NordVPN Review: Is This Privacy Powerhouse Actually Worth the Hype?

They’ve broken partway into the popular consciousness lately. There’s even a prominent slider in your iPhone’s setting’s marked “VPN.” But what is that, and why won’t Netflix stop complaining about them?

VPN stands for virtual private network. Think of it like a trusted middleman who handles your digital information as it flows into and out of your computer. He’s your point of contact between your precious computer and the wild world of wack jobs online, even if you’re just trying to access… certain sites.

a worldwide network of choice

Without a VPN, websites have a direct link to your computer. With one, websites know the data you send and receive comes through your middleman, but not from you, providing an insulating layer that gives you some protection from snoops.

That’s the layman’s definition for a very, very complicated topic. Luckily for you, signing up for one isn’t complicated. Nor is using one. The user interface is remarkably clean and easy to navigate, even if you’ve never signed up for a VPN before.

You can choose from more than 6,200 servers in 111 countries. You don’t have to be in one country to use another’s server. Drinking coffee in a Berlin café and want to connect through an Indonesian IP address? At home in San Diego, but want to be “online” in Brazil? Boom, done.

One of my favorite features is that I can set it to auto-connect on Wi-Fi. Anytime I connect to an airport’s or café’s network, the VPN will kick in automatically. I don’t have to remember it, or more likely forget it and leave myself exposed on public, insecure Wi-Fi.

You can set any network as an exception, too. So if you wish only to use NordVPN for public, non-password-protected networks and leave yourself off it for your home network, you can. I leave mine on all the time, though.

Some VPNs I’ve used slow my connection down in unavoidable ways. NordVPN’s servers have been plenty fast for me all over the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia. If there’s a slow, overloaded server, it’s a cinch and a second to reconnect to a faster one. I’ve no complaints.

nordvpn checks the right credibility boxes

Ages ago, I used Private Internet Access (PIA). Then when it was bought by Kape Technologies, I switched over to ExpressVPN, which went well for a few years. Then that, too, was bought by Kape.

Kape’s shadowy origins are as a company called Crossrider that, as CNET put it, “produced software which previously allowed third-party developers to hijack users’ browsers via malware injection, redirect traffic to advertisers and slurp up private data.”

A series of devastating public relations disasters, such as being named in the Panama Papers, sparked a name change to Kape Technologies in 2019. Then it went on a buying spree of the very types of VPNs that people had relied upon to protect themselves from malware and spyware.

Though founded in Lithuania, NordVPN is based in Panama, which is not a member country of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, and 14 Eyes international surveillance alliances.

These alliances enable sharing of citizens’ online data, so a person using a VPN service located in one signatory country—even if they’re not physically in that country or a citizen of that country—can have their data logs handed over to one of the other signatory countries by request.

By basing itself in a country outside the reach of these security alliances, it removes a potential lever of control these spy-happy countries would happily deploy. Even so, NordVPN says it doesn’t log user information. If a government agency or court were to try to compel them to turn over user data, they couldn’t because they don’t collect it.

That’s a major green flag. In fact, it’s an absolutely necessary one. Don’t use VPNs that don’t explicitly say they don’t collect user information, and don’t use ones that aren’t independently audited to verify that they’re telling the truth.

NordVPN was just reviewed again for the fifth time, turning up another clean bill of transparency. Hot on the heels of that welcome bit of news, they also just released NordWhisper, a new protocol developed specifically to outwit the VPN blockers that websites have begun to deploy.

There are a few plans available. Basic, for $15 a month, is all you need. It’s a lot cheaper if you spring for an annual plan for $60, though.

There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee, so what have you got to lose? You may think you’re just a regular person using the internet, but that’s exactly who most data thieves and spyware jerks love to creep on the most.

alternatives

• Mullvad VPN: While it’s based in Sweden, which is a member of 14 Eyes but not the other two surveillance alliances, there are protections in Swedish law regarding VPNs specifically, and Mullvad VPN’s explanation satisfies me enough that I’d use it. It’s also shown good faith by releasing the results of its independently requested audit.
• Proton VPN:  Founded in 2017, this relative newcomer is based in Switzerland, which isn’t a member of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes. That’s exactly what I like to hear when I’m appraising a VPN. The other major green flag I look for is whether it’s been independently audited, and what do you know, Proton VPN has. You can read the results here.
• TunnelBear: Meh. It’s owned by the major security software company McAfee and based in Canada, which is a member of the Five Eyes Alliance. You can read TunnelBear’s latest independently commissioned audit, but while I’d use them over PIA or ExpressVPN, I’d prefer NordVPN, Mullvad VPN, or Proton VPN because of TunnelBear’s link to Canada.