NordVPN is an excellent choice for those looking to secure their internet connection while browsing the web anonymously. It offers unlimited bandwidth and servers in over 60 countries around the world. If you looking for a good VPN provider, then NordVPN is definitely worth checking out. In this review, I'll tell you why you should consider using this service.
As one of the biggest names in the VPN industry, NordVPN hits all the right notes in offering a service that provides everything a user could want. NordVPN is extremely fast, packed with useful tools, and it's easy to use.
It's also based in a privacy-minded country and offers all the standard safety and privacy features users should get from a top-notch VPN, plus a handful of extra features like double-hop VPN, onion over VPN, and kill switch. And it's pretty inexpensive for what it does, even if it's one of the priciest VPNs out there.
If you have ever wondered why some VPN services are better than others or maybe you’re wondering whether NordVPN is worth buying or not, you have come to the right place. In this NordVPN review, we are going to look at exactly why NordVPN is the best VPN service out there.
Table of Contents
What is NordVPN?
NordVPN is an online virtual private network (VPN) service that encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP with your physical location. It is one of the leading providers of VPN services today. Whether you want to watch Netflix from abroad or browse anonymously, NordVPN delivers. Their customer support team is responsive and helpful, and they offer 24/7 live chat support.
NordVPN was founded by childhood friends who wanted to provide users with a simple solution to protect their online privacy. They launched NordVPN in 2012 and since then, it has grown into one of the leading VPN services available.
Today the company is one of the safest VPN providers in the world with market-leading encryption and secure tunnel protocols which ensure all your data is safe as you browse the web.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
Who is NordVPN Best for?
NordVPN is one of the best VPN services available for those who want high-grade encryption and privacy. It has a wide array of security and convenience features, including double VPN, Onion over VPN, and multi-hop VPN. This makes it a great choice for users seeking a VPN with a wide array of security and convenience features.
However, NordVPN is not great for people who are budget conscious or those seeking a VPN for a large group or big organizations.
NordVPN is a good option if you're concerned about governments spying on you or traveling to countries where online privacy isn't guaranteed. It also has a lot of features that make it appealing to other people, so it's one of our most popular VPN services.
They have more than 5,600 server locations worldwide, making it one of the fastest VPNs available. It has an intuitive user experience. When activated, NordVPN encrypts traffic using 256-bit AES-256-CBC ciphers and adds extra protection from cybercriminals by providing additional security through its built-in Threat Prevention feature, which includes anti-malware technology.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
NordVPN Pricing Plans?
NordVPN offers three different plans. Each plan provides a certain number of features and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Here are some of the differences between each plan:
- The Standard Plan on a yearly plan goes for $4.49/month giving you a secure and high-speed VPN, malware protection, and a tracker and ad blocker.
- The Plus plan goes on an annual plan goes for $5.49/month with everything on the standard plan including a cross password manager and a data breach scanner
- With the Complete plan when billed annually, you get everything in the plus plan and 1TB of encrypted storage
The standard plan is perfect for those who want to use a VPN for occasional browsing. However, the plus plan is better for people who want to browse anonymously while working remotely. If you're looking for something extra with storage, go for the complete plan.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
NordVPN Key Features
NordVPN is one of the best VPN providers around because it provides great value for money. In fact, we think it’s the best VPN out there.
But what does it offer that makes it stand out from the crowd?
Let’s find out.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
Six simultaneous connections
NordVPN lets you access the internet securely on six different devices simultaneously, even if those devices use different operating systems.
With their Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, and Linux apps, it doesn't matter whether you're using a laptop, tablet, smartphone, smartwatch, or gaming console - you'll always have complete control over your online privacy and security. And because they don't keep logs of your activity, there's nothing to worry about.
NordVPN allows you to set up the program on your router so you can protect your entire household by offering a secure connection straight from the source.
Sign up for NordVPN today and start protecting yourself against hackers, cybercriminals, and government surveillance.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
Largest VPN server network
NordVPN boasts over 5600 server locations in 59 different countries. To make it even easier to find one close to you, they provide information about each location, including speed, distance, and whether or not there are torrenting options. If you’re looking for a VPN provider that’s both easy to use and reliable, NordVPN might be just what you need.
