by springing for one of the long-term plans, with a six-month subscription for $53.70 or an annual subscription for $35.40 per year. The company accepts all major credit cards, PayPal, a wide variety of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and prepaid gift cards from locations such as BestBuy and even TGI Fridays. Each PureVPN subscription lets you use up to five devices simultaneously, which is average for the industry.
Competitor Private Internet Access' plans starts at $6.95 per month, and KeepSolid VPN Unlimited has subscriptions for as little as $2.99 per week or $99.99 for life. Price shouldn't be an obstacle to security, so consider one of the many excellent free VPNs if you find yourself in money jail.
The company has a good diversity of server locations, with the bulk of them in North America and Europe. While most VPN companies ignore the entire continent of Africa, PureVPN has many servers there, from Cape Verde to Kenya, which is a welcome change. The company also maintains servers in areas that are known to be particularly aggressive with internet controls, such as China, Russia, and Turkey. The volume of server locations matters not only because it gives you more options for spoofing your location, but it also ensures that you can find a fast, nearby server no matter where you go.
The number of servers that PureVPN offers, however, is comparably low. Taken altogether, the company says it's about 583. PureVPN notes, as most VPN companies do, that server count is a moving target, as servers can be added and removed as necessary. Still, that's a far cry from the 3,000-plus servers of Private Internet Access. With that kind of network, it's the most robust VPN server I've yet tested. For users, this means you're less likely to be stuffed into overcrowded servers with other customers.
If you're keen to protect your P2P file transactions or use BitTorrent with a VPN, you'll appreciate that PureVPN allows both activities. Some services, including TunnelBear, prohibit the use of BitTorrent. TorGuard is the best choice for heavy downloaders, as it was made with BitTorrent in mind, offering static IP addresses and access to a high-bandwidth network.
While PureVPN hides your true IP address from advertisers and other web snoops, it doesn't block ads. Other VPN services, such as NordVPN, make this a part of their offering. TunnelBear takes a different approach, with a stand-alone browser plug-in that gives many options for how and when to block ads and trackers.
PureVPN supports numerous VPN protocols, letting you choose between IPSEC, L2TP, and SSTP in its macOS app. PureVPN also provides a handy chart of relative speed and security for each of the protocols available. I'm disappointed that while PureVPN supports IKEv2 and OpenVPN (my preferred option) on Windows, neither appears to be included in the macOS client.
According to PureVPN's privacy policy, the company keeps no logs about user activity. The policy also states, 'We do not keep any records of anything that could associate any specific activity to a specific user.' The company is based in Hong Kong, which is interesting, given that China is one of the countries whose restrictive internet laws VPNs are often used to circumvent. Being located in Hong Kong means the company is not subject to any mandatory data retention laws, however. Additionally, a representative for PureVPN told me that the company does not inject ads into users' web traffic, nor does it profit in any way from user web traffic. This is exactly the kind of privacy stance consumers should look for in a VPN.
Hands On With PureVPN
I tested the PureVPN app on a 15-inch 2016 MacBook Pro running the latest version of macOS Sierra. I had no trouble installing the PureVPN app, which I downloaded from the company's website. Note that the PureVPN client is not currently available in the official Apple App Store.
When you set up the macOS client, you are prompted to enter the alphanumeric username and passcode generated by PureVPN and sent via email. Other VPN companies, including Private Internet Access, use a similar system that separates user account information from VPN activity. It's a good privacy move, but it can be annoying. That said, the macOS client does a good job of explaining what information you'll need to get started.
Once you're logged in, PureVPN prompts you to select the purpose of your session. The app provides five options: Stream, Internet Freedom, Security/Privacy, File-Sharing, and Remote/Dedi IP. This last option is for a dedicated IP address, which you have to purchase. These choices are fairly straightforward, and you can read my review of the PureVPN Windows client for a breakdown of each.
After you make your choice (don't worry, you can change your mind later), the next screen provides a list of servers for specific tasks. Opening the Streaming section lets you chose from servers optimized for streaming China, or for streaming Netflix in the US, for example. I am happy to see that you can access Netflix with PureVPN while connected to its Netflix US server. This could change without notice, however, as Netflix does its best to block VPNs from accessing its service. For more on the services that weren't blocked in my latest round of testing, you can read my roundup of the best VPNs for Netflix.
