![]() ![]() killing the ability of my local-network CrashPlan server from connecting to the Mac at work to perform its backup. Commonly known as a “kill-switch”, this feature has the unfortunate side effect that, when enabled, kills access to local network services - e.g. An important feature of Cloak is called “OverCloak”, which prevents any internet traffic during those few moments between the time when you connect to a network and the time at which the Cloak VPN connection has been established. ![]() (It’s worth noting, though, that Cloak do offer a $100, if you buy a year’s service in advance.) The only Cloak plan that can provide enough data transfer for that is the $9.99 unlimited plan-and $120/year is just expensive enough to make me consider alternatives. As our computers are now essentially connected to somebody else’s wifi network, I want my MacBook Air to be permanently VPN connected at all times while at work. At my office, we recently switched from ADSL internet connectivity, to WiMAX.Having said that, there are a couple of drawbacks to Cloak that have prompted me to experiment with an alternative. Motivations for trying something different So with Cloak, once you’ve installed and configured it, you can forget about it, knowing your devices will remain secure wherever you are.Īnd the elegant visual design of Cloak is representative of the quality you’ll find in all aspects of the product-from its performance, to the account management at the Cloak website, to their prompt, friendly and competent technical support.įor casual needs, the $2.99/5GB monthly plan from Cloak, providing security to all your devices, is a no-brainer and something I’d recommend to everyone. While other VPN apps attempt to do the same, they are clumsy and unreliable, and as far as I know, there are none that achieve reliable auto-connection on iOS. It does this by maintaining a list of your “trusted networks”, and automatically establishing a secure VPN connection anytime you’re not connected to one of those networks. The essential problem that it has solved is - you don’t have to remember to enable it. But you can also manually specify the server, which can be useful if you’re in Europe, and need to appear to be connected, say, from somewhere within the United States.Ĭloak is, without a doubt, the easiest-to-use VPN app on the Mac OS X and iOS platforms. Normally, Cloak will connect to whichever of their global servers is fastest, given your current location. Technically, Cloak provides this by establishing a VPN (virtual private network) connection to one of their servers, and then routing all your device’s internet traffic through that encrypted tunnel, thereby making it difficult for local sniffers to compromise your computer. ( - As mentioned in an update at the end of the article, I’ve actually now switched back to Cloak, but using Little Snitch as the kill-switch.)įor years, I’ve used Cloak on both Mac OS X and iOS to provide security when accessing untrusted wifi and ethernet networks. In this post, I describe why, after years of using the wonderful Mac/iOS VPN product, Cloak, I’m experimenting with an alternative approach, that combines Private Internet Access (PIA) and Little Snitch.
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