If you’re worried about whether installing and employing a VPN on a Mac computer is tough, rest assured that anyone can do that. During this article, we’ll do our greatest to supply up-do-date guides, providing you with a transparent idea of the way to start with VPN applications. More precisely, you’ve got three options ahead of you. You’ll use a politician MacOS VPN app; you’ll configure a VPN manually. Otherwise, you can believe third-party apps surely protocols. Each of these has its benefits, so let’s start explaining those. Welcome to our guide the way to found out a VPN on a Mac!
Before we start, we have got an essential note for you. To offer you a concrete example of how VPNs are configured on Mac computers, we chose to travel with ExpressVPN. This VPN uses the most straightforward possible protection for your private data, unblocks websites, supports media streaming, and many more. As such, we believe it’s one of the simplest VPNs overall. Of course, you’ve got other options also, so you’ll want to see out the simplest VPNs for Mac.
So, here are 3 Different Methods to set up a VPN on a Mac in 2020.
- Method #1: Use Your VPN Provider’s macOS App
- Method #2: Set up a VPN on a Mac Manually
- Method #3: Use a Third-Party macOS VPN App (Tunnelblick)
Method 1: Use Your VPN Provider’s MacOS App
The most comfortable thanks to installing a VPN on a Mac is by using your VPN’s official app. It means you’ll get to address your VPN’s website. Here’s how ExpressVPN simplifies this procedure because it gives you an intuitive user dashboard for all of your VPN-related needs.
First, you would like to go to ExpressVPN’s website, where you would like to log in to your account. To try to do this, click on “My Account,” fill out the specified information, and you’ll access your user account dashboard.
ExpressVPN User Account Dashboard Website
ExpressVPN should recognize your OS automatically. So, you’ll click on the “Download for Mac” button. After a couple of seconds, ExpressVPN’s installation file will download to your computer. A replacement website also will open in your Internet browser, so confirm to stay it handy (we’ll need it soon enough).
ExpressVPN MacOS Setup Wizard
Now, undergo the installation procedure by double-clicking on the file you’ve downloaded just. You’ll get to provide your macOS user account password, and ExpressVPN will finalize the method on its own.
ExpressVPN Login Screen
Open the VPN app and log in to your account. For this purpose, you’ll copy the activation code you’ll see on the online page that ExpressVPN opened once you began to download its installation file. You’ll be asked to settle on if you would like ExpressVPN to launch on startup, and you’ll opt-in/out of anonymous data logging.
ExpressVPN Interface MacOS
That’s it! You’re now liberal to start using the VPN. By default, you’ll see the fastest server presented by ExpressVPN. However, you’ll always click on the “three dots” button to review all of the available servers and pick one manually.
Good to Know: Some VPN services have also listed their apps on the Mac App Store. They are available with a suitable faster download method – but they’re also generally less secure since they’re bound by Apple’s strict AppStore submission guidelines. One example of this is often NordVPN, where you’ll prefer to download its App Store app or the official macOS app from its website.
Method 2: found out a VPN on a Mac Manually
If you don’t want to put in another app on a Mac, you’ll always configure your VPN manually. Confine mind that your VPN must supply you with certain information, like its server addresses. Once more, ExpressVPN is the most suitable option here because it provides everything you’ll need on its user account dashboard.
First, you’ll need to prepare some information associated with your VPN. More precisely, you’ll need your username and password (these aren’t your VPN’s regular credentials, confine mind), a server address, and more. When it involves ExpressVPN, you’ll find this information by logging to your account on its official website.
Manual Configuration ExpressVPN User Dashboard
Once you get to your account dashboard, click on “Set Up Other Devices,” then choose “Manual Configuration.” On the proper side, click on “PPTP & L2TP/IPSec,” and you’ll see all of the specified information below. Confirm to stay this page open, as we’ll need it in time.
MacOS VPN Connection Manual Creation
Now, attend System Preferences > Network and click on on the “+” check in the bottom-left corner. Pick “VPN” for the interface, and “L2TP over IPSec” for the VPN type. It provides a name to the existing VPN connection, but confirm to stay it easy to memorize. You’ll want to make a connection to a selected server, so it’s a realistic idea to mention what server is that.
MacOS VPN Config
Then, inspect the ExpressVPN website you’ve previously opened, as we now need the knowledge found there. You’ll get to fill out two fields here (server address and account name), so inspect this information back on ExpressVPN’s website. By the way, your account name is your username, usually a string of numbers and letters.
Advanced Settings VPN MacOS
Select “Authentication Settings” to proceed. Within the “Password” field, you would like to enter your custom password (once again, this is often visible on ExpressVPN’s website). And also, enter “12345678” within the “Shared Secret” field. Click on “OK” to use and input all of this information.
Advanced VPN Preferences MacOS
Then, click on “Advanced” – found within the bottom-right corner. Confirm to see the box for “Send all traffic over VPN connection” to avoid any leaks. Confirm your decision; also, check the box for “Show VPN status in the menu bar.”
Realtime VPN Stats MacOS
That’s it! You’re now liberal to hook up with your newly created VPN connection. This will be done by doing to System Preferences > Network, or by clicking on the newly created menu bar icon. Repeat a similar procedure to disconnect once you did not need your VPN.
Good to Know: As you’ll see, macOS allows you to feature three sorts of VPN connections manually. These are L2TP/IPsec, Cisco IPSec, and IKEv2. All of those are secure, but you ought to choose OpenVPN if you would like the most straightforward protection for your data. You’ll get OpenVPN by following the methods explained above and below this segment.
Method 3: Use a Third-Party MacOS VPN App (Tunnelblick)
If you simply need the Open VPN protocol and don’t want to use a fanatical VPN app, you’ll use a third-party app for this purpose. Of course, you’ll need a VPN that supports this protocol, and once more , we believe that ExpressVPN is your best bet.
First, you would like to download corresponding VPN files from your VPN provider (and gather other information along the way). So, if you’re an ExpressVPN user, simply login to your account panel on the VPN’s website, then click on “Set Up Other Devices” and choose “Manual Configuration” on the new page that ought to appear now.
Now, inspect the proper side of that page. This is often where you’ll see your OpenVPN username and password, along with team VPN files. So, download VPN files of these servers that you simply plan on using.
Tunnelblick Installation Wizard
To make an OpenVPN connection on MacOS, it’s recommended to use Tunnelblick. Click on the provided link to go to its official website then download the app to your Mac. Then, double-click on the installation file and follow the steps you’ll see on your screen. Launch the appliance once it’s installed (if it doesn’t launch on its own).
Immediately, Tunnelblick should show you two options to provide a configuration file or to line up a replacement connection manually. Since you’ve got the specified OVPN file ready, you would like to click on “I have a configuration file,” which should open another window – where you’ll add your OpenVPN configuration.
Tunnelblick Startup Screen
Drag-and-drop the recently downloaded OpenVPN file on the left side of Tunnelblick’s interface, where it says “Configurations.” the appliance will now invite your username and password, so you’ll return to ExpressVPN’s website to urge your OpenVPN credentials. Input the specified information (you also can save them in your Keychain) and ensure your input.
Adding VPN Profile to Tunnelblick
Finally, you’ll use this same interface to attach to your newly added server. Repeat the procedure to feature multiple servers. And eventually, you’ll easily connect and disconnect from various servers by clicking on Tunnelblick’s menu bar icon (in the top-right corner of your screen).
VPN Log Tunnelblick Active Connection
You’ve reached the top of our guide to fixing a VPN on a Mac. We hope that you’ll manage to travel through this procedure with no problems. However, if you face any roadblocks, don’t hesitate to allow us to know via the comments section below.
