connection security is a topic that do many masses ’s eye sugarcoat over , and I ca n’t blame them . We all rationallyknowthat we should ensure our information is dependable , but for most of us actuallydoing sois probably one step below flossing , or keeping track of our receipts .
That ’s why I ’m so fond ofCloak . And I ’m not alone : Macworldgave the app , which late release its 2nd translation , a Best of Show accolade at Macworld / iWorld last month . The app and its attendant service ensure that your communications remain secure — and , best of all , they do it with lilliputian treatment on your part .
Cloak has very few options in its app itself ; which is okay , as you may need to travel to it only seldom .
What Cloak does is aboveboard : You designate sure networks as “ trusted”—i.e ones where you ’re moderately sure that people are n’t spy in on your communications . For most people , that ’s their home plate and office networks , as well as perhaps a few others . When you ’ve defined which meshwork you trust , you could secernate Cloak to automatically secure your connection whenever you’renoton one of those trust networks .
How does it secure said connection ? That ’s where Cloak the service come in . It relies on Virtual Private Networking ( VPN ) , the same technology that many of use to connect to our work networks from outside the office . Since the VPN is encipher , all the traffic routed over that connection should be free from prying eyes .
If that were all Cloak did , it would be a fairly unanimous app . But there are a few extra feature in the mix that ratchet it up . For one , as I mentioned before , all this happensautomatically : Once you get past the initial setup , you do n’t really need to manure around with Cloak . If you ’d rather be a little more hands - on , you could choosenotto have Cloak automatically fix your joining on untrusted meshwork ; you could also take whether or not it handle cellular web as trusted or not . ( They tend to be less susceptible to interception than Wi - Fi networks . )
Cloak mechanically creates and configure VPNs for you , so many of its features are only accessible via the preferences app .
Cloak also syncs your list of secure web and preferences between all your Apple devices , both iOS and Mac . So once you ’ve updated your predilection on one gadget — say if you ’re adding another trusted internet — all you take to do on your other devices is tap a few buttons to sync those preferences . Plus , Cloak ’s interface is friendly and simple , let you know via color - rag icons what your current internet security position is .
But perhaps my favorite feature of speech of Cloak is an accessory one . It ’s a feature dubbed conveyer , which allow you to lumber in to a secure waiter in a different country . Why might you want this ? Well , if you ’ve ever had a hankering to try out BBC ’s iPlayer , only available in the UK , or you ’re a Canadian resident — or an American trip overseas — who need to watch the U.S.-locked content on Hulu or Amazon Prime , Transporter ’s the way of life to go . Eight country are currently available , including the U.S. , UK , Netherlands , Japan , Germany , France , Canada , and Australia , and you’re able to toggle between them at will . Plus , your connectedness is still unafraid .
Despite my generally positive feeling about Cloak , there are a few advance that I ’d like to see . For one thing , I ’d love an option to have my iPhonepreferjoining a trusted web over an untrusted web if both are useable . For another , it ’d be ready to hand if a few more of the options were uncommitted within the app itself , such as using conveyer or disconnect from the VPN while on a entrust meshwork . But some of those may be limitation of iOS itself , which may themselves be raise in time .
Cloak itself is a free download , and it works on your iPhone , iPad , or iPod touch execute iOS 7.0 or after . You will , however , need to pony up a bit for the service ( server are n’t chinchy , after all ! ) , which offers two subscription : an straight-out data plan for $ 10 per month or a mini plan ( limited to 5 GB of bandwidth ) for $ 3 per month . All plans mold on multiple twist at the same time , so even if you ’re using it on an iPhone , iPad , and Mac , they can all be secure at the same clip .
If you only need Cloak for a limited flow — you’re on a business slip , for model — you may also buy a weekly , monthly , or yearly pass for $ 4 , $ 10 , or $ 100 severally . And , if you desire to try it out before you bribe , the company offers a 30 - Clarence Day free trial .
Given how much of our daily biography and business is conducted online , the question is n’t really if you’re able to afford to ratify up for Cloak — it ’s if you’re able to affordnotto .
