NordVPN offers a VPN service at a relatively cheap price that allows its users to browse anonymously and securely. Their virtual private network servers use OpenVPN tunneling protocol and AES 256-bit encryption (with double data protection). In this NordVPN review, I’ll point out 7 reasons why I recommend using this VPN software for online privacy instead of a proxy or a free VPN service.
Rated #2nd out of 74 VPNs. Usability: 5/5. Logging policy: No logs are being stored. Netflix: Yes. Torrenting: Yes.
Speed test: Above average. Cost: $2.99/mo and up on NordVPN Pros + is a very popular VPN provider who boldly claims to be The World’s Most Advanced VPN. But I’ve seen those claims before.
So I bought NordVPN and decided to put it towards multiple tests. Here are the pros I found 1. Strong Features & Add-Ons While being relatively cheap, they do provide some great features including:. IP hiding: Yes.
Netflix access: Yes. Kill-switch: They have two different kinds of kill-switches: a user can now choose whether to close a particular app or completely terminate the Internet connection in case of unexpected dropout (system-wide kill-switch). 6 simultaneous connections. Access to their DoubleVPN servers which encrypts data twice. 5000+ fast & secure Servers.
Countries 62 (last verified 1st of May). 6 simultaneous connections Not only do they have applications for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android they have detailed tutorials for protocol connectivity for them and 40 other mobile OS, RaspberryPi’s and routers. Kill Switch: NordVPN software automatically kills your connection if your VPN connectivity is interrupted, blocking your device or terminating certain programs from accessing the internet.
DNS Leak Protection: If you have set up your VPN connection manually (say you didn’t want to connect via OpenVPN) or have recently reset your Windows,. These DNS requests will then be completely unprotected. NordVPN have implemented measures to protect you and negate such leaks. Onion Over VPN: For extra protection, or those desiring to visit the dark web (TOR network), NordVPN offers you the ability to route your traffic first through their VPN and then send it to the Onion Router.
Lacie usb 3.0 expresscard 34 drivers for mac. LaCie USB 3 ExpressCard/34 - User Manual, Installation, Troubleshooting Tips. USB 3 Express Card 34 Datasheet. USB 3.0 LaCie USB 3.0 (Mac) Driver. Nov 4, 2010 - LaCie has announced the availability of a free USB 3.0 driver for Mac. ($50) or a USB 3.0 ExpressCard/34 ($60) and a compatible Mac Pro.
SmartPlay: SmartPlay technology ensures you can access more than 400 geo-restricted streaming services; Netflix, Amazon Prime, Pandora, BBC, and others. With more and more VPN servers unable to access Netflix, this is a welcome feature.
OpenVPN (among other tunneling protocols) OpenVPN comes with 256-AES-CBC with a 2048bit Diffie-Hellman key. I generally like to see DH over RSA, due to the former enabling.
On iOS and MacOS clients, you’ll be encrypted via an IKEv2/IPsec protocol; AES-256-GCM and a 3072bit DH key, In short, NordVPN has gone all out on security and has employed above industry standard encryption algorithms. Double Data Protection If you opt to turn this feature on, NordVPNs double encryption will relay your data via not one, but two subsequent VPN servers, before it reaches the web page or application you’re attempting to access. By chaining your connection through two VPN servers, your. In addition to the (often unnecessary) double encryption, the second VPN server will be unaware of your original IP address and connections are always made via both UDP and TCP protocols. This is a “one extra step” security feature. The vast majority of you are unlikely to ever require it, especially if you’re using it only for torrenting.
Not to mention the impracticality of the drastically reduced speeds you’re going to incur. Located in Panama (Safe VPN Jurisdiction) According to their website , NordVPN was launched 2008 in Panama and is operated by Tefincom co S.A.
For some, this can raise a red flag. However, that’s common practice. All are located in independent countries that don’t share information on logging (Switzerland, Singapore, Caymans, British Virgin Islands and so on).
NordVPN definitely hides this information well enough. And it’s good for their users, too. However, when I actually paid for the test account to write this NordVPN review, my payment went to CloudVPN Inc (located in the US). So aren’t they really located in Panama like the claim? To find out, I contacted NordVPN directly and here’s what they wrote to me: “Hi Brad, First, NordVPN and all the infrastructure we use is being run by Tefincom S.A.
And operates under the jurisdiction of Panama. CloudVPN is used only as a payment collector in order to improve the acceptance rate, as banks are suspicious towards transactions made to Panama and tend to complicate or terminate such payments. It’s a simple and common practice. Our company has absolutely nothing to do with the service itself in the legal or any other matters.” To be honest – this makes a lot of sense. Strict No Logging Policy While some VPN providers keep some logs, NordVPN doesn’t. On their website, they’ve clearly stated the following: Image from: However, they do monitor some lesser important data, such as:.
