A VPN is an essential tool for iPad users concerned about privacy, or looking to access foreign media such as Netflix or BBC iPlayer abroad. Here, we round up the best iPad VPN apps to help you.
The Mac Mini 2018 proves once and for all that Apple hasn’t forgotten about the small form-factor Mac. Despite being a fan favorite, the Mac Mini hasn’t seen a substantial update for more than four years, but with the Mac Mini 2018, the smallest Mac is competitive once more.
On paper, the new Mac Mini was worth the long wait, with Apple claiming that it’s five times faster than. This performance increase is thanks to some impressive spec bumps, including a maximum RAM configuration of 64GB with a six-core CPU. The Mac Mini is marketed as a creation tool, with Apple claiming that it’s 30 times faster at encoding HEVC video than its predecessor. It also has a bunch of ports around the back, and while there’s just one HDMI port, it’s got four Thunderbolt 3 ports to pick up the slack. So, is the new Mac Mini worth the wait? Well, we’ll take Apple’s smallest Mac for a spin to find out.
Here is the Apple Mac mini configuration sent to TechRadar for review: CPU: 3.6GHz Intel Core i3-8100 (quad-core, 4 threads, 6MB cache) Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630 RAM: 8GB (2,666 MHz DDR4) Storage: 128GB PCIe SSD Ports: 4x Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C), 3.5mm headphone jack, 2x USB 3, HDMI 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet Connectivity: 802.11ac Wi-F, Bluetooth 5.0 Weight: 2.9 pounds (1.3kg) Size: 7.7 x 7.7 x 1.4 inches (19.7 x 19.7 x 3.6cm; W x D x H) Price and availability This year's Apple Mac mini starts at $799 (£799, AU$1,249) and tops out at $1,099 (£1,099, AU$1,699) with the preset configurations. If you change any of the components, the price will also change, which gives you some flexibility when it comes to balancing power with budget. If you’re looking for a Mac to work on for creative applications, then this is certainly a more affordable device compared to the likes of the, which costs $4,999 (£4,899, AU$7,299) for the base model and is similarly geared towards creatives. More interested in the Mac mini as a small PC? Then the nearest rival is arguably the, which is a powerful, yet barebones, mini PC that runs either Windows or Linux, and costs $999 (about £710, AU$1,302). That makes the price of the Apple Mac mini seem rather generous, especially when you consider you’ll need to buy storage, memory and an operating system separately for the NUC, which adds extra expense (though you don’t need to pay for Linux, obviously).
Design Fans of the compact, no-nonsense designs of previous Mac Minis will be pleased to learn that the new Mac Mini pretty much keeps that intact, with the same small, square-ish metal design that measures 7.7 x 7.7 x 1.4 inches (19.7 x 19.7 x 3.6cm) and weighs slightly heavier than the last Mac Mini at 2.9 pounds (1.3kg), compared to the older Mac Mini’s weight of 2.6 pounds (1.19kg). Apple has also made subtle changes to the Mac Mini’s design, as it now come sin Space Gray to match the iMac Pro – though it’s the only color option available – and, Apple proudly claims that the new Mac Mini contains 60% post-consumer plastic, mostly in the base, with the case made from 100% aluminum. Apple has also managed to cram more powerful hardware into the same compact Mac Mini dimensions, thanks to a redesigned thermal architecture that includes a bigger fan, expanded vents and an overhauled PSU. The move to a PCIe solid state drive (SSD) for storage doesn’t just make the Mac Mini faster, it means it runs cooler and quieter as well – essential for a small form-factor PC.
Ports-wise the Apple Mac Mini (2018) comes with four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, two USB-A ports, audio jack and Gigabit Ethernet, along with a 10Gb Ethernet option. On the back corner there’s a power button and the increasingly rare (for Apple products, at least) 3.5mm headphone jack as well.
