VPNs, or virtual private networks, are boons to personal privacy and anonymity online. I recommend them wholeheartedly to everyone, not just those engaged in risky work online. The downside is that they do slow down your connection.

The best ones slow it down less, but I still notice a change in download and upload speeds when I’m connected versus not connected. Surfshark, one of the better VPNs out there, just introduced a feature called FastTrack that claims to boost your connection speeds on VPN up to 70% compared to a conventional VPN connection.

But for now, it’s only available for macOS.

fast-tracked and safe

Surfshark’s explanation for how FastTrack boosts internet speeds up to 70% faster than using its conventional VPN connection is a bit in the weeds and technical. “We actively test multiple path combinations using Nexus ( a unique multi-server routing system that connects users to an entire network of servers rather than a single VPN tunnel) to identify the most efficient routes.

“Collecting and analyzing real-time speed data ensures that user traffic is directed along the optimal paths, delivering the best possible performance for everyone.” The bottom line is that it’s faster, and you don’t need to know how or why in order to benefit from using it.

I discuss VPNs more at length in my Guide to the Best VPNs, but the layman’s definition is that a VPN server routes all the information exchanged between you and other websites’ servers on the internet, in both directions.

Should a website or a bad actor try to follow you across the web, they won’t see your unique, identifiable IP address, only that of the VPN server you’re connected to. Think of it like those spy thriller movies where the bad guy is tailing the hero, and the raincoat-clad hero disappears into a sea of people all clad in raincoats. The bad guy loses track, and the hero slips away unnoticed.

Since these are shared servers—any decent VPN will have thousands of servers to choose from—your online activity disappears into the crowd if a data thief or snoop tries to eavesdrop on your digital trail.

Surfshark’s FastTrack, at least for now, is only available in three server locations: Sydney (Australia), Vancouver (Canada), and Seattle (US). That doesn’t mean only three servers, since Surfshark calls these their three key locations and presumably has many servers in each of them.

Using FastTrack doesn’t require any special instructions or convoluted connection process. As long as you’ve got an active Surfshark subscription and are using it on a desktop or laptop Mac, all you have to do is connect to a server in Sydney, Vancouver, or Seattle, and Surfshark will handle the rest.

Check out our Best VPNs Guide for more recommended VPNs, and more insight into why you should be using one, even for something as innocuous and seemingly simple as reading this article…