This VPN has been on the market only a few years. But it’s growing pretty fast lately. The VPN is provided by a company in Panama, where there are no data retention laws. They promote an Internet without censorship or surveillance. So with their solution, it’s all about privacy. But they know what we want too: a high speed and a strict no-log policy. All the details in my VPN NordVPN review below.
I managed to get a trial version for my NordVPN review (hurray for NordVPN trial). I already knew Nord VPN, but I had never been able to test NordVPN before. But now I can finally make a NordVPN review for you guys, thanks to the NordVPN offer of their NordVPN trial.
I must say I’m quite impressed with the latest version of Nord VPN. It may be one of the best VPN right now. It offers 3,300 worldwide servers, covering 59 countries. And it’s fast, as you can see in the speed tests! The complete absence of logs makes it an optimal companion for those who use torrents and P2P.
As I said, VPN Nord is registered in Panama. Since there are no mandatory data retention laws there, NordVPN UK can guarantee the safety of their users and leave no trace of their activities. And I like the fact they’re concerned about cybersecurity, web censorship, internet privacy and surveillance. Net neutrality is not the only problem we’re facing today on the Internet.
NordVPN UK also offers servers dedicated to other operations. Servers that assist in their other services such as NordVPN Android and NordVPN torrenting. I’ll review them in detail below.
The NordVPN offer is very competitive, as you can see in the NordVPN cost above. And you can connect up to 6 devices simultaneously! There is only 1 package with everything included. (This subscription should also include NordVPN Android and NordVPN torrenting services). You can only choose how long you want to subscribe to their service. It has 3 plans above, and it’s a special deal for you.
The “Complete” plan is the best out of the 3 and it’ll cost you only £4.19 a month! And you get 3 months for free! It’s a 2-year plan where you can save a massive 68% from the retail price.
It’s the best plan because you get all the latest security features NordVPN just added. You can now protect your devices from malware. NordVPN also offers a tracker and ad blocker on the software which, in return, helps the anti-malware approach too!
Then, you get a cross-platform password manager by NordPass. Days of forgetting passwords are gone! Also, when you manage it through NordVPN, you don’t have to worry about someone finding your secret stash of passwords.
The current update comes with a data breach scanner by NordPass. In my opinion, it’s the best new feature so far because data breach has become a serious issue across the world. If you accidentally try to access a site that’s a risk to your data, NordVPN will flag it and protect your online privacy.
Last but not least, you get a 1 TB cloud storage, encrypted by NordLocker! Sure, many other businesses offer free cloud storage but do any of them offer 1 terabyte of space? I don’t think so.
If you’re not ready to commit to the “Complete” plan just yet, you can go for the “Plus” or the “Standard”.
The “Plus” package costs only £3.19 per month but you have to say bye to the free cloud storage.
As for the “Standard” plan, you don’t get the data breach scanner and the password manager along with the cloud storage. It costs a mere £2.89 per month.
If you ask me, I highly recommend that you go for the “Complete” plan as it’ll also work as a 360-degree security tool for you.
You can try this service risk-free for up to 30 days (NordVPN trial). Indeed, they offer a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee. This is a good point as you can really make up your mind with a 1-month trial. No need to rush, just use it normally.
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Does it register your activities? | No, you're safe with a strict no-log policy |
| Is it safe for torrenting? | Yes, you can use it for P2P |
| What Netflix catalogue is available? | US, UK, CA, AU, DE, FR |
| Simultaneous logins | Up to 6 connections simultaneously |
| How many countries do it cover? | 60+ |
| On what platforms is it available? | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS |
| Money-back guarantee policy | 30 days |
| Available protocols | WireGuard, OpenVPN (UDP/TCP), IKEv2/Ipsec |
| Type of traffic data? | Unlimited |
| Type of Cipher | AES 256 bits, the most secure encryption in the World |
| How many IP Addresses does it provide? | This provider does not disclose the number |
| How many servers are available? | 5,601+ |
If you need to connect to American Netflix or play Xbox or PlayStation online games, you should use Ultra Fast TV servers. There are 2 servers available: USA and UK. And that’s where online tournaments are usually held.
