Can NordVPN be trusted? What makes it a safe choice?
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Key notes
- The VPN market is oversaturated, but the industry is also booming, so this scenario begs the question: can popular services such as NordVPN be trusted?
- NordVPN has an impressive collection of security features, and an even more remarkable network of servers you can connect to, not to mention its zero-logging policy.
- Check out our best VPNs that can keep your privacy safe and your connection secure.
- Visit the VPN page to learn more about protecting your online identity's anonymity.
The VPN market is oversaturated, but the industry is also booming, so this scenario begs the question: can popular services such as NordVPN be trusted?
NordVPN has filled a leadership position for a long time now in the VPN industry. Thus, it makes sense that new users might take its advertised services with just a grain of salt.
Is it enough to protect your online privacy? What’s the deal with its strict zero-logging and no monitoring policy? Is their service secure enough to prevent various types of attacks?
Stay tuned and we’ll find out together if NordVPN can be trusted or not.
Can NordVPN be trusted?
1. Top-notch security protocols
NordVPN implemented a wide range of security protocols, which means better protection for your data and traffic. You’re also free to choose the protocol you feel most comfortable with.
These are as follows:
- OpenVPN – this is the default choice for many VPN services, as it is both versatile and secure
- IKEv2/IPsec – this protocol is technically faster and more secure than OpenVPN and used by default in NordVPN for macOS and iOS
- WireGuard (NordLynx) – this protocol is still in development, but it’s virtually faster and more secure than both OpenVPN and IKEv2/IPsec. Since it’s in development, it still needs some work to identify and circumvent its vulnerabilities.
As you can see, NordVPN isn’t shy about security features, thus you can bet your money on it when it comes to protection. With a wide range of security features and military-grade encryption, NordVPN can definitely be trusted.
2. A huge network of servers
NordVPN has a whopping ~5200 servers spread all around the world in roughly 59 countries. Thus, you have a broad selection of servers you can connect to, no matter what your needs are.
Having such a rich network of servers can help you circumvent geo-restrictions easily. If you’re trying to access US Netflix, for instance, and the server you’re connected to gets rejected, you can simply switch to another server.
The same goes for any other online activity. You may not know this, but VPN networks can get overcrowded, too. If such a thing happens, you can simply switch the server and you should at least notice some improvement.
As a rule of thumb, the closer the server is to you (physically), the faster your connection will be.
3. Strict zero-logging, no monitoring policy
NordVPN is against the breaching of privacy, and they’re quite vocal about it, too. It enforces a bunch of strict policies against data collection and activity monitoring.
Therefore, not only that NordVPN won’t monitor your every step while you’re online, but they won’t keep records of your activity, either.
NordVPN
Looking for a trustworthy VPN? NordVPN might be what you need.Not so long ago, one of NordVPN‘s servers has been hacked. Reportedly, the attacker could’ve monitored the traffic of NordVPN‘s customers on those servers, although apparently there’s no indication that this happened.
Either way, given that NordVPN doesn’t keep data on their customers’ activity, the attacker couldn’t find anything relevant.
4. No data leaks during its runtime
We’ve put NordVPN to a bunch of tests to assess whether it’s safe or not to keep it on all the time. We were looking for anything suspicious, especially data leaks that might’ve revealed our true identity to third-parties.
Once we’ve connected to a stable server, we used third-party tools to notice if any DNS, IP, or WebRTC data leaked through our connection. We’ve used the following tools:
We’ve noticed absolutely no DNS, IP, or other types of leaks during our tests. This means that from a sensitive data leak standpoint, you can definitely trust NordVPN.
5. The same degree of protection on multiple devices
Whether you’re trying to deploy NordVPN on iOS, macOS, Windows, Android phones or your router, you’ll definitely get the same airtight protection.
You can install NordVPN on up to 6 devices on the same account. Therefore, you don’t need to limit your VPN experience on just a single device if your needs are a bit more complex than that.
We’ve also run our battery of security tests on each device we’ve deployed NordVPN on. The results were the same, regardless of the device type: NordVPN doesn’t leak your data and can keep your connection secure all the time.
6. Advanced malware-blocking features and kill switch
NordVPN is one of the few services that offer advanced security features such as a built-in malware blocker and a kill switch.
Now we’re fully aware that the kill switch has become a tad more crucial in VPN development, adware and malware blocking isn’t there just yet.
Thus, the fact that NordVPN has implemented malware-blocking capabilities within its default VPN service is definitely a nice addition.
A quick recap on NordVPN’s features
To wrap it up, NordVPN can definitely be trusted if you’re looking for a service that can keep your connection, your privacy, and your devices safe, private, and secure.
Here’s a quick summary of what NordVPN can offer you:
- Hides your IP address and keeps it cloaked as long as you use the VPN
- CyberSec helps you block malware and adware hosts without any third-party tools
- Double VPN routes your traffic through two VPNs instead of one for added protection
- Automatic kill switch interrupts your default, insecure Internet connection if no VPN is detected
- Prevents DNS leaks from occurring and revealing your true online identity
- Enforces strict zero-logging and no monitoring policies
- Helps you protect up to 6 devices on the same account
- Multiple protocols including OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPsec and the experimental NordLynx
Considering all that, it’s safe to say that NordVPN is a VPN service you can trust.
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