Your internet browsing poses a risk to your online privacy

Even though you think you have nothing to hide, much of your data can and will be accessed; the exchange of banking information, confidential emails, medical records, and more, pose a risk to your online privacy. Moreover, many governments can demand the retrieval of your internet usage via your service providers. Or this data gets sold to third-party advertisers. Therefore it is a good practice to use an overall VPN service to secure your privacy.

Encrypt your connection with a virtual private network tunnel

A virtual private network connection (VPN) creates a tunnel between your device and a server. By establishing an encrypted connection, your data traffic, location, and IP address remain hidden from your internet service provider (ISP), and by extension from hackers and other malicious network operators who try to redirect you to phishing pages.

Choose an overall VPN service with military-grade encryption

NordVPN ranks high on the list when looking at a paid overall VPN service. With an extensive network of more than 5400 dedicated servers in over 60 countries, it offers a collection of privacy and security tools with military-grade encryption on all major operating platforms. There are native VPN apps for Windows, iOS, Android, and Linux. You can even set up Raspberry Pi, Blackberry, and some supported router devices to use their VPN services as well.

Zero-logs policy with NordVPN

The company behind NordVPN is located in Panama, a country without data retention laws. As such, there are no agreements for sharing information with other countries. Only a court order by the Panama court would oblige them to release any logging data. Moreover, the company has a zero-logs policy. Apart from the user name and the time of the last connection, and only until shortly after disconnecting from the VPN service, no other user data is held on their servers. So there is no logging of timestamps, IP addresses, or traffic data. The privacy policy of NordVPN explains this in more detail.

No security compromises with Perfect Forward Secrecy

As encryption is concerned, the standard AES-256 algorithm guarantees military-grade protection. The support of Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) ensures there will be no security compromises. The use of PFS means that encryption keys change regularly, so even when an intruder breaks into a session, he will be locked out of the next. On Windows and Android systems, OpenVPN is the default protocol; this is one of the most secure protocols around. IKEv2/IPSec is the standard protocol on iOS, and MAC users have the option to select either one of the 2.

NordLynx protocol combined with double NAT

NordVPN was one of the first to roll out the NordLynx protocol, based on the newest Wireguard technology. This is a high-speed protocol that requires substantially less coding than OpenVPN. But as Wireguard does not guarantee user privacy for 100%, NordVPN toppled this with double NAT (Network Adress Translation) to allow for secure VPN connections without leaving any identifiable data on their servers. Not all VPN servers support this protocol yet, though, so the choice is still somewhat limited.

Watch this video by NordVPN for an explanation of the NordLynx protocol:

An overall VPN service with a load of additional security features

What makes NordVPN stand out as an overall VPN service is the additional features it offers to improve your online privacy. A Kill Switch enables you to block all internet access when the VPN connection drops out. Moreover, you can even configure which apps need to close down in case your VPN connection fails. CyberSec is another tool that, when enabled, will block ads, trackers, and malicious sites. Another exciting feature is the option to always create a VPN tunnel on unsecured networks; this comes in handy, especially for mobile devices when connecting to public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Surpass geo-blocking to watch streaming channels

NordVpn is also a VPN provider that surpasses geo-blocking. So securely watching content on streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix will not pose any issues. Even torrenting is supported when you make use of the P2P (peer-to-peer) specialty servers. The app is designed in that way that it will automatically switch to a P2p-enabled server when opening a torrent client.

Surf the web in countries with internet restrictions

In countries with restricted access to the internet, you can make use of obfuscated servers. This means that even in states that block the use of VPN software, you will still be able to surf the internet. NordVPN obfuscation disguises your VPN traffic. Of course, you will have to install the VPN app before visiting the country with internet restrictions.

Additional security by adding extra encryption layers

There are also some rather advanced features. Double VPN adds another layer of encryption by creating a second VPN tunnel over two VPN servers. Onion over VPN allows for a direction of your traffic through the Onion network, without having to set it up in the Tor browser itself. These two features most likely will not be on the wishlist of the average VPN users looking to secure their internet connection, and these come with a substantial reduction in connection speed, but the ability is present.

Easy to use interface through a location map

After downloading and installing the NordVPN app, the user interface shows a location map. All you need to do is to click a country, and the program will establish a connection to a VPN server which it considers the best option. Alternatively, you can select manually which server in the country of your choice you would like to connect to the VPN in the left-hand tab.

Minimal speed loss due to a broad geographical spread of VPN servers

As for connection speed, all VPN services come with some speed loss. Especially when you try to connect to some countries further away from your current location, you can experience some latencies. This also largely depends on the server infrastructure of the area you are trying to connect to. Most of the NordVPN servers are situated in Europe and the US. But with an abundance of over 5800 servers in more than 60 countries, the geographical spread is entirely satisfactory. In general, the speed loss will seldom place a burden on your internet connection.

Best value when choosing a long-term subscription plan

An overall VPN service comes at a price. NordVPN offers three paid subscriptions; while a 1-month plan is a bit pricey, discounts apply when engaging for a 1 or 2-year subscription. For a limited time, the 2-year plan is on offer with a 66% discount and is the best value for your money. There is no trial option, but all subscriptions have a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. Any VPN plan you choose entitles you to use the app on six devices simultaneously and without any bandwidth limitations. Obtaining NordVPN will get you an easy to use overall VPN service full of security features to ensure your online privacy.

Extensive VPN support and blog section

The Help section for the NordVPN site will cover most of your questions on installing, billing and troubleshooting. On their blog, you will find many interesting posts about online security practices. And in case you still have any unanswered questions, you can always contact the NordVPN team via email or live chat.