All these ports are kept at the back of the Mac mini for a clean look, which keeps wires from sprawling all over the place. With just one HDMI port, you're going to have to either upgrade to a Thunderbolt 3 monitor or make do with an adapter if you want to plug in more than one monitor. Considering the Mac Mini is built as a creator's tool, multiple monitors are often a must, so many people will have to buy extra accessories.
The good news is that with Thunderbolt 3 you'll be able to run two 4K displays at once, and you'll still have two ports left over – maybe one for an external graphics card solution, which the Apple Mac mini (2018) supports. As per usual, the keyboard and mouse aren't included, so there's another two accessory to factor in to the overall price. As is also usual with Apple’s products, it’s not easily upgradable, unlike mini PCs like the Intel NUC or Zotac ZBox range. This means that when the Mac mini starts showing its age, you’re not going to be able to easily open it up and add in more powerful components – aside from the memory.
For anyone coming from a PC background where upgradability is essential, this will be frustrating, but for anyone used to Apple’s way of doing things, it won’t be too surprising. There’s also a few things Apple has done to mitigate the user’s inability to upgrade easily. First of all, you’re able to configure the Apple Mac mini (2018) quite extensively, allowing you to upgrade various components before you buy, ensuring you get a Mac mini that best suits your needs and budget. It’s also worth noting that thanks to the modern technology in the Apple Mac mini, you should hopefully not feel the need to upgrade for a while yet. And, considering the gap between Mac mini releases these days, that may be for the best. Overall, we’re pleased that Apple has maintained the small size of the Mac mini while filling it with more powerful components and plenty of ports, though creatives that want multiple monitors may need to think carefully thanks to the single HDMI port, and lack of any DisplayPorts.
The Space Gray color looks great, as it does on other Apple products, and the 100% recycled aluminium case is a welcome move, which also keeps the Mac mini feeling sturdy and robust. Here’s how the Apple Mac mini (2018) performed in: Cinebench CPU: 587 points; Graphics: 40.75 fps Geekbench 4 Single-Core: 4,733; Multi-Core: 14,447 Performance The new Mac Mini has desktop-grade 8th-generation Intel Coffee Lake processors in quad- and hexa-core models, so we had high hopes for the computing power. The new square shaped desktop delivers five times the amount of performance over its predecessor, at least according to Apple. Because the Mac Mini is aimed at creatives, which typically count on intensive software and editing large files, the 2018 Mac Mini needs to be able to keep pace, more so than any previous version. The quad- and hexa-core Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 4.6GHz, and support for up to 2,666MHz (which is four times what the last Mac Mini could hold) will definitely keep the 2018 Mac Mini feeling fast and responsive for most tasks, and allows it to handle multiple tasks at once, thanks to the huge amount of memory on offer.
The latest Mac mini comes with the Apple T2 security chip, which comes with an SSD controller with on-the-fly data encryption for 'industry-leading security'. The T2 chip also features HEVC video transcoding that's up to 30 times faster, which will be great news for video editors who are interested in using an Apple Mac mini for their creative work. The only place the Apple Mac mini (2018) is let down, specs wise, is with the Intel UHD 630 integrated graphics.
We would have much rather seen some form of discrete graphics, and anyone using the Apple Mac mini for graphically-intensive creative work, such as video editing and 3D modelling, may find the integrated graphics a bit limiting. However, those looking for a boost in performance on this front can always plug in an. We got to see how flexible the Mac mini (2018) is with a Black Magic eGPU plugged in. Editing raw 4K video files and adding effects on the fly in Final Cut was impressively smooth for such a diminutive machine.
Of course, the external graphic card was doing a lot of heavy lifting, but it was a good indication of how the new Mac mini can be used in creative work. Apple also showed us an interesting setup where a single Mac mini (2018) was connected via a network switch to a network cluster of five Mac minis (piled on top of each other). By putting the 10Gb Ethernet port on the Mac mini (if you choose that option when purchasing the Mac mini) to good use, we saw how you can offload intensive processes (such as rendering video) to these other Mac minis. The process of doing this is impressively simple in Final Cut, where it was a matter of opening up a menu and selecting the attached Mac minis. Once done, the tasks were completed by the other Mac minis, while the main one could still be used for working on without any noticeable impact to performance. Perhaps most impressively, the stack of five Mac minis remained pretty much silent, even when working on those intensive tasks.
