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NordVPN has become a household name thanks to an extensive TV advertising campaign conducted over the past few years. But NordVPN isn’t simply well known because it’s invested a lot of money in fancy marketing initiatives.
The company has built up a reputation as a world-class virtual private network because it offers an extensive international server network that continues to grow, impressive performance, robust encryption, the ability to unblock leading streaming services, easy-to-use apps for all platforms, and lots more.
Along with being a top VPN provider, the company has spent a great deal of time and effort expanding its product offering in recent years. Today, NordVPN isn’t just a VPN service; it’s an all-in-one online privacy and security package that protects users from malware, web trackers, intrusive ads, and much more. But, ultimately, should you spend your hard-earned money on it? After using the service for several weeks, we share our thoughts.
A large and diverse server network
One of the things that sets NordVPN apart from other leading VPN services is its large international server network.
NordVPN currently operates over 7000 high-speed servers in 113 countries worldwide, around double that of ExpressVPN and Surfshark. Its servers cover the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East.
Along with offering VPN servers all over the world, NordVPN provides a range of specialty connections optimized for different purposes. With Nord’s Double VPN servers, you effectively get twice the protection as your internet traffic is routed through two VPN connections and not just one.
Onion Over VPN servers are a great choice for extra privacy, combining the power of a VPN service with the anonymity provided by The Onion Router (Tor). When using these servers, your internet traffic will pass through a NordVPN server and the Onion network before reaching the internet.
NordVPN also has obfuscated servers that make it harder for third parties like internet service providers to detect VPN usage. They use a complex algorithm to get around firewalls designed to block VPN services, allowing people to use these services in regions and environments with strict internet rules.
There are also P2P servers for connecting to peer-to-peer networks, such as torrenting websites, and dedicated IP servers that provide a static internet protocol address that only you can use.
Another advantage of NordVPN’s servers is that they use random access memory to store user data. This means your data isn’t kept on a physical hard drive and will be wiped whenever the server is turned off.
Is NordVPN good? We test its speed
NordVPN is among the fastest and most reliable VPN services, and there are a number of reasons for that.
Since 2020, NordVPN has been operating 10GBps servers designed to offer high speeds and reliable connections. They’re great for bandwidth-intensive activities such as streaming and gaming.
You can also customize each server to suit your internet usage habits and ensure it performs well, thanks to several VPN protocols, including NordLynx, IKEv2/IPSec, and OpenVPN. NordLynx, which is based on the WireGuard protocol, is NordVPN’s proprietary protocol and is designed to offer impenetrable privacy and fast connection speeds. In fact, NordVPN claims that it offers double the speeds of other VPN protocols.
With NordLynx activated, I conducted an internet speed test while connected to the fastest available NordVPN server on my home WiFi network. It came back with a download speed of 48.5Mbps, an upload speed of 9.19Mbps, and a ping score of 12ms, which are decent speeds for most everyday online activities.
When I disconnected the VPN and ran another speed test, the download and upload speeds increased to 49.9mbps and 10.0Mbps, while the ping remained at 12ms. These numbers suggest that NordVPN didn’t really slow down my internet speeds.
I’ve had NordVPN running in the background on my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for several weeks, and for the most part, it’s not negatively impacted my day-to-day web browsing or streaming habits.
There were a handful of occasions when I answered a call via Snapchat or Facebook Messenger while out and about, and the other person thought I sounded patchy. So, clearly, there are times when using a VPN can affect your internet speeds.
How to use NordVPN
If you’re looking to protect a range of connected devices using a VPN service, you’ll be happy to learn that NordVPN works on a range of different operating systems.
There are apps for Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android TV, and Apple TV, as well as browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
What’s great about NordVPN’s apps is that they’re very easy to set up and use. When you download NordVPN onto your device, you simply need to log into your account using your email address and password.
On the mobile apps, you can quickly begin using the best-available server by clicking the blue “quick connect” button. There’s also an interactive world map that lets you browse servers in different parts of the world, with the number of servers per country clearly labeled. If you swipe up on the map, a list of specialty servers and server locations appears.
You can access and activate more advanced features like VPN protocols, split tunneling, threat protection, multi-factor authentication, and more in the settings menu, which is accessible through the profile section at the bottom of the home screen.
The desktop apps are also super simple to use. On the home screen of the Windows and Mac apps, there’s a large map of server locations. But these are also available in list form on the left side of this page. You can access settings and other pages using a navigation bar on the far left side.