Service performance data (for recommending most suitable servers). E-mail address. Payment data (but you can also use bitcoins) That’s the regular stuff that most (if not all) VPN providers are logging and it’s nothing you should be worried about. Especially when NordVPNs payment processor isn’t tied up with their main company. Works Great for Torrenting and Netflix Since has a lot of servers they also work well with Torrenting and bypassing geo-restrictions on certain sites like Netflix. When I tested NordVPN together with Netflix it seemed to work: I have to admit, not all servers are working with Netflix, because we all know how Netflix tries to crack down certain IPs that belong to VPNs.
Nord For Mac
But 4 out of 5 should work. Here are my Netflix test results: NordVPN servers unblocking Netflix:. United States (3).
United Kingdom. Netherlands NordVPN servers blocked by Netflix:. Canada You can always get in touch with their customer support who will help you the choose the right servers for your streaming. Moreover, torrenting is safe and fast too.
NordVPN has made special “P2P servers” that are solely meant for keeping your torrenting activities safe and private. You can access the P2P servers via “specialty” servers list on their application. NordVPN Speed Has Improved a Lot Ah, the meat and bones of any reputable VPN review – independent, meticulous and prolific speed testing. When I first reviewed their speeds weren’t anything to brag about. However, when I re-did this speed test in early 2018 I was pleased to see their speeds among the top. To gauge just how efficient NordVPN is at securing your traffic, I conducted several dozen speed tests from our offices in Europe, connected to the US, UK, EU and Asian servers. For this speed test, I used 100 Mbps Cable Internet connection with the following benchmark (without VPN): And while managed to achieve download speeds of 70 Mbps+ and up, NordVPN came out with 74.15 Mbps.
Nord Vpn Download
Ping: 37ms. Download: 74 Mbps. Upload: 48 Mbps Decent speeds for EU, too. Asia Server. Ping: 211ms. Download: 12 Mbps.
Upload: 5 Mbps Not bad for a Europe to Asia connection! Overall, is relatively fast VPN provider. No IP or DNS Leaks Found Whenever I review VPNs, I always make multiple tests to see if they’re leaking my DNS or IP. To make these accurate, I set my location to their USA server used 5 different sites for checking DNS leaks:. IPLeak.net. Perfect-Privacy.com DNS & IP leak test. Browserleaks.com for WebRTC leaks.
IPC.ax Overall, I can be confident that your IP nor DNS will likely never get leaked when using NordVPN. Furthermore, when I did research on Chrome extension leak test, NordVPN was one of the few that didn’t need to fix it as it wasn’t leaking. Knowledgeable Customer Support via Live Chat NordVPN can be contacted by or through live chat. Even after reviewing over three dozen different VPN providers, hundreds of hours of testing, examining and reviewing, we still have questions or need for technical assistance. Whether it’s to double check the encryption offered for your router, or a simple troubleshoot on a newly built rig, you will be forced to deal with the customer support of your VPN of choice.
If you’re a newcomer or not technically inclined? You might have some technical questions.
Any VPN worth their salt will have a prolific database of tutorials, how-to guides and informational articles in addition to live chat & quick email support. Live Chat & Email No different to the best of the best, NordVPN has recently begun offering 24/7 live chat that will assist you with any question you may have. I used their live chat twice, for an encryption question and an open-ended question. Both times the Customer Support Rep was quick to help, but came with copy & paste answer.
Should you opt to use their email support, for more technical questions or if the live chat agent did not fully resolve your issue, you’ll receive another assistant who will help you with your VPN. Knowledgebase Just as important as live assistance for minor questions is the vast directory of support articles you will have access to.
For a topic as technical as networking, making it accessible to your everyday layman is no small task. After going through their directory and quickly skimming to any support related page I could find, I estimate NordVPN to have well. NordVPN Cons – 1.
Company Not Transparent Enough As stated above, upon my investigation, NordVPN seems to be linked with CloudVPN Inc – A company located in the U.S. Which is in contradiction of what they state on their website. But that doesn’t mean they’re not private or actually located in the USA. And by thinking twice – it made a lot of sense to me. So I wouldn’t section it to cons, though.
Refund Can Take 30 Days Although NordVPN offers 30 days money back guarantee, many of the people have contacted us saying that it works, but with a caveat It takes NordVPN almost 30 days to process your refund. While this isn’t a big issue, it certainly isn’t a very good user experience.