For anyone who has used multiple PCs at once on complex projects and had to put up with the sound of fans blasting off, this will be a welcome solution. Of course, there won’t be many people who will be using a pile of Mac minis like that, but it’s a good demonstration of how versatile the new Mac mini is. In our day-to-day use we were really impressed with the new Mac mini, which felt fast and responsive when running. Apps opened and closed instantaneously, and even more challenging processes, such as video transcoding, was accomplished quickly – and silently as well. What we really like about this new Mac mini is that Apple has produced a powerful and versatile mini PC that’s compact enough to be easily carried around, or hidden out of view behind a display. In our benchmark tests, the Mac mini doesn’t hit the highs of professional-grade Apple devices such as the or, but it still performs very well, especially in the multi-core tests thanks to that quad-core Intel processor. If you go for the Mac mini configuration with a hexa-core processor, expect even better results.
It’s also worth remembering that the Mac mini is a fair bit less expensive than either of those other devices, even when you factor in the fact that you need a monitor, mouse and keyboard for the Mac mini. Compared to the previous generation of Mac mini, there’s no competition: this year’s Mac mini blows it out of the water, performance-wise. If you love your Mac mini and have been waiting for an upgrade, then you’re going to be very pleased with the new Mac mini.
Verdict Many of us had been hoping that Apple would release an updated version of the popular Mac mini for years now, so we were excited when the Cupertino company finally announced the new Mac mini earlier this year. However, this isn’t just an afterthought, or a quick and dirty update to keep the more vocal Mac mini fanatics quiet. Instead, we’ve got a hugely overhauled Mac mini that in some ways goes way beyond what we had been hoping for. This is a very accomplished little machine that packs some brilliant modern features and components for a level of performance that puts many other small form-factor PCs to shame. Apple has acknowledged that the computing landscape has changed since the last Mac mini was released. Back then, the Mac mini was designed with casual users in mind, as well as an accessible device to win over people from Windows.
With the rise of laptops, and with the entry level MacBook now acting as that crossover device, Apple has pitched the Mac mini towards creatives and professionals. That might sound crazy, but you know what? This is a brilliant little machine in its own right, but paired with an eGPU (or even a few extra Mac minis) and you’ve got a powerful machine for heavy-duty tasks. By being scalable in this way, as well as allowing you to use your own monitor and peripherals, you’ve got a very flexible device.
It’s also very competitively priced compared to other small form factor computers that offer similar levels of performance. We’ve been waiting a long time for an updated Mac mini, but in our view it has definitely been worth the wait.
Public Wi-Fi is a great way to download podcasts, movies, and music when on the go without burning through your data cap. Even checking Twitter and sending emails can start to add up if you’re away from home a lot. Public Wi-Fi isn’t always secure, though. Editor’s note (August 30, 2017): Cloak, which means the new name of the service is Encrypt.me. Apart from the name, not much has changed, but we will continually review the service as more features and changes are released. Most technology enthusiasts have probably heard the term VPN. It’s especially thrown around the enterprise IT world.
In fact, “per app VPN” is one of the key enterprise features of. So what exactly is VPN? VPN stands for Virtual Private Network.
In short, it connects a client device (Mac, PC, iPhone, etc.) that is using an unsecured Wi-Fi or wired connection to a secured network before transmitting data. Apple has great support for VPN built right into Mac OS X and iOS. With Apple’s recent renewed interest in the enterprise, VPN is a critical solution for customers of all sizes. IOS devices send and receive a lot of personal data, and public Wi-Fi isn’t as safe as many of us would like to believe it is. While many companies offer VPN solutions for Mac OS X and iOS, is our favorite. Is a close second. With its “set it and forget it” approach, Encrypt.me is the easiest VPN to use.