Though I do like the approach of connecting users to servers based on activities, PureVPN overcomplicates the steps of getting connected. The average user likely assumes they'll have to change modes to see the rest of the servers, which isn't true. It also bothers me that the only way to simply get online with one click is hidden in the PureVPN menu bar.
I prefer NordVPN's setup. That app simply lists its specialized servers, along with servers for BitTorrent, in the same list as the rest of its servers. NordVPN also has a better user interface, one that's slick and very much at home in macOS. PureVPN, on the other hand, feels quite cramped. I had a very hard time moving through its map of available servers, because the window is so small and cannot be resized.
PureVPN lets you run a quick performance test to see the ping time (a measurement of latency) on each server. That's great, but NordVPN includes more informative stats on a given server's performance. PureVPN does, however, let you see information about your connection performance from the menu bar.
TunnelBear has an excellent interface on macOS, and uses its cute bears to excellent effect. It also includes some Apple-specific VPN features. PureVPN also has some unique options among its clients. You can, for example, to prevent your Mac from going into sleep mode while the VPN is connected, which prevents the computer from severing your VPN connection.
Speed Test Results
The extra fiber and machines involved in using a VPN make your data's travel much farther. The result is usually higher latency and lower speeds. To get a sense of that impact, I take data from the Ookla speed test tool and calculate a percent change between the average speeds with and without the VPN active. (Note that Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, which also owns PCMag.) Keep in mind that my work is a snapshot in time, and that network speeds are notoriously finicky. Your mileage may vary.
In my first round of tests, I compare the average speeds when connected to a nearby Ookla test server and a VPN server that the client selects automatically. This is typically a nearby server, one that should deliver the best speeds. In this test, PureVPN increased latency by 19.2 percent. That's significantly more than Private Internet Access, which increased latency by only 8.1 percent. PureVPN redeemed itself in the download test, however, where it reduced speeds by only 4.9 percent. But it was roundly defeated by TunnelBear, which actually improved download speeds by 22.1 percent. PureVPN didn't fare as well in the upload test, in which it delivered the second worst score of the bunch, reducing speeds by 10.5 percent.
The second round of tests puts less emphasis on speed, instead stressing the VPN service to see how it performs when spoofing locations. This time, I compared the results from an Ookla test server in Anchorage, Alaska, with a PureVPN server in Australia. PureVPN did well in the latency test, increasing latency by 275.8 percent. This is a good result, but it it's behind TunnelBear, which only increased latency by 244.4 percent. In the download test, PureVPN again played second fiddle, reducing speeds by 16.6 percent. That's just behind TunnelBear, which reduced speeds by 13.6 percent. PureVPN finally pulled ahead of the Mac pack in the upload test, reducing speeds by just 23.5 percent—the best result I've seen so far.
On balance, I would call PureVPN's speed test performance adequate. Note, however, that speed shouldn't be the first, or even second, consideration when comparing VPNs. However, PureVPN has held the title of fastest VPN for two years running, based on its scores on Windows. I'm disappointed that PureVPN hasn't match this feat on other platforms in my testing. For now, TunnelBear VPN is the fastest VPN service I've seen for macOS.
A Well-Rounded VPN
PureVPN starts strong with a diverse collection of servers across the globe, covering regions often ignored by the competition. It also has a good privacy policy, which clearly states the company's efforts to secure user information. Add to that up-to-date technology, a few specialized servers, and some advanced features, and it's a well-rounded option on any platform. But its best features are not on display in the macOS client. Its interface is clunky for a Mac app, it doesn't offer the best protocols, and it was only adequate in speed tests.
For speed, we recommend Editors' Choice winner TunnelBear, which has an excellent interface and speed scores to match. Our other Editors' Choice winners for macOS VPN include NordVPN, which sports an excellent interface and collection of specialized servers, and Private Internet Access, which has an incomparably robust network of servers.
PureVPN (for Mac)
Bottom Line: PureVPN offers robust protection for your web data with an excellent collection of servers and strong privacy protections, but it isn't the fastest Mac VPN we've tested.