Update: One of our best VPN services – NordVPN – is in the process of upgrading most of its servers from a reliable 1Gbps connection to a super-fast 10Gbps one to cope with increasing demand. The company says that about 20% of their network is already utilising these servers, with the long-term goal of gradually implementing them across the entire network.
We’ve mentioned before that using a VPN has an inevitable impact on browsing speed but NordVPN was already one of our fastest VPN services to begin with. Tthe addition of these speedy servers, will mean that you shouldn’t get any buffer or lag when streaming or browsing – regardless of which device you’re using the VPN on, or where in the world you’re browsing from. NordVPN has over 5,000 servers worldwide, with over 1,800 of these in the US alone.
Last year, NordVPN has become one of the first VPN services to adopt its own NordLynx technology, which is built around the WireGuard VPN protocol that is slated to become the new industry-standard feature on all VPN services in the near future. While WireGuard promises much faster speeds, there are still some privacy concerns around it. To combat this, NordVPN built its own NordLynx technology that uses NordVPN’s custom double (NAT) Network Address Translation system to better safeguard user privacy.
To use the new NordLynx protocol, users must simply update their NordVPN apps to the latest version and follow these instructions to set NordLynx as the default protocol on their Windows, Android, iOS, Linux and macOS NordVPN apps.
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Original review continues: A few years ago, NordVPN completed an independent audit to back up its claims that it doesn’t log identifiable user data. Taking a leaf from their book, other VPNs have since followed suit. This is great news for user privacy and has since since set a benchmark for us when we review VPNs.
Apart from the all-important audit, NordVPN has also added a fresh coat of paint to its PC client and mobile apps, making them much more user-friendly in the process. We like its map-based PC interface that lets you select the country that you want to browse from.
The service also has handy additional extras, like Obfuscated Servers and Double VPN, for added browsing protection. While these are not always useful and can further impede your speed, it’s good to know they’re only a few clicks away should you ever need them for additional security.
READ NEXT: Best VPN services for speed, privacy and streaming
NordVPN review: Specs
| Details | NordVPN |
| Based in: | Panama (safe) |
| Price: | £2.74/mnth for 2 years |
| Money-back guarantee: | Yes, 30-day |
| Devices: | Yes, 6 simultaneous |
| Servers: | 5,500 worldwide |
| Speed: | Fast |
| 24/7 customer support: | Yes |
| Netflix and Disney+: | Yes |
| BBC iPlayer: | Yes |
| Torrenting allowed: | Yes |
| Killswitch: | Yes |
| Multihop: | Yes |
| DNS leaks: | No |
| Activity logging: | No |
NordVPN review: What you need to know
NordVPN ticks all the boxes of what you’d want in a great VPN. Apart from its no-logs policy and military-grade protection, it has a huge network of 5,000+ servers generously sprinkled in 60+ countries across the globe giving you instant access to content in other countries or to yours when away. We also appreciate its clearly-labelled menus and slider options that tell you how to access P2P content, use obfuscated servers, a double VPN and switch between protocols.
Unlike most other VPN services, NordVPN also has a 24/7 live chat support to guide you through any problems you may encounter. Whereas some services resort to chatbots for this task, with Nord you’re talking to real people who understand your problem and will do their best to resolve it.
NordVPN review: Setup and basic use
We tested NordVPN’s Windows PC client, Chrome extension and mobile apps. However, NordVPN is available to set up on almost every device, including Android TVs, routers, NAS drives and even Raspberry Pi devices. For more help on how to install Nord on these devices, simply head to their tutorials page where you’ll see more than 100 step-by-step guides.
You can use NordVPN on six devices at the same time. When you sign up, you’re only asked for your email address and you can pay using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies if you’re worried about keeping your identity and credit card information private.
The PC client couldn’t be much more straightforward. It lists three ‘Specialty servers’ with countries listed alphabetically in the left-hand pane, and these same countries are marked as pins on a map. NordVPN has the most servers in Europe, so the pins can seem clogged together in that region on the map unless you zoom out.
Clicking a country pin automatically connects to its fastest server. Alternatively, you can click the three-dot menu beside the country name in the pane to see and choose from a list of individual servers.
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NordVPN review: Privacy and security
The only pop-up that greets you soon after installing the NordVPN PC client is the option to turn on CyberSec. This is another new feature that protects you from intrusive ads, malware and phishing attacks. It’s a good idea to turn it on because it’s a slider away in Settings should you change your mind later.
NordVPN is one of the elite few VPNs that ticks all our privacy and security-related boxes. It’s located in Panama, which isn’t subject to any of the data retention or sharing laws of the Five or Fourteen Eyes Alliance countries. Its privacy logs are audited by one of the world’s biggest firms, so we won’t dispute that.
NordVPN uses OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPSec protocols on all their applications; the two most secure offerings currently available. When it comes to encryption, NordVPN uses AES-256-CBC with a 2048bit DH key on the OpenVPN protocol and AES-256-GCM for encryption, coupled with SHA2-384 for IKEv2. In short, this is more security than most of us would ever need, but then staying ahead of the curve seems to be in Nord’s DNA.
Many VPN companies use virtual servers. For example, you may connect to a server in Germany, but your server location could actually be in the UK. Thankfully, all our DNS tests confirmed that NordVPN’s servers are actually based in the country specified and there were zero DNS leaks regardless of where we connected from.
There are several additional security options that are marked on the right of the Windows client. You can use a Dedicated IP or a Double VPN to further obscure your identity and location, and we love that you simply select the option you want and NordVPN connects you to the fastest country. Alternatively, you can click the three-dot button beside the relevant option and choose the specific country you want.