It automatically connects to the VPN from any Wi-Fi network except the ones you have white-listed. TunnelBear has more competitive pricing, but it requires you to manually connect when you want to secure your connection. Get Back Hours Per Week Discover how to improve your workflows and get more focus with this free, in-depth guide to productivity. Why is a VPN important? So why is VPN important for Mac and iOS users? For one, iOS makes it really easy to connect to guest WiFi. While LTE connections are very fast, it’s always ideal to connect to WiFi when possible to avoid eating into your cellular data cap.
On the Mac, when you are away from home, you really have 2 options for connectivity: cellular tethering or guest Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi, for all its great qualities, can be insecure if deployed incorrectly. How do you know that someone isn’t sniffing packets on your local coffee shop’s Wi-Fi? How do you know what security measures are put into place at the hotel you are staying at? And rogue access points are among the security concerns you face with Wi-Fi. My rule of thumb is that you should never connect to a Wi-Fi network that you didn’t install without using a VPN.
This includes Wi-Fi that requires a password. The existence of a password does not mean that it is secure once you connect to it. Using a VPN For Mac and iOS users, what are the options? We want to use free WiFi when it is available, but how do we stay secure? There are so many VPN services to help ensure your browsing is secure, but I’m going to focus on 3 for the purposes of this article. The home-made VPN On the scale of ease of use, this is the most difficult.
It’s going to require that you know how to set it up and make it work. This can include running it on a server you have at the house, a Mac mini at, or a general that uses the app from the App Store. While the other two options I am looking at are more “consumer driven” type services, these are more manual.
If you’ve got a spare Mac mini, the folks at Mac mini Colo have a nice blog on configuring it with As you can see, it requires a decent amount of setup. As I mentioned, the OpenVPN app for iOS is free.
For the Mac, I really recommend. It’s frequently updated and is fairly easy to use. Again, OpenVPN and Viscosity are just applications. The applications are worthless without the actual VPN service. Are these services hard to setup? It really just depends on your knowledge of VPN and servers.
The Mac makes it a lot easier than other platforms. If you’ve got a static IP address and a Mac that is always on at home, you could even set this up for very little money out-of-pocket. TunnelBear is a VPN service that supports PC, Mac, Android, and iOS. The thing that TunnelBear does that more generic services don’t is that it’s built for regular people, not IT administrators. Pricing is fairly simple, but check their for the most up-to-date information.
Mac and iOS pricing:. 500 MB/month: Free. 1 month unlimited: $9.99. 12 months unlimited: $59.88 iOS-only pricing:. 500 MB/month: Free. 1 month unlimited: $3.99.
3 months unlimited: $9.99. 12 months unlimited: $29.99 Setting TunnelBear up on iOS is incredibly simple. You download the app and then create an account. Upon first login, you are prompted to install an iOS configuration profile. It’s important to note that iOS handles VPN configuration itself. One of the great things about iOS is that Apple is building various toolkits that companies can plug into. This creates a uniform solution for end-users.
Once it’s installed, you are likely to not use the TunnelBear app again unless you are purchasing a plan. To activate the VPN, you go to Settings.app → VPN → Choose your VPN server, and then flip it on. On the Mac side, you drag the app to the Applications folder and then sign into your account upon first launch. The app is extremely simple to use. Once you are logged in, you can select the country you want to use and then flip the switch.
Once that switch is flipped, all your traffic is secured. You’ll notice that there are different countries. Why is this helpful? Let’s say that you are traveling to another country, but want to enjoy your Netflix subscription. By connecting to a US-based server, you’ll be able watch US-based content. Depending on how much you travel and visit places with open Wi-Fi networks, it’s possible the 500 MB plan might be enough. If you are doing more than general web browsing, you will likely burn through it pretty quickly.
