I’m relatively new to using a VPN. Please help me understand.
I have a the Mac OS desktop app installed, and the Firefox browser extension.
When I make a connection with the Firefox browser extension then the desktop app does not show an active connection. I’m assuming that all other traffic, beside the the browsing in Firefox, is not run via VPN. So if I would, let’s say send/receive emails, send files via FTP etc, it would not run through the VPN tunnel. Even if I would use Safari instead of Firefox for browsing the web it would not use the VPN connection.
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Yes that’s true. The browser extension will only create a VPN connection for the traffic from that browser. Not for any other apps (or other browsers) running on your machine.
If you want to hide your IP, you should use the app. You can use the extension on top of that if you want to get results for a different location in your browser.
You’re right. The add-on for the browser only secures data sent within that browser. You need to join through the desktop app to get full system access, such as for emails, FTP, and other things.
Totally correct! VPN browser extensions can be quick and efficient, but they only encrypt traffic in that browser. Personally, I prefer using device-specific apps for more comprehensive coverage. Here’s a bit more on browser VPN add-ons.
Bumping this post rather than starting a new one since it’s related to my question:
Is there any reason to use both the browser extention and the desktop app? If I’m already using the desktop app, will the browser data be routed through the VPN regardless of whether the browser extension is connected or not?