Why Does NordVPN Log Me Out?
Last week, I decided to switch from Chrome to Firefox as my default browser. I have been a fan of Firefox since it was first released as a beta in 2014. It was designed to be faster and more secure than other browsers at the time, and it still holds up today. After using it for a week, I found myself missing some of the features from Chrome. Luckily, I was able to find a plugin that added those features back.
One of the biggest changes was the ability to log in to websites without being prompted to log out. This is called “multi-account management,” or MAM for short. For those unaware, Chrome and other browsers use a method called “persistent login” to store login credentials on a user’s hard drive. When you visit a site that has MAM enabled, your browser will attempt to login automatically whenever you return. However, if you are using Chrome or another browser that supports persistent logins, logging in on a different device would automatically log you out of the existing account.
Normally, when you logout of a website or service that has MAM enabled, you are redirected to a logout page. When you try to log back in, your browser will tell you that the account is already deleted. However, if you are using the NordVPN service, you will see a different message after you log out.
Why does NordVPN show me that another account is logged in when I try to log back in? How can I prevent this from happening?
The Difference In The Errant Message
As mentioned above, when you try to log back in to a service that uses MAM, your browser will tell you that the account is already deleted. Below you will see an example of how Chrome and Firefox display this message when you log out of NordVPN:
Chrome: (chrome.exe): (Functional) (Version 61.0.3163.100 (Official Build)): (OS Build 17134): (Browser version 66.0.3359.139 (Official Build)): (OS Version 10.0.17134) (.NET Framework 4.7.2): (Domain Family Safety): (Level 1): (Device): (IP Address: 176.31.124.236)
Firefox: (firefox.exe): (Neutral) (Version 63.0.3 (Official Build)): (OS Build 46624): (Browser version 66.0.1 (Official Build)): (OS Version 10.0.11 (build 46624)): (.NET Framework 4.7.2): (Domain Family Safety): (Level 2): (Device): (IP Address: 176.31.125.241)
The above examples show that Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox differ in the way they display the message when you attempt to log back in to a service with MAM enabled. However, this is not the case when you log out of NordVPN. The message displayed by Firefox is incorrect, as you will see below.
Why Is The Errant Message From Firefox Incorrect?
As stated above, when you attempt to log back in to a service with MAM enabled, your browser will display an error message. Below you will see an example of how Chrome and Firefox display this message when you log out of NordVPN:
Chrome: (chrome.exe): (Functional) (Version 61.0.3163.100 (Official Build)): (OS Build 17134): (Browser version 66.0.3359.139 (Official Build)): (OS Version 10.0.17134) (.NET Framework 4.7.2): (Domain Family Safety): (Level 1): (Device): (IP Address: 176.31.124.236)
Firefox: (firefox.exe): (Neutral) (Version 63.0.3 (Official Build)): (OS Build 46624): (Browser version 66.0.1 (Official Build)): (OS Version 10.0.11 (build 46624)): (.NET Framework 4.7.2): (Domain Family Safety): (Level 2): (Device): (IP Address: 176.31.125.241)
What causes this difference in behavior between Chrome and Firefox when logging out of NordVPN? Why does Firefox display an incorrect account status when logging out of this service?
NordVPN is a “multi-platform” VPN service that was designed to be simple to use. As mentioned in the article’s title, NordVPN logs you out whenever it feels the need to do any maintenance on its end. Below you will see an example where I used the VPN service from my iPhone and was automatically logged out without my permission:
iPhone: (Mobile Safari): (Functional) (Version 11.0.22 (Official Build)): (OS Build 12A340): (Browser Version 76.0.2661.0 (Official Build)): (OS Version 11.0.22 (Build 12A340)): (.NET Framework 4.7.2): (Domain Family Safety): (Level 1): (Device): (IP Address: 67.214.71.234)
Chrome: (chrome.exe): (Neutral) (Version 61.0.3163.100 (Official Build)): (OS Build 17134): (Browser version 66.0.3359.139 (Official Build)): (OS Version 10.0.17134) (.NET Framework 4.7.2): (Domain Family Safety): (Level 1): (Device): (IP Address: 176.31.124.236)
Firefox: (firefox.exe): (Neutral) (Version 63.0.3 (Official Build)): (OS Build 46624): (Browser version 66.0.1 (Official Build)): (OS Version 10.0.11 (build 46624)): (.NET Framework 4.7.2): (Domain Family Safety): (Level 2): (Device): (IP Address: 176.31.125.241)