One of the nice bonus options that TunnelBear offers is a that you can do once a month. If you combine that with the 500 MB free plan, you’ve got 1.5 GB for free. TunnelBear is a really nice service and works as advertised. Using any sort of VPN connection is slightly slower than a direct connection, but I barely noticed it.
It’s a fantastic service. Encrypt.me Encrypt.me is another “set it and forget it” type VPN service. Like TunnelBear, it’s aimed at regular consumers rather than IT professionals.
On the surface, it looks similar to TunnelBear, but just more expensive on the unlimited plans: Through iOS In-App Purchase:. 1 Week Pass: $3.99. 30 Day Pass: $9.99. 12 Month Pass: $99.99 Through the Encrypt.me website, you have several account options at varying price points.
They outline all the options and prices on their. Passes: These are short-term passes that offer unlimited data during the term. These range from a week, a month, to a year.
Subscriptions: Subscribing on a monthly or yearly basis gets you unlimited data. Families: Same thing as subscriptions, but for up to 5 members.
Teams: A convenient way to centrally manage, administer, and pay for a team of members. As you might expect, you get price breaks as you add more users. There’s also a Mini Plan that offers 5 GB of data for $2.99 a month, which is a good deal if you only need to use the service lightly. Encrypt.me also offers a similar that Tunnelbear does if you are on the 5 GB plan. All of these plans are unlimited. So if you compare prices, TunnelBear is quite a bit cheaper per year than Encrypt.me on the unlimited plans.
You might be asking, why would anyone sign up for Encrypt.me at those prices? Encrypt.me has one killer feature: it automatically connects and disconnects based on the Wi-Fi network you are connected to.
Here is how this might work in practice: Your home network and your work network are set to trusted. When you are connected to those networks, your VPN is off. When you visit your local coffee shop, Encrypt.me will automatically connect and secure your connection. When you leave that Wi-Fi connection and switch back to LTE, Encrypt.me will disconnect (you can set cellular connections to untrusted if you want to).
Why is this important? It’s because it makes security automatic. With OpenVPN-based services and TunnelBear, you have to remember to turn the VPN on whenever you need it. With Encrypt.me, unless you have specified the Wi-Fi network you are using as trusted, it will connect.
When you connect to Target’s guest Wi-Fi, it will connect. When you connect to Starbucks’ guest Wi-Fi, it will connect. When you connect at home, it will not connect. Installation of Encrypt.me for Mac and iOS is extremely simple. On the Mac, you download the application and drag it to your Applications folder. Once you launch it, you log into your account and you are off and running. Encrypt.me makes it very easy to modify trusted networks vs.
Untrusted, and it also includes an option to always trust non-WiFi based networks (ethernet, etc). On iOS, installation is simplified even further.
You download the app from the and it walks you through the installation process. It’s a very similar process to TunnelBear since you install an iOS configuration profile. As I mentioned earlier, the secret sauce of Encrypt.me is that once you tell the app your trusted networks, you no longer have to interact with the app. It will turn itself on and off automatically.
So, what’s the best option? Encrypt.me and TunnelBear each have 2 distinct advantages. TunnelBear is cheaper on the unlimited plan, but Encrypt.me has the auto-connect feature. If you are the type of person who frequently uses public Wi-Fi (traveling, coffee shop meetings, etc.), I recommend Encrypt.me. If you are the type person who spends the majority of the day at home and work (and you trust your work Wi-Fi), then TunnelBear is probably a better choice because it’s 50% cheaper on the yearly plan (or 70% if you only use iOS). Encrypt.me offers a 14-day free trial and TunnelBear offers a free 500 MB a month plan, so there is no reason not to try both and see which one works best for you. Both companies offer a “tweet” bonus, where you can tweet about their service for a quota bonus.
Encrypt.me is our favorite based on its ease of use. It’s still inexpensive for everything it offers. Once you get your “whitelisted” networks setup, you’ll likely not need to use the app again unless you are managing your account. It’s is truly a “set it and forget it” type service. Whatever you do, if you use Wi-Fi that you don’t manage, make sure you are using a VPN.