They offer multiple ultra-fast servers in each country and each server has been optimized for a specific task. The fastest download speeds are perfect for video streaming.
The most important thing to know about NordVPN is that it doesn’t log user data. This means that no matter how much you pay, you won’t ever have to worry about being tracked by third parties. In fact, their privacy policy states that they don’t keep any logs whatsoever.
Another great feature is that you can access any of their servers via a web browser through a browser extension or their free iOS/Android apps. There’s nothing better than having the ability to connect remotely without needing to download anything.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
WireGuard® for more speed
NordVPN uses its own VPN Protocol called NordLynx in addition to IKEv2/IPsec and OpenVPN. This protocol promises faster connection speeds while keeping you safe online.
The VPN protocol is based on WireGuard®, which is a free software project developed by Jason A. Donenfeld. With WireGuard®, you don't worry about IP addresses or ports because it connects directly to servers without having to go through the router. This gives you the fastest possible connection speeds.
With WireGuard®, NordVPN offers the best possible connection speeds.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
Split tunneling
This VPN service offers include split tunneling functionality, allowing users to select which applications gain access to the VPN connection and which ones remain unaffected. Split tunneling allows users to connect to a public network like Wi-Fi hotspots without having to worry about security issues.
NordVPN offers App-based split tunneling for windows 8.1 and the latest versions of windows and Inverse split tunneling for windows 8.1 and later, Android plus Android TV.
This feature allows you to access your local sites since sometimes using a VPN can lock you out. Just remember to only use split tunneling where it matters to not leave yourself exposed. Use split tunneling if you don't want to block certain apps from connecting to the internet, but still want to use a VPN connection to protect yourself online.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
Monitoring the dark web for leaks
Cyberattacks happen all the time, whether it’s on your favorite social media site or a website you use every day. Hackers often target organizations that don’t take cybersecurity seriously enough to implement basic security measures. They want access to sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or Social Security numbers, and they’re happy to steal it if they can.
According to the Ponemon Institute, 80% of businesses don’t conduct regular security audits of their networks. This leaves them vulnerable to cybercrime. So, if you’ve ever been hacked, chances are good that you didn’t know it happened. You probably just woke up one morning and found out that someone had changed your password.
There are many ways hackers can access your personal information. They could use social engineering techniques, phishing emails, malware, or even brute-force attacks. But what happens when someone tries to log into your account without knowing the correct username and password combination? Well, they're probably trying to guess those numbers. And that's where the NordVPN Dark Web Monitor comes in.
The NordVPN dark web monitor alerts you anytime it detects your credentials on an underground website. This allows you to keep your accounts secure before anyone can get access to them.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
Kill Switch for emergencies
A kill switch is an important safety measure for any device connected via Wi-Fi to the Internet. If the VPN connection drops, it will disconnect your device from the network without warning.
The NordVPN app includes a Kill Switch feature that lets you protect your device from accidentally connecting to public Wi-Fi networks while you're traveling abroad. When enabled, it automatically disconnects your device from the network once you've successfully connected to another one.
This allows you to browse without worrying about getting caught up in someone else's data cap. You'll still be able to access whatever sites you want, just not the ones you connect to via public hotspots.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
Advanced security
TOR is an open-source project providing anonymous web browsing and email. Their Double VPN offers advanced security features including IP address masking, domain name system (DNS) leak prevention, and automatic Kill Switches.
This combination gives you an extra layer of security and added protection against surveillance and censorship, allowing them to surf the internet freely while keeping their identities hidden.
They also provide advanced security features like IP Address Masking, DNS Leak Prevention, and Automatic Kill Switches. These features allow our customers to browse the internet anonymously and keep their identities protected.
The NordVPN Double VPN combines both features into one safe and secure connection. You can now use Tor and VPN together to protect yourself from surveillance and censorship. This means you can encrypt your data or browsing traffic twice.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
NordVPN protocols
The overall flexibility of your VPN largely depends on its list of VPN protocols. They ensure reliable performance, help you deal with online censorship, and unblock services like Netflix US, for example.
