What’s NordVPN?
NordVPN is one of the most popular VPN services offered, with over 2.5 million downloads on the App Store alone. It was founded in 2013 and is now operated out of Hong Kong. While many VPN services are generally available for use around the world, NordVPN is highly optimized for geo-blocking, which means it can bypass geographic restrictions and unblock content from around the world. That’s right – even though the service is incredibly popular in the United States, Canada, and Europe (to name a few), you can use it anywhere!
Features
One of the most useful features of NordVPN is the dedicated customer support team, which is available via live chat at all hours of the day. This is in stark contrast to many other VPN services, which sometimes have very limited or non-existent customer support.
Another useful feature of NordVPN is its strict no logging policy. This means that the company does not keep any logs of your activity while you’re connected to their service, ensuring complete anonymity by default. As a result of this, NordVPN is often hailed as the best VPN for privacy.
Security
Security is always a major consideration when choosing a VPN service, and NordVPN definitely addresses this with a 128-bit military-grade encryption standard alongside 2048-bit RSA keys. While many VPNs offer a standard of data encryption, none offer the level of security found in NordVPN.
One of the reasons why NordVPN is so secure is because of its zero-tolerance policy towards weak passwords. According to the company, users with weak passcodes are regularly barred from accessing their account. This makes it more difficult for hackers to gain unauthorized access to your personal information.
In addition to the security built-in to the service, NordVPN offers two-factor authentication, a unique feature not found in most VPNs. Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring you to enter a code that is sent to your phone before you can access your account. This is especially useful if you use the same login credentials for an online store or service that you don’t want hackers to access (think online banking and e-commerce).
Costs
We all love free services, but they can be the bane of an average user’s existence. With many free VPN services, you’re often limited to either free or paid tiers, with limited features. NordVPN does away with this problem by offering a full functioned VPN service without any restrictions. This means you can enjoy all the features without any charges ever being applied to your account.
Availability
NordVPN is available worldwide, which makes it much more accessible to users in regions where other VPNs might not be available. In some cases, this can even mean that you might not be able to access certain websites due to geographic restrictions.
Pricing
One of the best things about NordVPN is that there aren’t any additional charges beyond the standard monthly subscription. For some VPNs, this can add up quickly, especially if you’re using the service for a longer period of time.
Overall Rating:
If you’re looking for a VPN service that offers great security, with an emphasis on privacy, then NordVPN is the clear choice. Not only that, but it’s also one of the cheapest options out there. If privacy and security are top priorities, then NordVPN is the clear choice. It’s also worth noting that, as a completely free VPN service, there are no limitations on how long you can use the service for, so you can continue accessing blocked content as long as you’d like. This also makes NordVPN a sustainable choice, as there’s no additional costs beyond the standard monthly subscription.
To find out more about NordVPN, check out our in-depth review. It covers everything you need to know about the service, including why we think it’s the best VPN for privacy. You can also read our reviews for ProXPN and VyprVPN, which are also good choices if you prioritize security over everything else.