Many VPNs provide instant refunds with a max waiting period of 7 days. However, I wouldn’t refund (nor didn’t) NordVPN, so I doubt you’ll need to use that feature at all. NordVPN Pricing, Plans & Facts Trying to forget the above, let’s take a look at how much a subscription to NordVPN will set us back. How much does it really costs? Luckily, NordVPN’s pricing is extremely simple and straightforward.
In fact, there are no plans at all. You have the option of:. ($143.4 per year). ($108 per year). ($83.88 per year). ($35.88 per year) What’s more, you can buy it anonymously with bitcoin as well as with PayPal, Credit Card or even AliPay.
Once paid, you can get access immediately and you’re able to download their VPN software. All those subscriptions come with a one-size-fits-all plan. Including:.
No logging: Yes. Ease of the VPN software: Signing up and using the app was VERY user-friendly.
Hidden fees & clauses: They cannot grant refunds if you purchased an app directly through the iTunes/App Store. Payments made using pre-paid cards or gift cards will not be refunded. Upsells: No upsells.
DNS leaks: None. Jurisdiction: Panama.
Protocols: OpenVPN, IPSec, PPTP & L2TP. Kill-switch: Yes. Personally, I am all in favor of simplicity and fairness when it comes to pricing.
Give me one plan all-inclusive plan and a few payment options and I’m happy. What’s more, they don’t set a bandwidth limit like. Overall, when signing up for 3-years upfront, NordVPN is the cheapest VPN provider that we’ve reviewed till date. Do I Recommend NordVPN? Hands down, I do recommend. It’s secure, safe and fast. Plus it doesn’t come with a huge learning curve as some other VPNs like TorGuard or AirVPN.
Their server park is the largest I know of, 4870+ servers in 60+ countries. It isn’t as fast as ExpressVPN but does the job well. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they land #1st any-time soon if they keep up the good performance at low prices. Will see what the future brings, but for now – I’m pretty much recommending NordVPN, especially if your budget is limited. Add your own NordVPN review. Linux support is a little sketchy, when using the graphical interface to configure, you are limited to UDP, no IP. This may be a Linux issue, I'm not sure.
You can do IP via the command line. More importantly, because it uses openvpn it does not offer any kill switch capability, which could lead to you getting busted for torrenting.
Fortunately, after a little bit of Googling I was able to create some shell Scripts that tweaked the firewall rules so that only tunneled traffic is allowed. That way if the connection to the VPN is lost, all internet connectivity ceases, preventing your identity from being revealed. Meanwhile, it's plenty fast and I have it enabled by default all the time because there doesn't seem to be any performance penalty for me. I was actually the skeptic one when it came to VPNs, imagined a VPN would somehow create problems on my iPhone and be overall slow. I can say now I was quite wrong and also after a chat I had with customer support, I thought this one deserves positive feedback on my part.
To make things short, the main reason I wanted a VPN was to be able to watch my favourite series on Netflix while travelling (and I travel a lot, both thanks to and hate to my job). NordVPN is perfect for that and what I also really liked is that the speeds are just about casual and also that I get to watch ads in different language and manner.
One tiny annoying thing is that the servers are only divided by country but not the city. I bought NordVPN to overcome the SKYPE blocking here in the UAE. I downloaded the program, and could never get a connection on skype here, and was unable to do anything on the internet at all. NordVPN sent me a rather lengthy support document, and I literally spent a few months trying to get it to work. Finally I gave up, installed a competitor’s VPN and instantly had crystal-clear SKYPE connections. NordVPN may be a great platform elsewhere in the world, but for the UAE, it is totally ineffective.
Still having trouble with internet since I got NordVPN. I suspect it is incompatible with Comcast as all devices that had Nord installed lost internet at home other than google sites and Yahoo. Today I tried using NordVPN on my iphone in a coffee shop but it would not connect and I lost internet in the process. Went to work and still no internet on my phone. I made sure NordVPN was not trying to connect by quitting the app (it was trying to connect).
Still no internet. I completely erased the app from my phone and then got instant internet connection.
So just having the app installed seems to be problematic. It must be trying to do something even when you tell it to stop. We have Comcast at work too. We’re looking into solving the problem with Comcast by reconfiguring the networks but it shouldn’t be this hard. Also, because I use the internet all day long in my job, I found my self having to turn off Nord too many times during the day because there were too many sites I could not access. The service itself is fine. However, cancelling it is a different story.
They kept charging me for months when I already cancelled my subscription. Every month I had to contact them again for a refund, which took more than 30 days. The service was really bad and they only solved the problem (they did not finish my cancellation in full in their system) after four months. All I got was a headache, and we are sorry for the inconvenience. Not recommedable if you want to cancel at some point in the future. They have great pricing, but unfortunately it’s the case of you get what you pay for. I was really not happy with the speed of the service.