With that in mind, here's a full list of NordVPN's connection protocols:
OpenVPN (TCP/UDP): The most popular protocol. It's fast and easy to set up, but it doesn't support some encryption methods.
IKEv2/IPSec: A newer protocol than OpenVPN. It supports more encryption methods and has better compatibility with other devices.
NordLynx: An older protocol than OpenVPN and IKEv2. It's compatible with Windows XP and Mac OS X. This protocol is in between OpenVPN and NordLynx VPNs. It’s easy for mobile users and frequent travelers to use because of its re-connection features. It lets you connect to different wireless access points without losing your current connection. It can however make you vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.
NordLynx: NordVPN's proprietary protocol is based on WireGuard. NordLynx fixes WireGuard's privacy issues with its “custom double Network Address Translation (NAT) system.” Its small code base makes it less vulnerable to hack attacks than OpenVPN.
Encryption is an important security measure for protecting sensitive data from hackers. It's one of the most secure encryption methods available, and it's also widely used by banks, healthcare providers, and other organizations. NordVPN encrypts your traffic with the AES-256 cipher.
If you want to use IKEv2 or IPSec, you need to configure them yourself. It's not one of the available options. If you're using Windows, the system will automatically downgrade your encryption to the weaker 3DES-CBC algorithm.
You may also be exposed to man-in-the-middle attacks if you add the certificate to the trusted root authorities.
We strongly suggest using IKEv2 / IPSec only if you have no other options available. You don't need to be an expert at VPNs if you use NordVPN's client. It can choose a protocol for you.
Usually, it would be NordLync because this is their safest and most efficient option. You can also let them choose the best server for you. However, you don't need to choose the fastest place either.
If you're looking for a simple, affordable VPN solution, NordVPN is worth considering.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
Logging and privacy
As we mentioned earlier in our NordVPN review, the company is registered in Panama. It has no mandatory data retention law so it doesn't log anything. Panama is not part of the infamous 14 Eyes alliance.
In May of 2022, NordVPN started using diskless (or RAM only) server technology. Since there's no hard disk to store the data, the data cannot be stored server-side. Every time you restart your server, all of the data stored on it is lost.
This is this set up but let's take a closer look at NordVPN's real logging policies.
Here's the user information collected by NordVPN:
- Personal info: Email address, billing information, country details (for VAT calculation purposes)
- Technical info: When you use NordVPN, they collect your IP address and device information when you're using their site or contact them via their chat bot. This data is collected not only to provide the requested services but also to detect fraud, DDOS attacks, and similar hacking efforts. The information gets deleted when the servers get reset.
Though they record user IP addresses, NordVPN doesn't keep any activity logs like the sites you visit, for example. There's no way to trace your online traffic back to you as an individual. It could be coming from any number of devices.
We can safely say NordVPN is extremely secure and will help keep your identity safe and anonymous.
NordVPN keeps your payment info for 10 years after the last time you made a purchase. Your email will be kept for one year after you end your subscription. You also have certain rights regarding your personal data.
You can always ask for access, removal, or correction at any time. You can also ask for a copy of the collected personal data (data portability), revoke previous consents, file a complaint, or complain to the supervisory authority.
Finally, NordVPN supports ObfsProxy too. This (Tor) technique prevents Deep Packet Inspection and is generally known as “VPN obfuscation.”
For most users, this feature isn't necessary, but if you're in countries like China and Turkey, it may be the only option available to you. It also provides extra security against IP leakage.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
How Easy is it to Use NordVPN?
The NordVPN interface is easy to use and provides a lot of information about the connection status. You can easily manage your account settings and change logins. There are no ads and the app doesn’t slow down even during peak hours.
You can also download the NordVPN Android app, which lets you control your VPN connections remotely. This feature works well and makes it easier to switch locations without having to close the browser window.
