NordVPN test and review
NordVPN is a brand well known to all those who use VPNs. It’s constantly reigning in Internet rankings and is recommended by many experts. Is it possible to bypass geolocation security with NordVPN and what is the actual download speed when using VPNs? You will find out all this and many other things after reading this review.
Is NordVPN safe?
Companies that offer VPN services to secure network traffic use different technologies. How does NordVPN take care of our security? The company uses full cryptographic 256-bit key encryption (AES 256 standard). This way, we can be sure that no one will be able to know our network traffic. All data sent and received by our computer is secured with a unique 256-bit security key. According to cyber security specialists, breaking this type of encryption is impossible for current computers.
In addition, we have several different security key exchange protocols such as IKEv2/IPsec, OpenVPN and NordLynx, which further enhance our protection. All of the above technologies would be worth little – without one key advantage that NordVPN has over its competitors. The company doesn’t in any way store or share its users’ data or logs. Logs are specific information that contains data about, among other things, the time and place from which you logged into the VPN. With this information, the services are able to identify each user.
If you want to increase your digital anonymity even further, NordVPN allows you to pay for your services using many popular cryptovalots. Subscriptions can be purchased using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Litecoin, Dasha or Ripple, among others.
What will NordVPN be useful for?
Although few people are aware of this, VPN technology offers enormous possibilities and every active Internet user will find some use for it at home. Apart from such obvious advantages as connection encryption, geolocation won’t be a problem with NordVPN either. This will bypass many regional blockages, including one of the most frustrating images, “This video is unavailable”, which we often encounter on YouTube.
If you’re at the stage of learning languages, NordVPN will be a great support and “teacher” for you. Through it, you will be able to watch foreign streaming services, which are normally only available to people in the region. Another feature that NordVPN offers is the blocking of advertisements directly by VPN. All you have to do is activate the CyberSec function in the application settings, and the rest will be done for you by the program itself.
How much does NordVPN cost?
NordVPN, despite its many advanced features and high level of security, is very affordable. The company offers a 30-day trial period, which provides full service functionality. If you’re not satisfied with the quality of service during this time, NordVPN will pay you back the money invested. Prices of the service depend on the time for which we intend to subscribe to the VPN. If we decide on a 3-year period, we will pay only 3.11 euros per month (in the amount of PLN 14 per month). In the case of a 2-year subscription, the monthly cost is 4.44 euros (PLN 20), and the annual subscription will cost us 6.22 euros for each month (PLN 29). If we choose only a monthly settlement period, we will already pay 10.64 euros (PLN 49) for the service.
Does NordVPN allow you to watch Netflix?
Netflix is quite a capricious service that thoroughly verifies the geolocation of its users. Fortunately, NordVPN has almost 5400 different servers and regularly changes their location, ensuring that streaming services such as Netflix, CBS, Hulu or YouTube – will always work properly. Customers can use the NordVPN app available on Google Play natively on SmartTV devices. This means that without any combination with sideloading, we can install, sign in and use VPN on our home TV.
What is the download speed when using NordVPN?
It isn’t known from today that VPN technology doesn’t perform well with fast data transfer, significantly increasing Internet delays and worsening connection stability. How does NordVPN deal with this? Our testers have thoroughly analyzed the quality, speed and reliability of the connections, and all test results are listed below.
The test showed that our network achieves a stable connection speed of approximately 155 Mbps, and a ping of 1 ms.
By choosing automatic connection from the NordVPN application, we were connected to the Internet via a Polish server. The download speed was 148 Mbps and the ping was 11 ms. This is a completely insignificant decrease and allows for a comfortable use of the Internet. Frankly speaking, during a blind test, we wouldn’t be able to say that we’re using VPN.
Another challenge that we threw at NordVPN was a server connection in the USA. The results were very surprising. The download speed of 137 Mbps and the upload speed of 136 Mbps was only 10% lower than the base Internet speed. Considering the distance that all bytes of our data have to travel, this result is admirable. The only thing that can be attached to the force is a high ping of 299 ms.
Satisfied with the previous results, we decided to test the outgoing call in the UK and Germany. For the server in the UK we managed to achieve 149 Mbps download speed and 147 Mbps upload speed. The ping was 48 ms.
German NordVPN server, achieved results similar to the Polish server. Download at 149 Mbps and upload at 149 Mbps. The delay time is only 27 ms, so you can forget that you’re using an active VPN connection at all.
During our tests, not once has the connection been broken or suspended. The time needed to establish a VPN tunnel was from a few to several seconds. We’re very satisfied with the speed and stability of NordVPN, so we can confidently recommend it to any undecided person looking for anonymity in the network.
Is it possible to download torrents via NordVPN?
In the past, the speed loss caused by the active VPN tunnel was too high to even start downloading torrents. Today, the technology has moved forward significantly, as you can see from the above test results. This isn’t all NordVPN can offer us. When making a connection, we can choose a specialized server, optimized for torrent connections. This gives us high download and seeding speeds (remember – don’t be a leecher 😉 ).
Is NordVPN complicated to use?
Many people are afraid that in-depth IT knowledge is needed to use VPN. This used to be the case in the past, but now we can take full advantage of this technology with a few clicks. NordVPN has very intuitive applications for Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS.
In addition, on the NORDVPN – we will find a lot of useful information and tutorials that will help us in case of doubts.
Summary
NordVPN proves once again why it’s one of the most popular VPN services. Its connection speed, stability and excellent after-sales support put it on the podium in virtually every online ranking. If you’re not determined, a trial version of NordVPN is available, offering full functionality. If you aren’t satisfied, you will receive a full refund.