I have 400mb down and 40mb up. I literally saw a reduction in speed by 70%. I worked with them on this as well thinking they could do something, but nothing.
I then tried and the difference was night and day! Perhaps this because they have servers closer to me, but NordVPN while I think it’s a good service, just didn’t cut it for me when it came the speed. I don’t pay for ultra-fast internet only tend up with 30% of the speed because of the VPN. I can live with a 25 to 30% cut which is what I get with ExpressVPN. The review says speeds have improved.
My gosh I wouldn’t have wanted to use it before that then. I do like that they give 6 simultaneously connections and as I said the price is great. I read some great reviews about NordVPN and decided to sign up. My confidence dropped immediately after installation, and I’m disappointed to find out the app has 3 tracking platforms built right in. The reason I purchased NordVPN service / software was to keep Google from tracking everything I do. I have an android device.
I have Google Fiber for Internet access. I have Google email at home and work. I have Google Voice for voicemail, Google contacts and Google messages for texts.
I have Google sheets and Google docs. Google knows every word I type, everywhere I browse. I don’t want an advertising company creating a database on me to sell me products. I downloaded the app directly from NordVPN to avoid the play store version. They also have Google in app billing and Google licensing built in to the app. There’s no need to have 3 different analytic engines to gather information run VPN servers.
It’s very disappointing it after spending $79 to start getting away from Google. I subscribed to NordVPN during Black Friday/Cyber Monday, they were doing a $99 for 3 years offer. What convinced me was that I was able to try them for free for 3 days (not available any more) and very, very importantly for me they offer SOCKS 5 proxies: almost all their servers, it seems, can be used via SOCKS 5 (use their server selection tool there and use port 1080 for SOCKS5).
Meaning I can connect several programs, on my computer, to different VPNs at the same time. Or also I can very easily rotate my proxies in Firefox (using FoxyProxy) without messing up my whole connection at the OS level. The subscription comes with 6 connection slots, which is nice if you want to use a bunch of different IPs at the same time. Or if you have many devices. Just make sure you don’t over-connect, as it will randomly kick you out then. The speed is decent, although not huge (depending on server load, I can get anywhere between 15 Mbps to 40 Mbps up and down, approximately, which is way below my fiber speed). But it’s fine for the price, and as my main use is SOCKS5 per program, it’s not really limiting.
My only criticism would be the reliability of the connection. It seems that micro-cuts are fairly common, meaning I can’t download big files that take more than +/- a couple of hours to download if the transfer software involved don’t support resuming. It’s not an issue for any other use case, though (like online gaming, browsing, etc) My rating would be 8/10 for the small connection drops and the time it takes to connect in OpenVPN mode, but the SOCKS proxies are so important to me and super rare that I boosted the rating a bit. The primary purpose for trying out NordVPN was to access video sites not available outside the US, which is one of the selling points of NordVPN. First off, it was very easy to download their PC app as well as ios app and connection were likewise very easy. Once connected, the speeds were comparable to the speed of the originating ISP and the service seemed solid. However, despite repeated tries, tweaking the settings, and clearing the cache, I was unable to connect to Hulu or YouTube TV (subscription streaming service) from Mexico.
I did a live chat with a NordVPN customer support rep (who told me they do not condone illegal activities such as accessing websites or streaming services from outside the originating country really???). And even after changing settings and doing everything they suggested, neither Hulu nor YouTube TV would work. The pay TV services in the US have understandably come under fire from content providers in the past couple of years, and they have become very good at blocking content to VPNs. If you’re looking for a good VPN simply to provided a layer of security, this would be a good company to go with. But if you’re looking for it to mask your location for streaming services, it will be a real challenge (and I imagine that is true for other VPNs as well).
I’ve been using NordVPN for the last few months, and I am satisfied with their product. I am currently on a 2-year plan, and I paid only $80 for this plan as part of a promotional discount. It has a lot of features that I find to be really convenient like the kill-switch and all the different options for servers. Admittedly, I don’t really use some of their services, like the “Double VPN”, or “Onion through VPN”.
It is nice to have these options, however, should the need arise. I’m always able to connect to a server, and I’m never disconnected from it.
Connecting to NordVPN servers doesn’t slow down my internet connection at all, which is a major plus. Overall, I am very impressed with the price and services that NordVPN offers and would highly recommend it to people looking to purchase a VPN subscription.
There’s nothing like NordVPN! They keep everything in order and easy to use for anyone who is a beginner or someone that is advanced with technology!