Things do, however, get more complicated when using NordVPN on Linux. The app uses a command-line interface rather than a graphical one, meaning you’ll need to input commands to get it to work. That said, this shouldn’t be an issue for most Linux users, who are notoriously tech-savvy.
Installing a NordVPN extension is another great way to stay secure online. Using a proxy server, the NordVPN browser extension will encrypt your browser traffic. It’ll also block unwanted adverts and dangerous links. However, to access all of NordVPN’s features, you’ll need to download the proper app.
If you want to use NordVPN on a device that doesn’t support VPNs natively, I’d recommend installing it on your broadband router. That way, any device connected to your Wi-Fi network will be protected by NordVPN automatically. There’s also a SmartDNS feature for using NordVPN on devices like smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Getting around geo-restrictions
NordVPN is an excellent VPN service for circumventing pesky geo-restrictions and accessing content that wouldn’t ordinarily be available in your current location.
Using NordVPN on a Macbook from the UK, I could access various international Netflix libraries without any issues. These included Netflix in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, France, and Germany.
You can also use NordVPN to watch TV shows and movies on major streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, YouTube, DAZN, BBC iPlayer, and many more.
It’s easy to use NordVPN for accessing foreign content – just connect to a VPN server located in the country where you’re trying to unblock geo-restricted content, fire up your streaming platform or website of choice, and sit back and relax.
Security and privacy
If you’re considering getting NordVPN, you’re probably wondering: Is NordVPN safe, and is NordVPN trustworthy? The answer to those questions is a resounding yes.
NordVPN has an extensive suite of features to improve your online privacy and security. It encrypts user data using the AES 256 encryption, which is widely regarded as the most advanced encryption protocol by governments and IT security experts. There’s also a built-in network kill switch, which will disconnect your internet connection and protect your data if your VPN suddenly drops.
Another nifty feature is split tunneling, allowing you to list which apps you want to be protected by a VPN service and those that don’t need a VPN. For example, you may wish to route sensitive apps like email services and corporate systems through your VPN. However, you could keep streaming services directly connected to the internet so that you don’t experience buffering due to VPN usage.
You also get DoubleVPN, which uses two VPN servers to route your traffic, and private DNS, which provides an extra layer of security by encrypting domain name system (DNS) queries. The latter are used when you search for websites and services on the web.
On top of these more standard VPN features, NordVPN offers advanced online protection.
This includes Threat Protection Pro, which can block malware, web trackers, adverts, and other cyber threats, and a dark web monitor that alerts you if your account credentials are listed on the dark web. Other extras include Meshnet, which lets you set up a private network for sharing files, working and playing games securely, and a password manager.
How much does NordVPN cost?
When it comes to pricing, NordVPN offers one-month, one-year, and two-year plans across Basic, Plus, Complete, and Prime packages — all of which have varying features.
The Basic one-month plan starts at $12.99 per month and includes the VPN service. If you want access to advanced features like Threat Protection Pro, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the more expensive packages.
You’ll generally get more value for money by opting for a longer subscription. The Basic one-year plan currently costs $4.59 a month, billable at $68.65. Meanwhile, the two-year plan at the same tier is even cheaper, costing just $3.59 per month for an upfront fee of $96.93.
Whichever subscription you choose, you’ll be able to use ten devices simultaneously on your account. You’ll also get 24/7 customer support, which is handy if you’ve never used one of these services before and need help at any given time.
Is NordVPN free?
Sadly, NordVPN doesn’t offer a free subscription. But as every premium plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, you can ask for a full refund if you pay for a NordVPN plan and decide it’s not the right provider. Android users can also get a NordVPN free trial that lasts for seven days via the Google Play Store.
Can you cancel NordVPN?
It’s possible to cancel NordVPN at any point. Just log into your NordVPN account on a computer, head to the “billing” page in the left-hand menu, go to “subscriptions”, click on “manage” in the autorenewal section, and finally select “cancel”. Again, you can ask for a refund within 30 days of taking out a NordVPN subscription – you just need to contact a NordVPN team member via email or live chat.
Conclusion
Overall, NordVPN is a highly versatile VPN service that lives up to its infamous reputation. With high-speed servers in all corners of the globe and effective IP masking, NordVPN easily gets around geo-restrictions so that you can enjoy all your favorite online content, regardless of location.
Its apps are also a breeze to use, although you are limited to using them on ten devices at the same time. Apart from being a highly effective VPN service, NordVPN has lots of extras to help you stay safe in an increasingly dangerous online world. And you can get all this great stuff at an affordable price point.
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