Our Review
NordVPN allows you the protection and ability to protect against attacks that are network based. This is especially valuable should you be travelling and not aware of the strength of the networks you may be accessing. It protects from the interception of your personal information and prevents you from accessing rogue websites.
NordVPN has made investments to ensure it has servers located throughout the world and includes high-speed servers so that those wishing to stream videos can do so without lagging issues. It also has secure servers to increase online anonymity and presents it in a professional Windows client that recently won the Editors Choice award from PCMag.
Technically, NornVPN offers a broad range of servers that support L2TP and PP2P protocols, and recently added support for IKEv2 in order to allow the manual configuration for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux. It also includes a high level of security for first phase keys using AES-256-GCM encryption, SHA2-384 for hashing and forwarding secrecy, they use Diffie-Hellmann keys.
At this time, the IKEv2 is the default support system for iOS and macOS and Android will be joining them shortly. NornVPN furthermore uses as it default OPENVPN for Windows, which is the preferred method for many. The strong suit to this is the company utilizes the best security, and the results are evident from the get-go. Also, it allows for as many as six devices to access it simultaneously. However, there are a number of limitations if connecting to identical servers.
Based in Panama, and as such, is not required by law to retain data. Individual users can view some information but it is limited, and a kill switch is in place should disconnect occur. This is ideal, and NORDVPN does not collect or store data, thereby in the event, they were to receive a subpoena, there will be nothing to provide authorities.
- PROS
- Excellent available variety of servers
- Servers are fast and secure
- Offers six connections simultaneously
- Servers are geographically diverse
- Three pricing levels
- Offers 30-day money back guarantee
- CONS
- Does not block trackers or adds
NordVPN Features
One of the best features to the NORNVPN is the sheers variety of different servers it has in place. As you will see below, this includes Double VPN’s, Standard, Dedicated IP VPN and other servers that allow your connection to be fully encrypted and routed through multiple servers, if using the double VPN servers. Another feature is its ability to provide easy and fast access to anonymization networks using person to person, VPN and BitTorrecting
A Domain, name leak system, is also in place with the NORDVPN software to ensure that the operating system being used is to access the VPN is looking up the true machine address that you wish to visit, versus a default server that generally will belong to the network operated by your ISP.
The one aspect most will find attractive feature wise is the fact that your IP is 100% blocked. There are some sites that will insist on a identified IP, and in those cases, NORDVPNM can provide a dedicated server. However, this comes at an additional cost. Those are available in some countries, and those have been listed below for your convenience.
Additionally, the software s compatible in English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian
Pricing
Nornvpn offers a number of different pricing models. As one would expect, this includes monthly, yearly plans.
The monthly play is not offering a discount and is priced at $11.95 monthly. This is billed each month and includes a 30-day money back guarantee. Payment methods offered include American Express, Discover card, Mastercard, Visa, Paypal, and Bitcoin. In order to enjoy attractive discounts we recommend you to sign up to one of the deals below.
1-year plan is $6.99/month
2-year plan is $3.99/month
3-year plan is 2.99/month
How to install
The process of installation and setting up a VPN is the same as most programs that you would install on your computer or smartphone. The VPN network at NordVPN is 100% compatible with most operating systems including Windows and MacOS. It also is compatible with iOS, Android, and others. The nice side to this s whether you are choosing to use your home computer or smartphone, the software blends perfectly, and as you can connect multiple devices, this is ideal.
NordVPN does recommend that you purchase a Tomato compatible router or a DD-WRT one. One thing to note is the software is not currently compatible with smartTV or AppleTV, but it is expected that it will be in the near future through a smartDNS service.
Those wishing for detailed instructions will find quick links for Windows VPN, Mac and iPhone set up directly on the NordVPN site. This will walk you through the process and is easy and trouble free. Those having technical issues will find an extensive help page as well as live chat support should you require additional assistance.
Speed and Overall Performance
A number of factors, of course, determines the speed of any service. This includes your internet speed, the protocols being used, encryption levels and the location of the server. However, NordVPN has made substantial investments within their architecture and servers to offer the fastest service possible, and that investment also applies to the level of VPN security that is in place as well.
It is important to remember that networks can be finicky, and your exact location and how you are connecting can affect the speed. General performance of the NordVPN network found it to be fast and well within acceptable performance ranges.
- Supported Platforms>
- Android
- IOS
- MAC
- Windows
Country IPS offered
This is an area of excellence for the NordVPN software as the company has 3000 VPN servers in over 59 countries throughout the world. That in itself is a strong argument for purchasing the software, but when you add that its private servers number over 3,000, the argument is only further strengthened.
The company offers a variety of different servers and includes both dedicated, double, standard and person to person servers. This provides excellent options and gives you a wide range of choices, especially if residing in Canada or the USA, as you find multiple standard servers in Canada and the U.S.
Double VPn’s are offered in Canada, Hong Kong, Latvia, Netherlands, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States. The advantage to this is that you connect to the first node for data encryption and the second node processes the encrypted data and sends it to the internet.
NordVPN also offers five dedicated servers. These are located in Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. Each offers one dedicated server. However, theUnited Kingdom offers two.
The list of standard fast VPN servers is extensive. These will be the main ones most people use, so it is imperative that this list be extensive and offer a large geographical range, let alone multiple VPN servers in each location. The only exception to that will be less developed countries where infrastructure is still in development. This list includes:
Albania, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, and Italy. Additional standard servers are found in Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexic, Moldova, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
It should be noted that the largest number of standard servers and found in Australia with 26, Canada 70, 16 in France, 52 in the Netherlands, 32 in Sweden,80 in the United Kingdom, and the United States has 372. As for Person to Person (P2P) servers. It also includes many of the countries listed above with the largest number being found in the Canada, Germany, United States, Netherlands, and Sweden.
Restricted countries: with the help of obfuscated servers, works in countries (China, the Middle East countries) where internet access is restricted, and strong censorship is in place.
Summary
One of the reasons NORDVPN has received so much acclaim as a VPN service provider and considered one of the top 10 VPN providers and best VPN software is the average person has limited knowledge of security features. The designers and programmers at NordVPN understood this and designed things to be simple and easy to use without much fuss. The costs are reasonable, and for those on a tight budget, a monthly cost of $11.95 is easily affordable and provides them peace of mind while accessing one of the fastest VPN servers on the net.