I believe everyone should give it a try as it is really useful to me when I want to be secured. Great service, when I first got NordVPN I was new to VPN so I contacted them and they gave me all the information I needed to get started. It was not overpriced and it even had a sale, bargain!
As well as there is a 30 day limit to if you want to refund if it was not good enough for you, but I believe it will be good for you, whatever you use, from a PC to a mobile device. I love this VPN as its easy to use and I don’t have to worry about the tech side of it all. What I hate is, that it seems too simple but that isn’t an issue, that’s just my opinion.
Welcome to this review of a prominent VPN service for Mac, NordVPN. In this article we will review many aspects of the service, such as ease of use, features and price.
WARNING:It is highly recommended that you use a VPN (virtual private network) to hide your IP address and personal information when browsing the deep web. This is an additional security measure that can keep you safe while you navigate the unknown parts of an almost completely unregulated portion of the internet. MacInfo recommends to stay safe. They don’t retain logs of their user’s activity, they have great server coverage across the globe and are extremely affordable. The first thing to notice about NordVPN is that when you open it up instead of a list of servers you are presented with a map, the countries of which you can click on to connect to servers there. This is extremely easy and user-friendly to operate — NordVPN can be used with virtually no understanding of what a VPN is, because it makes a graphical representation of moving around to different countries. It is possible of course to change the view using a button the upper right-hand corner of the screen, to give you a more conventional list of servers with more information.
Servers can be sorted by name, load and distance, and NordVPN will show you exactly which servers are better for which purposes. There are servers designed to be used with TOR, for P2P file-sharing, some for the fast streaming of video and others for extra privacy. This is something that is not common with other VPN providers. In this review we used the Mac client for NordVPN because this is a Mac website — however like most providers NordVPN also offers a client for Windows, iOS and Android.
Although I must say that the Windows client’s interface does not look as good as the Mac one — you just have a regular list of servers rather than the pretty map. NordVPN has 550 servers in 47 countries, which covers most locations you’d want a VPN for. Africa, South/Central America and the Middle East are places where there are few NordVPN servers, however due to the Internet infrastructure and/or political regimes in many of these areas they are locations where most people would not find a VPN particularly useful. Having said that there are other VPN providers who do have servers in some of these places, so variety in terms of countries is not NordVPN’s strongest point. NordVPN itself is based in Panama, a country with very privacy-orientated legal provisions. This puts it at a big advantage to providers based in locations such as the U.K where the logging of VPN activity is legally mandated.
Nordvpn Review For Macbook Pro
NordVPN does not keep any logs, which ensures privacy from governments as well as businesses, hackers, scammers etc. Speed using NordVPN is comparable to other providers — it isn’t the fastest speed out there, but it’s still good. Of course the speed will vary a lot depending on what country you’re in and which server you are trying to connect to. The price of a NordVPN subscription varies depending on the length of the subscription you purchase. On a per month basis buying a 1 month plan costs the most, a 6 month plan costs 41% less and a one year plan costs 52% less.
At the moment this means a one year plan would work out to just over $5.00 a month, which is very reasonable and is one of the lower prices out there when it comes to VPN providers. NordVPN has a 30 day money back guarantee, so don’t be shy about going for the 1 year plan to maximise savings! If you don’t end up liking NordVPN for whatever reason they are reasonable when it comes to giving out refunds. In conclusion I would say that NordVPN is great value for money if you want a VPN for the long term with a high level of security and you don’t mind not having severs in some obscure countries. If you have decided you would like to try NordVPN check out the plans. For any questions regarding NordVPN you can check out their, their or post in the comments section below.
This is the most detailed NordVPN review you will find. You will find everything you need to know about NordVPN in this review from pricing and performance, to encryption levels, to support and device compatibility. Also included is a detailed setup guide included to help you get NordVPN setup quickly on your device.
The fact that you are reading this review shows that you already understand that in today's online climate, using a VPN is absolutely essential - if not a necessity. So read on to find out whether NordVPN is the service provider that can give you exactly what you are looking for in a VPN. Full NordVPN Review Pricing, Plans & Payment Options PRICING NordVPN offer a VPN service that is very affordable. The pricing ranges from as little as $4/month to $8/month. This puts them in the same price bracket as some of the best VPN service providers on the market today. PLANS It comes as no surprise that NordVPN give customers the option of three pricing plans (this is what I have come to expect from every VPN service provider now), with each plan decreasing in cost with a longer subscription duration.
