VPN REVIEWS

NordVPN Review

NordVPN

If you’re someone who likes to do what they want online, without the worry of being monitored by ISPs and Government agencies, then NordVPN is perfect for you. Based in Panama, the service is perfect for Australians looking to bypass our Governments proposed decryption laws.

Some of the major selling points of the NordVPN service are the massive global network of more than 5,000 servers, high-speed fibre connections and optimisations to support P2P servers as well as video and music streaming from other nations around the world. No matter where you live in Australia, you’re able to connect to just about any country in the world through NordVPN.

Pricing and Plans

NordVPN offers customers three different pricing structures depending on the length of time you want to use their service for:

1 Month price:

  • US$11.95 per month
  • Billed once every month.
  • 30-day money back guarantee.

6 Months price:

  • US$7.00 per month.
  • Billed $42.00 every 6 months.
  • 30-day money back guarantee.
  • This price represents a 41% saving over the standard Monthly price.

12 Months price:

  • US$5.75 per month.
  • Billed $69.00 every 12 months.
  • 30-day money back guarantee.
  • This price represents a 52% saving over the standard Monthly price.

Nord VPN - prices and plans - June 2017

Network Speed

Although NordVPN boasts one of the largest server networks in the world, their service has previously been plagued with blackouts, connection errors and general poor internet experience. Though, recently NordVPN invested in a massive upgrade of an array of servers across the world to remove as many of these issues as possible.

The service is now highly optimised in most locations around the world including Australia. That means users connection from Australia to Europe and the Americas should have no problem doing so and speeds will certainly be faster and more consistent than ever before.

Take a look at NordVPNs new changes below.

Ultra Fast TV – NordVPN has multiple servers that are tailored specifically for video streaming and deliver consistently high speeds. That means Australians looking to watch new episodes of American TV or fresh episodes of the hottest shows will be able to do so without worry.

P2P Streaming –In Australia, ISP are required to block access to P2P websites, applications or any other P2P-like service. The NordVPN service bypasses this and allows unthrottled, full-speed access to websites enabling you to access large P2P files. Regardless of download sizes, NordVPN will refrain from slowing your connection, allowing you to continue downloading your large files at almost the same speed as your NBN connection.

Security Features

Security is a prime focus for NordVPN and that means offering its users additional features to enhance their security whilst online. Two of the stand-out features for us include the following:

Double Data Encryption –Perfect for Australians who aren’t impressed with the government’s recent encryption ban, this feature is a privacy solution that sends users’ Internet traffic through two VPN servers. For most VPN users, this enhanced level of security is greatly welcomed. In cases where Aussies desire an enhanced level of anonymity, the DoubleVPN solution can be extremely useful.

NordVPN - double vpn

 

Kill Switch –No matter what VPN service provider you select, there always exists a small possibility that the VPN connection may drop out during your session, potentiality exposing your IP address or your browsing data. The NordVPN team has created and implemented an automatic kill switch that will instantly block online communication the moment a VPN drops out. This means if anything does happen to your internet connection or the VPN, you can rest assured that your IP, geolocation and more are all kept safe.

Server Locations

When it comes down to the size of VPN networks, very few services beat NordVPN. The 5,100 high-speed servers spread across 62 countries make NordVPN one of the most diverse and largest global VPNs with regards to the number of server options users have. Australians looking to connect to almost any country around the globe will have no trouble when using NordVPN.

Just a few of the countries in which NordVPN have a server presence include:

NordVPN - server locations

Austria, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, South Africa, Romania, Brazil, Poland, Australia, Sweden, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Russia, Lithuania, Canada, Singapore, Germany, Latvia, Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

VPN Protocol Support

When using NordVPN for the first time you’ll find that all apps are pre-configured with the recommended protocol setting to provide maximum online privacy and security. In the vast majority of cases, the average VPN user will not need to alter these settings in any way.

However, for more technically minded VPN users, NordVPN offers the following suite of VPN protocols:

  • IKEv2/IPsec
  • OpenVPN
  • L2TP/IPsec (*)
  • PPTP (*)
  • SSTP (*)

IKEv2/IPsec – it is highly recommended by NordVPN and has been adopted as a default in the NordVPN apps for iOS and Mac OS.

OpenVPN – is currently used by default in NordVPN apps. This is the recommend vpn protocol for the most security-conscious.

Data Logging Policy

This is where Australians might be particularly interested. Our government has recently pushed for a cross-country decryption policy forcing tech communication companies to allow government eyes to peek into what all citizens are doing, regardless of whether they have a warrant or not. Thanks to NordVPN being located in Panama, there is no legal requirement for them to keep logs and therefore no way for the Australian Government to access what users are doing.

Items NOT Logged:

  • Time/date when users go online.
  • Servers users connect to.
  • Websites users visit.
  • Files users download.

For the security minded, this would have to be the strongest Data Logging Policy of all VPN service providers that we have ever reviewed. From a data logging perspective alone, NordVPN is a clear winner.

Customer Support

NordVPN offers Australian users a multitude of different ways to get in touch with their Customer Support team:

  • Live Chat
  • Email
  • Contact Form

When we put their Live Chat to the test, we found their response times to be very good. We received a response from their customer support person in under 30 seconds – so of course, we had absolutely no complaints about that, and were quite impressed! The representative that we chatted with was technically competent, friendly to deal with, and efficient.

NordVPN - Live Chat

For those that prefer to be as self-sufficient as possible, we found that their Tutorials section was comprehensive to say the least ! This section of their website lists all the supported devices, compatible vpn protocols, as well as detailed installation and troubleshooting guides for each.

NordVPN - tutorials

Supported Devices

If you’re interested in connecting through NordVPN you’ll be glad to know that the service supports almost every device imaginable. Support for mobile, tablet, smartTVs, computers and more mean no matter what device you want to secure your connection with, you’ll be in luck. Take a look at the support platforms below:

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • iOS
  • Android
  • Chrome OS
  • Windows Phone
  • Linux
  • Rasberry Pi

Company Location

NordVPN is based in Panama.

Due to the fact that the company is located outside of Australia, NordVPN enjoys security benefits over other VPN service providers located in either the UK, US and Australia. A reason for this being such a positive is the fact that Panama does not have any data retention laws. When we recently asked NordVPN for further information on this matter, they stated that “NordVPN operates under the jurisdiction of Panama and will not comply with requests from foreign governments and law enforcement agencies.”

Pros

  • Located in Panama – no data retention laws.
  • Zero data logs.
  • Optimised video streaming servers.
  • Optimised P2P servers.
  • 30-day money back guarantee.

Cons

  • Linux not currently supported.

Conclusion

For Australians, NordVPN is one of the better options for security, global server diversity and overall freedom. A server network that spans the globe, no log recording and unlimited P2P and downloading allowance makes the NordVPN truly one of the most comprehensive and worthy for use from within Australia.

Network speed and performance are critical areas that NordVPN have improved dramatically in recent years, with highly optimised fibre optic server connections tailored specifically for Video Streaming and Peer To Peer. Just these reasons alone make NordVPN a reputable and reliable VPN service provider that we would wholeheartedly recommend for our Australian users.

October 20, 2017

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