I have become more vigilant about protecting my Mac OS 14.2 Sonoma. I added recently added Malwarebytes however it seems to conflict with the Nord VPN I already have installed. I also have Ad Stop.
Should I delete one of these programs? Which one will work best for protecting me from malware? Thanks.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.14
Get rid of Nord VPN. There is no reason to use a VPN to access the Internet unless you need to bypass firewalls put up by a repressive government or are the target of same.
Using a VPN to access the Internet does nothing to protect your privacy or secure your data and it certainly won’t protect you from malware.
You don't need either one, but between the two a VPN certainly isn't going to help protect your Mac from anything. Don't use it.
If you want to be vigilant protecting your Mac, then read Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community. Various programs claiming to do that on your behalf tend to fail miserably at the task. Delegating computing security to an app is irresponsible, no matter how "recommended" or "trusted" those apps may be.
For reasons that elude rational explanation various commercial VPNs seem to have become popular. They make dubious claims that don't stand up to scrutiny.
The only legitimate purpose of a VPN is to provide a connection to a private network — by definition, one that is not connected to the Internet and cannot be accessed any other way. Commercial VPNs that serve to forward your communications to and from publicly available Internet sites cannot possibly convey any greater security, and only make data-harvesting and general eavesdropping on your Internet activity easier for those with nefarious intent.
Start with the free version. EtreCheck often points out something we may have overlooked, though it might not mean we're completely finished troubleshooting.
Thanks, John! I don't know why, but right after I put the Duck Duck Go App onto my computer (AFTER I deleted the Nord VPN).... my Safari load times have rally slowed down. I did an (Xfinity) speed test, and it's working at its max speed that I pay for. There is no one else in my house using a computer, watching anything streaming, etc.
I wonder if it's because I use Nord Pass. I have both the App on my toolbar (where all the App Icons are) and I also put the Nord pass onto my Safari as an Extension. Could that be the problem?? Thanks!
It's possible. You already did a lot of troubleshooting in an effort to determine the reason Safari is slow loading web pages. Continue to simplify things as much as possible, which means uninstalling any Safari extensions and observing any potential correlation.
You might be able to speed up troubleshooting by using EtreCheck. Instructions are here: How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report - Apple Community. Post its report in a reply. Something relevant may appear in that report, or not, but it will help advance troubleshooting.
The DuckDuckGo app is just a browser. It shouldn't have any effect on Safari.
Thanks, that really did help.
I have another question. Does this Duck Duck Go search engine slow down the HTML coming up in my MacMail emails?
The DuckDuckGo Search Engine is not involved in the Mac's Mail app in any way.
Thank you so much, John. I'll download the Etrecheck. Do you think it's ok if I go the "free" way with it, or is
the Pro (paid?) version a better way to go?
Having trouble with Nord VPN and Malwarebytes installed on my Mac Air OS