Money back Guarantee A 30 day money back guarantee is given to every new customer when they choose NordVPN. This is honestly what I expect from any top-level VPN service provider, since such a lengthy money back guarantee really speaks volumes to how confident the provider is in their VPN service. Clearly Nord are very confident in the quality of their service. 30 days is also, of course, more than enough time for a new customer to really get acquainted with the service and take some time to decide whether this is the one for them or not. In addition to this generous month long money back guarantee period, NordVPN are so sure that users will find their service satisfactory that they even give first time users of the software a completely free 3 day initial 'try out' period. This is, in my experience of testing all the top VPN providers around right now, something that is exclusively offered by only NordVPN. All other providers shy away from such a bold offering to first time customers, as they fear that they will simply use the service for this 72 hour window, and then discard it when this time period expires.
However, after conducting this review NordVPN is clearly confident enough in its service that they are completely fine giving users such this introductory free trial. Features There is no premium VPN service provider that does not offer a large array of features on their service and software. More than simply 'ticking the boxes' of what a user should expect to get from a VPN, nowadays the providers strive to add on great additional feature-sets that help both the functionality/performance of the service as well as optimising the user experience as much as possible.
With that said, NordVPN are no exception to this. So I will go ahead and list out the main features you can expect to receive with this provider the moment you sign up and have the software installed on your devices: Double encryption - Nord boast having a unique 'double' encrypting process to all data transferred on their VPN, making their encryption one of -if not the - best on the market. No logs policy - Neither user activity nor connection logs are kept by Nord. This is fantastic. Most VPN service providers claim to be 'zero-logging' however many do keep connection logs. Good on them. Multi-device connection - Very rare, Nord offer users the option to connect not two, but six devices simultaneously to their VPN service.
I have not come across a VPN service provider that can match this impressive feature. 24/7 customer support - Support is provided to users via live chat (on site), email and also Facebook. Protocols - OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP/IPsec protocols available. Shared IP - Shared IP addressed offered to users. Makes external tracking of user behaviour near-impossible. Chrome Proxy - Google Chrome browser proxy extension available. Personally owned DNS servers - Gives Nord complete control over user data, which helps them keep it private and protected.
The Software The NordVPN software is really great. From purchasing, downloading, setting up and connecting - the whole process has clearly had a lot of thought and end-user consideration put into it.
I went through this entire process and will walk you through it now, to give you an idea of how each step has been designed and developed. PURCHASING I chose the monthly package, and payment was very straight forward and quick. I simply had to enter my email and create a password (to create my Nord account) then select my payment method. As you can see, Nord have a very clear and easy to navigate section here, which makes it super simple to locate the exact download link you need for your operating system and device.
I went ahead and downloaded the Mac OS X software, which Nord have developed themselves. SETUP With the software downloaded, installing was a breeze. It took just a few simple steps and then the software was ready to launch. Upon launching, you are presented with a very well designed and aesthetically user-friendly home interface that looks like this. Once logged in, it was simply a case of selecting which server I wished to connect to.
You have multiple ways of making this decision, with the first one obviously being by navigating the big map with all the server location pins scattered around. This map functions just like Google Maps, so it's intuitive and easy to use.
Alternatively, you can also select your server by clicking on either of the two icons to the right of the 'I want to.' Field atop the interface. Clicking the first 'globe' icon gives you a list of by country. On the whole, this entire process was definitely one of the smoothest and fastest VPN setups I have experienced in the many VPN service providers I have reviewed.
I could not give any improvements on this. MOBILE SOFTWARE Since I also have an Android smartphone, I went ahead and setup the NordVPN on this device too. Here is an overview of that process: DOWNLOAD This was the first disappointment I had with Nord, because they do not (at the time of this review), have an Android app developed. This meant that I was directed to go through the process of downloading the open source OpenVPN Connect app. Luckily I already had this app on my smartphone from a previous VPN service provider review that also had no Android app developed yet, otherwise - you can just go to the Google Play store and download the app there for free. Compatibility NordVPN is compatible with all major operating systems and devices you would hope. Windows, OS X, iOS, Linux and Android are all supported, along with every web-connectable device you can imagine: laptop, desktop, smartphone, smartTV, games console, router, eReader, and many more.
This is the top standard level of compatibility I expect nowadays from any self-respecting VPN service provider, so I can conclude after doing this review NordVPN are delivering on this in bucketloads, which is great. Here's a quick overview of how NordVPN's software performs across the most common operating systems and devices used today: NordVPN Windows As expected, with Windows being arguably the most popular operating system used for decades now, NordVPN's desktop application works incredibly smoothly and intuitively thereon. You can expect an insanely fast download and installation process with NordVPN on your Windows device. The software interface itself is as user-friendly as you would want a VPN to be. From logging in, to choosing your server location, to connecting and disconnecting, there really is no functionality area of the NordVPN Windows software that is overly-technical or laborious to use.
