if a NordVPN sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve been bombarded with ads from many different VPNs while browsing the web. It can be hard to tell which ones stand out from the crowd with such a huge selection, but our NordVPN review will give you an overview of the provider’s core features, how it works, how fast it is, and whether it’s worth it. the price.
The best VPNs are not free at all. Many claim to cover your tracks as you surf the web without spending a penny, but be careful. Some of these providers are legitimate, like the best free VPNs, but the vast majority make money by logging your Internet traffic and selling it to third parties. It’s not a good deal with your data and could lead to identity theft if hackers run these services. NordVPN isn’t one of those scams because you get what you pay for, including the same encryption technology that banks, governments, and the military rely on to keep your browsing habits out of the hands of the bad guys.
One of its biggest features is the ability to switch between VPN locations. As long as you are connected from another country, all Internet services will treat you as if you lived in that country. Want to watch the American Netflix movies you love at home while you’re on vacation in Europe? This is not a problem with NordVPN. You can change your location on the fly from within the app, and with over 55 servers to choose from, there’s a huge selection of titles to watch on Netflix and other location-based content providers. We’ve tested Netflix in Canada, the UK, the US, Japan, and Australia, all with complete success. Even when streaming HD content, the service works without any noticeable slowdowns or lags compared to our home connection.
NordVPN also supports P2P for all gamers and file sharing services that need to be able to connect directly with other peers to run their software. It doesn’t support P2P on all servers like other providers, but it clearly indicates which ones are in the app. While connecting to remote locations may increase your in-game ping, we did not experience any connection issues in online games. Similarly, the torrent software we tested worked without a hitch.
It is not only convenient and fast, but also very safe. Journalists and political dissidents trust NordVPN to keep their data private and anonymous when they send information that could have deadly consequences. That’s thanks to the Hidden Servers feature, which disguises your VPN traffic as normal browsing data to help you stay undetected by malicious third parties or repressive governments. The provider also uses the globally trusted OpenVPN suite to protect your encrypted sessions, as well as NordLynx’s own internal protocol. Both protocols are designed from the ground up to provide rock-solid network security when you really need it.
Security and privacy are clearly top priorities here. In addition to the world-class encryption used in the app, there is also a no-logging policy, which means that no data about your browsing is ever stored on the company’s servers. You don’t have to take NordVPN’s word for it: the company has hired a third-party auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCooper, to verify all the claims. PwC conducted a full review of the servers’ operation and concluded that the service does not keep records of user data. PwC’s seal of approval as one of the world’s leading accounting firms carries a lot of weight.
Prices
There are several different pricing plans for NordVPN depending on whether you just need the basic VPN experience or are looking for additional cloud backup services. The standard subscription includes a high-speed and secure VPN app, as well as protection against malware, tracking and ads! This subscription starts at $11.99 per month. A Plus subscription gives you access to a cross-platform password manager that syncs all your passwords in an encrypted vault that you can access from any provider’s app. At just $12.99/mo, the password manager alone is already worth an extra $1/mo, but that’s not all!
When you buy a Plus subscription, you are also covered by the Data Leak Scanner. This tool uses dark web scanning to alert you to any new database leaks containing your information. Posting your credentials online is a huge security risk, but this feature keeps you informed so you can change your passwords before you fall victim to identity theft.
“Full” is the most expensive plan at $14.29 per month, but it’s worth it for 1TB of encrypted cloud storage on top of all the Plus and Standard features. It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can try before you buy to make sure NordVPN is right for you. All subscriptions are available monthly or for one or two years, saving between 45% and 65% on your purchase. For example, a two-year full plan subscription costs just $5.99 per month, bringing the cost of the full plan down from $447.39 to just $161.73.
You can pay in many ways, from AmazonPay to Google Pay, ACH bank transfer through Plaid, Bitcoin and Ethereum through CoinGate, and all major credit and debit cards. It’s especially nice to see that NordVPN offers cryptocurrency payments, as it can help you remain anonymous.
Privacy & Security
When you use a VPN, you entrust your sensitive browsing data to a third party. It’s important to make sure you’re in the right hands! Fortunately, NordVPN has strong security.
The application itself uses high security AES-256-GCM encryption to ensure that your browsing data is not read between your computer and the server with which you are communicating. Even if someone logs all your traffic, once it leaves your device, the encrypted tunnel prevents it from being read. To prevent information leakage over an unencrypted connection, this service uses a system-wide kill switch to disable all network access when you’re not connected to a VPN. This way, if you lose connection to their servers, you won’t suddenly send your personal data over an unencrypted connection. Combine that with private DNS servers that prevent your web search requests from being sent to a third party, and you have a VPN app that keeps your web browsing completely private.
The speed
NordVPN is one of the fastest providers we’ve tested, which is important for using the geo-unblocked streaming services it offers. After all, there’s no point in paying for a fast home connection if a slow VPN slows down your internet speed.
We found that the NordLynx protocol achieved connection speeds of up to 750-800 Mbps in our cloud test setup. These are lightning-fast results, easily comparable to the fastest VPN, if not the fastest. Of course, speed changes daily based on how many people are using their servers, but while your mileage may vary, NordVPN is always on top.
We also found that switching between servers when streaming over a home connection was nearly seamless, constantly streaming high-definition videos from YouTube and Twitch, and taking just seconds to reconnect with each attempt.
Support for
NordVPN works on a variety of different platforms, including Windows, Mac OSX, iOS, Linux, and supported routers. There’s even a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome if you need quick access while browsing. Installing the application is very easy no matter what platform you are on, thanks to a very complete set of installation guides available in the company’s support center. Once you have downloaded and installed the service, all you need to do is enter your username and password. Most platforms come with a full GUI that presents all the options in a very simple and minimal map toolbar so you can see the physical location of the servers you are connecting to. One notable exception is the Linux client, which unfortunately only comes in the form of a command line interface.
Ultimately, NordVPN is a provider we’re happy to recommend due to its combination of fast speeds, great feature set, ever-growing global server pool, and truly competitive pricing.
NordVPN
It maintains its position as one of the best value VPNs on the market, with top speed, security, and features.
Source : PC Gamesn
