Best VPN for Apple's ecosystem

 A virtual private network, or VPN, is a private connection over the Internet from a device to a specific network.   VPN technology is widely used in corporate environments. If you need to be "present" on an institutional network, a VPN is a great tool for accomplishing this. it is generally issued and controlled by the institution.

Almost all other uses are a SCAM. There is generally no need for you to have a private (and almost always MUCH slower) connection to a VPN vendor's Network, except to make it easier for them to harvest your data to sell. If you are behind a Router you control or Trust, there is NO security advantage whatsoever in using a VPN. Your connections are already encrypted in most cases.

If VPN vendors just stopped there, it would be bad. But many of these packages also insist on scanning all your files, non-stop, -- nominally looking for viruses, but who knows for sure what data they are harvesting. Their non-stop file reading punishes your computer's performance in the process. 

Some also break into your other secure connections so they can be FIRST to examine your data, often leaving your Mac MORE vulnerable to attack.

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

Presumably you refer to a commercial VPN Service. This may have limited value or benefit to you...

A VPN connection can only protect traffic between the VPN Client and the VPN Gateway. If you are running your own Gateway, while the VPN is active, your network traffic will have protection of the VPN tunnel between your device and your VPN Gateway endpoints. Similarly, when connecting to an Enterprise (such as your employers business network) a correctly configured VPN connection can provide robust network security for this type of connection.

If instead you are connecting to a commercial VPN Service, your VPN traffic will be protected as far as your VPN Provider's Gateway - where it will be delivered to (and traverse) the internet without benefit of the VPN. As such, when connecting to an untrusted public WiFi, all of your network traffic will be protected over the least-trustworthy public WiFi connection - but receive no additional protection from where your traffic exits the VPN at the Gateway.

It is when using untrusted WiFi networks that Commercial VPN Apps may have some useful utility - but you must consider that your unencrypted data remains visible to the VPN Provider. Choose your Provider with care - as not all are themselves trustworthy.

Also consider that much of your network traffic is already encrypted by default using TLS/SSL. That said, there are some network protocols (such as DNS) that do not have benefit of encryption - and this traffic can be intercepted or maliciously manipulated. This risk can be mitigated using DoH, DoT or ODoH protocols.

In more detail...

Part #1

Much of the hype and negative comment that you will observe throughout the Apple Support Communities are derived from a bias against, or a fundamental misunderstanding of, VPN technologies and their uses/benefits - in addition to misguided faith in Apple products being immune to cyber-threat. In many cases, negative viewpoint will be based upon consumption of misinformed commentary of others; such commentary often reinforces preconceived faith in both invulnerability and perceived immutable truth.

It is impossible to provide an in-depth discussion of Information Security and IP networking with the limited space that this forum allows. The following is intended to provide brief overview and insight - from which you are free to ask additional questions, draw conclusions as to efficacy, and/or make informed decision as to potential benefit in securing your internet communications.

Enterprise applications may use VPN technologies to securely connect remote users to corporate systems - security benefit being derived through the entire path being protected. Commercial VPNs, as used by private individuals, do not offer protection over the entire path as the encrypted tunnel terminates at the VPN Gateway from which your traffic is routed over the internet to its destination(s). Properly configured commercial VPN services do, however, provide useful mitigation against very specific threats. In using these services, It is important to understand the risks against which a commercial VPN can provide useful protection - and those that it can not. A commercial VPN cannot provide total protection against all monitoring of your internet traffic - as the end-to-end path is not protected by the VPN in its entirety.

A high proportion of your traffic (such as browser traffic) already benefits from encryption (e.g., SSL/TLS) without use of a VPN - but some protocols (such as DNS) are entirely “in-clear” and can be intercepted and manipulated. Header and routing information are also unencrypted - and is available to anyone that is able to monitor your local network connection. Where utilised, VPN encapsulation ensures that all your traffic, including unencrypted data, is contained within the VPN tunnel away from prying eyes and threat actors.

None. The only reason why it would ever be considered is when it is required by an employer or school network to "tunnel" into their servers. In that case, you would be advised on the appropriate VPN and the settings to use for their network.

None. You don't need any of them unless you're part of a business or school which says otherwise; in this case, all questions about setup or usage should be sent to their IT department.

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VPN: What you need to know - Apple Community

Part #2

One of the arguments against the use of commercial VPN - frequently cited within the Apple Support Community - is that all your traffic is routed via the VPN provider”s VPN Gateway. This of course is completely true - however, in many cases presents no greater risk to you, or your privacy, than routing all your internet traffic via your ISP or mobile phone operator.

Reputable “paid” commercial VPN services have no vested interest in your internet traffic beyond statutory obligations imposed by the authorities in whose territory in which they operate. Again, from a regulatory a technical perspective, this is no different to your ISP or mobile phone operator. Reputable commercial VPN services are fully and profitably monetised by service subscriptions.

Free or “low cost” VPN operators are funded differently. Clearly, these VPN operators have cost overheads that must be fully funded; such services are often funded through commercial advertising served via the VPN connection, or traffic analysis and data mining - this data being sold-on to other interested parties. Dishonest VPN operators may attract business with express intention of misusing your data - or to facilitate criminal activity.

Looking now at areas where a commercial VPN provides useful threat mitigation…

Assuming that your home wired/WiFi network is secure - and that other network devices using the network are trusted - use of a VPN within your local network offers little if any tangible benefit. By contrast, public WIFi networks (such as Airports and Hotels) are high risk; other users of these networks can access and manipulate your network traffic - and it is here that a commercial VPN provides useful protection. Here, when using a VPN, all your traffic is fully protected from actors over the high-risk elements of the network path - between your client device and the VPN Gateway.

Remember, the local WiFi connection is likely to be the least-trustworthy network segment.

Another recent VPN discussion: Help with Firewall Settings macOS 15.5 - Apple Community

Yes, the title is about macOS and firewall, but the thread includes a quite extensive discussion of VPN issues.

VPN internet speed can be horrible.