NordVPN Mac The Mac software works equally as smooth and seamless as you would want. I personally use a Macbook Air so was able to try out firsthand the NordVPN for Mac over a month period to really take it for a rigorous test drive. All the same functionality and bells 'n' whistles that come with the Windows software are integrated with the Mac app. Clearly NordVPN work hard to keep their user experience as consistently top quality as possible across all the major devices. NordVPN Android & iOS Mobile I went into detail as to the full user experience on mobile earlier in this review. Suffice it to say that the app delivers on all fronts.
I could not find any fault or issues while using the app on both my Android device and my iPhone 7. One great thing was that the mobile app updates with NordVPN are right in the sweet spot, frequency-wise. What I mean by this is there are regular enough updates to assure that the developers are constantly working very hard on improving both the functionality and user experience of the mobile apps - while also not requiring so many updates to the app that it becomes annoying. NordVPN Home Router It is expected of any popular VPN service provider in today's competitive marketplace to allow as easy an integration of their app onto a user's home router as possible. So when I went through this process, I was happy to find that NordVPN provide a super straight forward and fast process with this. You really require near-zero 'technical expertise' to go through the steps needed to get the VPN connected onto your home router. Speed & Performance A quick was conducted on my Macbook both without then with the VPN connected to the London-based server I selected at random.
As you can see from the results, the speed was quite heavily affected once connected to the server, with the download speed decreasing considerably. This was apparently a commonly experienced occurrence with NordVPN's servers, with many of them sacrificing speed for security. This was quite disappointing, as obviously users would ideally want both fast speeds and top security on the servers, without having to sacrifice one for the other: Without VPN. I went the extra step and researched the hundreds of available individual user experiences online that have been published by people who have had firsthand usage of the app. The general consensus is that the VPN does indeed sacrifice a noticeably higher level of speed once connected to a server, in comparison to the other most popular VPN providers around right now. With this in mind, you should think about why you are wanting to use a VPN before going with NordVPN.
Are you looking primarily for privacy protection (and thus a high level of encryption on your connection) or is unblocking online media/websites/content the main reason for you? If it is the former, then NordVPN is a very solid VPN for you to go with. Their encryption levels are top notch and of the best in the business. So if you can handle a little slower internet speed, then go for it.
I also got a response to an email-submitted support query within 30 minutes of my request, which is a solid response time. Although I didn't test their Facebook page for support response time, you can see that they are very attentive and quick with these. It's a confident approach to publicly allow users to comment and then respond back to them via their Facebook page, so I must applaud NordVPN for doing this. NOTE: When talking about a VPN's support, it is always going to be subjective, since this is (one would hope) a completely human-based area of a service provider.
So I can only speak of my personal experience with NordVPN in this aspect. I have heard some users complain of long wait-times with this provider's support, with just as many talk of super fast, attentive and friendly support. So if you go with NordVPN, then definitely let me know in the comments section at the bottom of this review how your interaction with the support went - should have needed to use it at any point.
The Website The website itself of NordVPN is very well designed and structured. Visitors who land on the site are given clear information on what they want to know about most either directly on the home page, or via the clearly displayed navigation options throughout the site in the header and footer menus. Here's a snapshot of what users are presented with when they land on the home page. It's a nice touch that they tailor the background image to your location - with my being shown a UK image. It is clear that a lot of consideration for the user experience was put into this site layout, without sacrificing the actual design and feel. Many VPN sites fulfil one or the other when it comes to design and layout, but I'm of the opinion that NordVPN's site strikes a great balance between the two.
Importantly, when you last on the main homepage, the steps to actually setup your account on the website are super easy and obvious. At no point navigating the website did I ever feel lost or did not know what the next required step was. Security & Privacy With NordVPN being physically located in Panama, they are incredibly well positioned to provide one of the most secure VPN services, since this location makes them exempt from such privacy-compromising jurisdictions like the US and EU. NordVPN also offer zero-logs, and they actually deliver on this, by not logging usage nor connection activity, which is great. They use 256 AES bit OpenVPN encryption, which I always use as my default to have the most private, secure and protected connection on any VPN service I use. The 'double-encryption' NordVPN employee only further solidifies this already top level of encryption.
Finally, it is worth mentioned the multiple free tools/add-ons that NordVPN users get when they use their service. Further security-increasing services given to users at no extra cost include a Google Chrome proxy add-on and two features that allow users to chat with each other in complete privacy and anonymity via Secret Notes (like SnapChat but with text) and Nord's own encrypted chat.
