What you don't need

Do I need a VPN for everyday browsing?

Verdict: Most people don't need one.

A VPN hides your traffic from your ISP and replaces your IP address. But in 2026, nearly every website uses HTTPS — your ISP can see that you visited a site, but not what you did there. On a home network, the main thing a VPN protects you from is your ISP's metadata. That's a real concern for some people, but it's not the universal security risk it's marketed as.

VPNs are genuinely useful for: public Wi-Fi in hotels/airports, bypassing geo-restrictions, hiding your IP from sites you visit, and journalists or activists who need an extra layer of anonymity. For everyone else, a VPN is often theater.

When you do need one: Mullvad or IVPN. Both are audited, no-logs, and don't require an email to sign up.

Do Macs need antivirus software?

Verdict: Don't pay for it.

macOS ships with XProtect (malware scanner), Gatekeeper (app notarization), and System Integrity Protection. Apple updates XProtect silently in the background. A paid antivirus product doesn't add meaningful protection and often slows your machine down, adds its own privacy risks (network scanning, telemetry), and shows you scary notifications designed to upsell you.

The actual risks on Mac — browser exploits, phishing, malicious apps from outside the App Store — aren't meaningfully mitigated by AV software. Gatekeeper + your own judgment handles them better.

Do I need a special "secure" or "private" browser?

Verdict: Use Firefox or Safari. You don't need a special browser.

Brave is a fine browser but it's not meaningfully more secure than Firefox or Safari with uBlock Origin installed. Most "secure browser" marketing is just Chrome-fork rebranding. The extension you install matters more than the browser: uBlock Origin in Firefox blocks more trackers and ads than any browser's built-in blocker.

What actually helps: uBlock Origin (Firefox/Chrome/Edge), keeping your browser updated, and not installing random extensions.

Is paid dark web monitoring worth it?

Verdict: Use Have I Been Pwned — it's free.

Services like LifeLock charge $10–30/month to tell you if your email appears in breaches. Have I Been Pwned does the same thing for free, is run by a respected security researcher (Troy Hunt), and covers the same breach databases. Your password manager (Bitwarden, 1Password) also monitors breaches in the free tier.

Should I cover my webcam?

Verdict: Low priority for most people.

Remote Access Trojans (RATs) that activate webcams exist, but getting one requires running malicious software — which a non-technical user is more likely to encounter via a phishing email attachment than a targeted hack. Keeping your OS updated, not clicking email attachments, and using a password manager reduces your malware risk far more than tape on a camera.

If you're a high-value target (exec, journalist, activist), a camera cover is a reasonable low-cost addition — but it's not where most people should start.