These servers are the fastest. You can use them for HD streaming or online gaming. If you play video games, I would advise you to configure the VPN connection manually.
Netflix works fine with the VPN Nord, as shown in most NordVPN reviews. And you can access all Netflix catalogues including the United States, Canada, Italy, Norway, Sweden, France & UK Netflix.
Two things here: No logs of any type are registered and all Nord VPN servers have a NAT firewall.
Port forwarding is not currently available. But you can use NordVPN for torrenting and P2P witht heir NordVPN torrenting service.
The download speed is low with OpenVPN. I would recommend to setup configure a connection on a server with the PPTP protocol. This operation can be a bit laborious for the less savvy users. NordVPN torrenting is authorized on the following servers: Brazil, Romania, Iceland, Isle of Man, Israel, Russia, Sweden, Lithuania, Hong Kong, Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa.
If you need a dedicated IP address, NordVPN UK can provide one for you. Once you paid the additional fee, you’ll get an IP address one of their 5 servers. As of today, there are 3 servers available in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
If you are looking for a higher level of data encryption, Nord VPN offers the Double VPN. It’s a kind of multi-hop network. It means that the data are encrypted twice between your computer and the Internet. Not a bad NordVPN offer, ey?
Several Double VPN servers are available, check their server page for the latest info. In the case above, the user connects to an Austrian server first, and then to a Dutch server before being connected to the Internet.
Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security. More info about Tor on www.torproject.org.
This technology is available on 2 servers: In Latvia and in Sweden. With this type of connection, the data is first encrypted by Nord VPN. Then the encrypted packets go through several Tor hops before arriving at the destination. And it’s the same the other way round.
This is the optimal solution to navigate the deep web (connected to this server and using Tor). Note that the connection will be extremely secure, but not that fast, because they route your traffic through 2 VPN servers.
While I think any censorship from a VPN provider is weird, the CyberSec feature is a great add-on. Because it’s more than an ad-blocker. And it could prove a life saver, especially if you’re not comfortable distinguishing good links from bad links.
When enabled, CyberSec will block known dangerous websites. So if you click on a fake link, you won’t get involved in a phishing scam and any other cyber threats. Also, it will protect your device from becoming part of a botnet, even if your device is already infected!
They did a good job with their client software. Indeed, when you launch the app, you arrive on a nice stylized map with all their servers. Each pin represents a country and if you click on one, it will automatically connect to this country.
However, if you prefer to get more info, you can click on the Servers tab. There, you will find the list of all their servers. And it’s very easy to browse their servers. Indeed, at the top, you’ll find their “special” servers and after that, all servers sorted by country.
What are these special servers? Well, the VPN Nord offers 5 of servers: Double VPN, Ultra Fast TV and Dedicated IP (some of which are located in the UK), Onion over VPN, Anti DDoS and P2P servers, (but none located in the UK).
Furthermore, for each server, you can see the load of the server and the distance. Also, you have the download and upload speed available when you connect.
As with many VPNs, there are few options available. But at least there are the essential ones for any user, among them:
At the bottom of the Settings tab, you can click on Show advanced settings to get more options (you’ll have to confirm you know what you’re doing). And the most interesting are:
Nord VPN offers native applications for each platform. The NordVPN offer for Windows and Mac software are quite similar. And so are mobile apps on Android and iOS with their NordVPN Android services. You might have to do some further research to see if they offer some sort of NordVPN trial with these specific services.
Last but not least, I should mention their support via live chat that is very efficient. It’s much better than email or telephone. You will be able to reach them via the NordVPN website. And in a couple of minutes, you can resolve any issue, like finding a server that works with BBC iPlayer or Netflix, for example.
Now get out there and enjoy your NordVPN trial. Or hopefully you take up one of the NordVPN offers available and you can happily continue with your NordVPN torrenting!