For business-grade VPN you can choose their NordLayer VPN. With NordVPN, you can use additional security apps (NordPass and NordLocker). To access devices remotely via encrypted tunnels NordVPN offers you that feature. Also, NordVPN supports all major payment methods including Crypto Currency.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
NordVPN’s Installation Process
NordVPN has a very simple, easy-to-use website. In fact, it looks like every other VPN provider out there. But what makes NordVPN unique is how well it does at explaining itself.
On the home page, you'll find information about NordVPN and its services, including pricing, customer support options, and privacy policy. There are also links to NordVPN's blog, FAQ section, and Twitter feed.
The site is divided into three sections: log in, Dashboard, and Downloads. When you're logged in, you'll see your account info and your NordVPN app. If you don't want to install anything on your computer, you can just navigate to the downloads section and grab whatever you'd like.
It's pretty straightforward to install NordVPN. It has native applications for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV Stick. You can also download security extensions for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.
Aside from the natively supported operating systems, you can also install NordVPN on your Firestick, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Raspberry PI, Chromebook, Chromecast (for TVs), Kindle Fire, and Oculus Quest.
Offers the largest server locations
NordVPN
The best VPN service for online speed and Security. Has over 5,600 in 59 countries worldwide.
NordVPN’s Ease of Use
NordVPN’s mobile and desktop apps are designed to make connecting to VPNs easier than ever.
These apps are simple and easy-to-navigate, and even beginners will feel comfortable getting up and running quickly. A prominent world map featuring the available server locations makes navigation easy, too.
In addition to being able to choose a server location from a dropdown menu, there is also a Quick Connect option that lets you select the best one automatically. And if you don’t know where to go, just type something into the search field and click on the first result.
The apps feature a single interface, making it easy to switch between devices without having to open multiple windows. On mobile, you can access your account information and settings from the app drawer.
NordVPN on Linux Operating System
In addition to Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, and BlackBerry devices, NordVPN supports Linux. In fact, they've even created a comprehensive guide on how to set up NordVPN on Linux. If you're looking for something easy to install and understand, here's a quick overview of how to set everything up.
You can install NordVPN server software on any Linux distribution. It's also possible to use NordVPN on QubesOS, CentOS, OpenSUSE, and RHEL.
It means your system will probably be able to operate on their servers. You need to manage servers using the command line interface (CLI). Of course, most people who use Linux don't mind this at all!
You'll need to download the NordVPN server repository before using any VPN service. They're available in.deb and.rpm formats.
You can run them by downloading them from their respective websites and then installing them using a package manager or command line interface (CLI) in the terminal. On the NordVPN site, you'll also find step-to-step instructions for each of the different distributions.
You can also easily change the DNS servers for your computer to use NordVPN DNS servers if you're concerned about DNS leakage.
If you want to learn more about NordVPN's offerings, check out their site.
Dedicated IP Address
A dedicated IP address is one that is assigned to you specifically. This type of IP address is different from shared IP addresses because it’s always associated with a single device. Shared IP addresses are usually used by many people and devices simultaneously.
A dedicated IP address is much better than a shared IP address because it allows you to connect securely to your VPN server even if multiple devices are connected to the same network.
NordVPN offers a dedicated IP service. You can get dedicated IP addresses when you subscribe to NordVPN. NordVPN offers dedicated IP addresses for its VPN service that use the OpenVPN protocols and cost $70 per year. You can use their dedicated IP addresses on up to two different computers at the same time.
If you want a dedicated IP address with NordVPN, just sign up for an additional account at the NordVPN website.
In Summary: NordVPN Review
NordVPN is one of the best VPN providers around. It's fast, comes with powerful applications, and unlocks most video services for a very affordable price on longer plans.
All things considered, NordVPN is one of the very finest VPN services on the market. It's fast, has powerful apps with some seriously useful extra features, and unblocks just about any streaming app you can imagine – all for a very reasonable price on longer plans (opens in new tab).
NordVPN has pretty much everything you need for an excellent VPN service. So, we highly recommend Nord VPN if you want something that works well across multiple devices and platforms.
