Using AdGuard with Monterey

I was using App Guard which is a cool app that blocks advertisements on the Internet. There was an interaction with installing Monterey on my M1 MBA. I couldn’t get on the Internet. It may have had to do with new Apple privacy settings.

Did anyone have a similar problem? If so, has it since been resolved? I turned it off and I don’t recall how I did it.

Do you really mean AppGuard?

Or AdGuard?

You are right, Rob. It is AdGuard. Thanks.

Are you familiar with it?

Yes, I use AdGuard on iOS & macOS.

However I’m still using an Intel Mac running macOS Big Sur…

1 Like

This was covered in detail here. Bottom line: AdGuard creates and launches it’s own VPN. (Bet you didn’t know – because it doesn’t ask permission.) Apple Mail depends on Apple’s Private Relay service. Private Relay will not operate correctly on an VPN. Either get rid of AdGuard (which is what I did) or do not use Private Relay.

1 Like

I did not realize AdGuard had a VPN.

I did already have VPN on my MBA. I called AppleCare and they figured out that was what it was ie the Ad Guard. I spent a day and a half trying to get the VPN turned off. I finally got a response from AdGuard who told me that it is not easily resolved. So they said they’d get back to me.

I was so terrific not to have all the ads, especially the migraine inducing ones. I miss AdGuard although I do use it on my iPad Air.

The VPN is easy to get rid of.

  • Quit Safari
  • Open System Preferences > Network
  • You will see the AdGuard VPN listed in the left hand panel of Network Perferences. Select the AdGuard VPN and press the minus sign at the bottom of that list to delete it. If asked to confirm, then confirm.
  • Open the Applications folder in Finder and delete AdGuard.

This will remove AdGuard, if that is what you want to do.

Thank you! Actually I’d like to get Ad Guard back on. It is a terrific little app. But the co. emailed me and said the solution would be involved.

I had McAfee VPN on (I know. I know.) and prodded through a day and a half of their bologna. Just a nightmare. One employee actually told me that I had to rescind my cancellation before he would help me. They’re bad.

Sounds like a great idea to me. Let’s just say I enjoyed NOT having the ads.

What can you recommend?

1 Like

I agree. Discovering that the app installed a VPN without asking permission to change network permissions, and then having their tech support acknowledge to me that they knew that interfered with Monterey and they “would do something about that someday” sealed the sentence.

I’m using 1Blocker now, which is fine.

1 Like

How is it getting too fancy?

That is pretty outrageous. I wasn’t too thrilled when they acknowledged a problem but said it wasn’t going to get fixed soon.