Click the Settings tab at the top-left to see sliders for an Internet Kill Switch and App Kill Switch. The former restricts online access only when connected to the VPN, while the latter lets you automatically kill the programs you want if the VPN connection drops unexpectedly. The Advanced Settings at the bottom lets you change your default VPN protocol (from UDP to TCP), set your own custom DNS and use Obfuscated Servers. This provides extra security in exchange for speed.
NordVPN review: Performance and speed
We conducted extensive speed tests using the NordVPN Windows client, browser extensions and mobile apps. While speeds weren’t superfast, they were on par with what other VPNs offer and follow the same general rules – the further away you go from your actual location, the slower speeds get.
We were impressed by the fact that we could access BBC iPlayer from the UK, American Netflix, a range of other trans-Atlantic streaming channels like Hulu and HBO GO in the US, and regional Netflix from whichever country we streamed from. This proved to be consistent regardless of which device we used. Ping times obviously varied depending on location distance, so some videos took longer to start, but once they did, they were smooth and lag-free.
A few quirks we noticed was that the Chrome browser extension speeds are much faster than using the Windows client, and that Android speeds were much faster than iOS to the same location. The Double VPN and Obfuscated servers were also faster than we envisioned considering they follow different protocols for additional security.
Even though we could easily connect to India and Australia, speeds were too slow to watch anything in HD, so don’t use it for anything bandwidth-intensive. Our tests were all conducted on a 60Mbits/sec fibre line.
The only area we saw slight issues in terms of DNS leaks and unexpected disconnections was when we used Onion over VPN. We wouldn’t count this as a big loss because Onion Over VPN is infamous for reducing your speed. A better way to access Onion Over VPN is using a standard server with the TOR browser.
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NordVPN review: Chrome extension
Some VPN services such as Windscribe let you use the Windows client and browser extension simultaneously to multihop. However, Nord has clearly warned us that using the Windows client and browser extension simultaneously can cause connection issues. The extension is perfect to install on a laptop that you don’t use very often, for instance. After all, you have six devices you can install it on.
Compared to the Windows client, the NordVPN Chrome extension is a bit barebones. When you launch it, you’ll see options to ‘Quick connect’ to the fastest server near you, or choose a specific country you want to connect to, from one of the 50+ locations listed alphabetically. Its settings button has only two sliders – Block WebRTC and CyberSec. The former helps conceal your IP address and is turned on by default.
One thing we did notice, though, was consistently great speeds, which bodes well even if you only intend to use the browser extension to stream content from outside your country. In short, the extension works flawlessly despite not having any additional extra features.
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NordVPN review: Mobile apps
We tested NordVPN on an Android phone and an iPad and were happy to find that both apps look and function the same, even though Android has a few noteworthy extras compared to iOS. This is because the Android app uses OpenVPN protocol, whereas iOS app uses the IKEv2 protocol. This can change which features are allowed on each platform.
Both apps display a list of countries that you can connect to for the best speed, and the ones you use are listed under Favorites, so they’re only a tap away when you need them next. On Android, you can long-press any country name in the list to add it as a homescreen shortcut for instant VPN access. You can also choose individual servers in each country by tapping the cog-shaped button beside the country name on Android, or the three-dot button on iOS.
‘Specialty servers’ and Settings are the two sections where Android has more options over iOS. Tapping the former lists four options on Android: Dedicated IP, Double VPN, Onion Over VPN and P2P. Of these, only the latter two are available on iOS. Similarly, the Settings icon on iOS only has sliders for a Kill Switch and CyberSec. On Android, you also get Obfuscated Servers, the option to use TCP protocol, auto-connect the VPN when using Wi-Fi, or when you switch to your mobile network. Onion Over VPN is far more reliable on iOS because of Apple’s stringent protocols, but speeds are still slow, so we don’t recommend using it.
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NordVPN review: Price
NordVPN costs £9.20 per month. In terms of what you’re getting that’s about on par with other services on offer. However, there are three more pricing tiers, which get cheaper the longer you commit to. For one year, it costs £45.43, but its cheapest offering is the two-year plan which costs £68.53 – this amounts to just £2.86 per month. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
NordVPN review: Customer support
When I first used NordVPN for this review, I ran into all sorts of issues and couldn’t connect to a single location upon opening the Windows client on my work laptop. That’s when I discovered how useful having a 24/7 live chat service on their Contact Us page is. You’re made to wait until you’re catered to by a real person but these wait times never exceeded a minute.
Customer support was polite, friendly and empathetic, offering detailed guides or useful links on how to carry out several complex actions. If it’s something too technical, they’ll put you in touch with technical support who will assess your problem and send you a detailed email within a few hours.
In my case, preinstalled work security software was disrupting NordVPN but two other home PCs confirmed this won’t impact everyday users. What impressed me even further was that, when I had a question about my IP address, they themselves asked me to test for IP leaks using a specific website and send them a screenshot if I found any. This can only come when you’ve reached a certain level of confidence in your service.
In most cases, though, you may never need to use customer support because NordVPN has a huge section containing tutorials and guides. These should resolve most problems as soon as they arise.
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NordVPN review: Verdict
If you’re looking for a no-frills VPN that you can just install and use, then NordVPN has got to be high on your list. Its monthly plan might sound expensive, but when you can get a three-year plan for the cost of nine months, it’s a very good deal indeed. Given its speed, security features, support for different devices, customer support and three-year price, we can’t recommend it highly enough.
The below graph has some of the best VPN results we’ve seen, which is why NordVPN is one of our highly-recommended VPN services.
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The post NordVPN review: Our second-best VPN for the last two years running appeared first on abangtech.
source https://abangtech.com/nordvpn-review-our-second-best-vpn-for-the-last-two-years-running/
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