NordVPN Review Conclusion Overall, I am very impressed with NordVPN and the service they provide. Setting the software up is a breeze, although I do hope they develop an official app for smartphone configuration. The cost is fantastic for the level of encryption given to users, and although the speed is sacrificed for said level of top privacy and encryption - I for one am happy to deal with that, since privacy and security is the main point of using a VPN service, ultimately. So I definitely highly recommend giving NordVPN a try if you're looking to check out by far one of the best VPN service providers available today when it comes to encryption and security of your data. ZERO LOGGING Ultimately, NordVPN out-performs its competitor VPN providers a few key areas, such a keeping zero connection or usage logs of its users (very important). BYPASSES GEO-BLOCKING EFFECTIVELY Although this VPN cannot give access to all popular online media streaming services, NordVPN has been proven to bypass the proxy-detection layers of both Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
So if those two services are your go-to entertainment streaming choices, then NordVPN could be the one for you. SERVER LOCATION CHOICE (especially China) The choice of server locations are vast and numerous, which allows you to access a huge amount of content around the globe remotely, even content that is restricted to China - a notoriously censor-heavy nation - thanks to the 'obfsproxy' provided by NordVPN. EXTRA-CONFIDENT It's pretty standard these days to expect a 'money back guarantee' period from any software, let alone with VPNs specifically, so NordVPN offering a 30-day period for this is unsurprising. However, where they really do show off how confident they are in their customer's being satisfied with the service really shows by them offering a completely free 3 day trial when you first try out the VPN. TORRENTING FRIENDLY With many users wanting to have their 'ass covered' online when torrenting, NordVPN are in harmony with this activity by fully allowing P2P activity on their service. In other words - you can torrent with this software.
NOT BASED WITHIN THE US This factor reached a little controversy lately between other entities that conducted NordVPN reviews independently - since NordVPN is associated under 'CloudVPN', which setup the payment for NordVPN users within the United States. However, you can be rest-assured that the actual incorporation of the company is within Panama, which means that NordVPN does not have to adhere to the much more privacy-invasive data laws imposed under a US-jurisdiction. BROWSER PLUGIN A nice little user-experience booster that NordVPN offer, which their competitors do not offer as standard, is a nifty little browser plugin that lets you have the VPN in your browser of choice. This gives you ability to connect/disconnect from the VPN from right inside your browser. As with any VPN, there are invariably some negatives to the positives. No software is absolutely perfect. So with that in mind, here are the main drawbacks highlighted with NordVPN that are worth considering before going with them as your VPN provider: SPEED As mentioned in this review, I personally experienced a drop in speed significant enough to make a note of.
Speed dropping is inevitable when you connect to a VPN, as this is simply part of the process. However, NordVPN not only sacrifice a lot of speed for a higher level of encryption - the speed dropping is also rather inconsistent, which can be more annoying than a consistently slow speed! DATA LEAKS It has been brought to our attention that some data leaking has been documented by multiple users of NordVPN. Specifically pertaining to IPv6 leaks.
In Laymen's terms, this means that the 'top level encryption' that NordVPN proudly offers its users, many not be as unbreakable as one would expect. Do you have experience firsthand with using NordVPN on your personal laptop, desktop, mobile device or otherwise? We would absolutely love to hear about how you found the software as far as functionality and usability. Was it as easy to setup and use as you hoped? Better than expected? Whatever your experience - we want to know. Do not think twice about popping a comment below in the comments section.
Be as descriptive or vague as you like. A simple 'out of 5 stars' comment will be hugely appreciated - just as a comprehensive personal review of your own! Thanks for reading through this comprehensive NordVPN review, and should you choose to go with them, then good luck and happy surfing. If you want to check out the most popular VPN providers that are on the same level as (or in some cases are better than) NordVPN, then check out the detailed reviews I have personally conducted below. Thanks for your great question.
I myself have actually been searching for an all-in-one type solution just like you mention, but have unfortunately yet to find a secure VPN service that also offers legitimate malware & adware protection. You are correct in saying that NordVPN does not offer such protection, nor do any of the top VPN services currently out there. Rest assured I will let you know the moment I find and review a VPN service that does offer this. Thanks again, Kelly!. Kelly Maggart. Hey Kelly, Thanks again for explaining more about your situation — really sorry to hear you were hacked!
Unfortunately we have not expanding our reviewing into the anti-virus and malware protection space just yet (we’re working on it, though!) so sadly I cannot give you any really insightful info on this, especially on the best free software in that space. Personally I have heard nothing but great things about Kaspersky, so I would recommend trying them out. I believe they offer a generous free trial period, so you can see if it fulfils your security requirements before deciding to pay or not. Hope that helps, Kelly. Thanks again for reaching out!
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