Can You Really Become Anonymous Online? We Cover Privacy, Speed, and More in this NordVPN Review
Do you ever feel like every click you make is being watched? It’s common these days to have ads for something you just bought following you around online or to have your internet service provider know every website you surf or download from.
The internet has made tons of things possible that never were before, but it’s come at a cost to our privacy. That’s why companies like NordVPN have entered the scene to offer a way to go online securely and anonymously.
Virtual private networks (VPNs) are like a middleman between you and the internet, masking your steps so no one knows your IP address or location.
They even allow you to connect to one of those free unsecured Wi-Fi’s at Starbucks or the Airport, securely with without worry of someone stealing your bank login.
In our AdvisoryHQ News NordVPN review, we’re going to take a look at this PC Editors’ Choice VPN service to see if it lives up to its promises.
We’ll take a look at pricing, reliability, and what people say in NordVPN reviews.
And have you ever wondered which is the best VPN for torrenting? We’ll cover that too!
Is NordVPN safe to use on all your devices? How do its ratings stack up against VPN Unlimited reviews? Is NordVPN good for improving speed?
Read on to find out!
See Also: ᐅ ExpressVPN Review | Is it Safe? A Scam or The Best VPN Service?
AdvisoryHQ Review | Why Do People Use a VPN?
Why do people pay an extra NordVPN price on top of what they pay to access the internet? There are a number of reasons, with security and privacy at the top of them.
When you sign up for the VPN service, it redirects your online traffic through one of their specially configured NordVPN servers, which hides your IP address and encrypts all the data that is sent or received.
A VPN is usually described as an encrypted tunnel protecting you from cybercriminals and keeping your browsing and internet use private.
Reasons people use a VPN:
- Safe connection to public Wi-Fi
- Access web services that might be blocked when you travel
- Keep browsing private
- Avoid surveillance
- Keep IP and location hidden
- Unlimited bandwidth
With some VPN services, they promise faster download speeds. When reviewing NordVPN’s speed, they say that their service doesn’t apply any speed limits to users. However, they caution that you will usually receive slightly lower speeds using their VPN as compared to not using it.
So, if you’re looking for faster downloads, you may not find it here due to the slower NordVPN speed. They mention it can be around 30% slower using VPN.
How Do You Use NordVPN Servers?
When you begin using the VPN, you have a number of choices of NordVPN servers. But before we get into the servers, let’s go over a quick “how to” of getting started with NordVPN.
- Sign up for the NordVPN Service
- Download and install the software on your computer or mobile device
- Login using your username/email and password
- Click Quick Connect to connect to a NordVPN server
- You can also choose a specific country or location of a server to use
In the settings area, you can choose options such as turning the VPN on automatically at startup.
If NordVPN’s not connecting well, you can choose a different server. The company has more than 4800 servers in 62 countries that you can choose from for the best speed and connectivity.
Specialty NordVPN Servers
In addition to their standard VPN servers, there are a few other specialty NordVPN servers you can choose from. Their servers map will tell you which countries have which types of NordVPN servers available.
If you’re wondering, “Is NordVPN good for file sharing” and “Is it the best VPN for torrenting?” You’ll be happy to know that they have a special server type specifically for peer-to-peer file sharing.
Here’s a rundown of the server types that NordVPN offers:
- Dedicated IP Servers: With an IP address only used by you
- Double VPN Servers: Traffic is encrypted through 2 instead of 1 server
- Obfuscated Servers: For countries with internet access restrictions
- Onion Over VPN Servers: For maximum online security and privacy
- P2P Servers: for peer-to-peer file sharing
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AdvisoryHQ NordVPN Review of Pricing
So what are you going to pay for all that extra privacy? The NordVPN price is pretty reasonable and comparable to other VPN services. They also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can get a refund if you don’t like the service.
For the NordVPN price, you can connect up to 6 devices at the same time. The longer you subscribe to the service, the less you pay per month.
NordVPN Prices:
You have a choice of three payment plans to choose from, all of them coming with a 100% money-back guarantee. If you find you don’t like the service, within 30-days you have the option to your money back.
- $11.95 per month, billed monthly
- $9.00 per month, billed every 6 months ($54.00 per 6 months)
- $6.99 per month, billed every 12 months ($83.88 per 12 months)
NordVPN Free trial
If you want to do a NordVPN review before you commit to a subscription, the company offers a free 3-day trial. Just check out their FAQ for a link.
Can You Use NordVPN with a Router?
If you want to have internet privacy and security for your entire Wi-Fi connection and all devices connected to it, they have a few recommendations for VPN enabled routers you can purchase. You can also check their list to see if your router may already have the ability to use VPN.
One major benefit of installing NordVPN on your Wi-Fi router is that you won’t need to download the client on each device individually since the router gives them a blanket connection. If you travel, however, you may still want to have the VPN app on your device.
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AdvisoryHQ NordVPN Review | What is Everyone Saying About this VPN?
Is NordVPN safe to use anywhere? What about NordVPN and Netflix, do they work together? Does this VPN actually deliver on its promises?
We’re about to hear from users now and see what they say, both good and bad, in NordVPN reviews. First, let’s see what their average ratings look like.
NordVPN Reviews & Ratings:
- Capterra – 4.5 out of 5 (142 NordVPN reviews)
- Trustpilot – 5.4 out of 10 (311 NordVPN reviews)
- VPNBase – 8.2 out of 10 (26 NordVPN reviews)
Next, let’s hear from those who have used this virtual private network and find out how they feel about NordVPN speed, price, and reliability. We’ll start off with unhappy customers, then hear from the happy ones.
NordVPN Review Snapshot – Unhappy Customers
- One of the negative NordVPN reviews at Trustpilot said they only get about 6mb of their 100mb broadband when running the VPN. They thought it was a real waste of money due to the slow NordVPN speed.
- Another unhappy reviewer had a problem with NordVPN not connecting to multiple websites and they said they didn’t receive much help from customer support. They switched to another VPN provider and did not have the same issue.
- If asked, “Is NordVPN good for server choices?” This reviewer would say, “Definitely not.” They said that their servers were down often, so they didn’t feel like they were getting the choices promised.
- NordVPN’s price was the reason for another negative NordVPN review. They said there were cheaper options out there and didn’t think the service was worth the price.
NordVPN Review Snapshot – Happy Customers
- A pleased reviewer said NordVPN and Netflix work great and that it was the best VPN for watching it. They said they’d wasted money on other VPN services and were very pleased with NordVPN and their excellent customer support.
- In a 5 start NordVPN review the reviewer said it was one of the easiest VPNs they had ever used. They liked the privacy it provides and even though it’s automated, they said it was very flexible too.
- A user in an internet access restriction country said they were very satisfied with the service. Their NordVPN review mentioned that their live chat support was very helpful and that when the connection gets slow, they just turn it off and back on, and it speeds up.
- This next reviewer would give a big “Yes!” if asked, “Is NordVPN safe?” They said it was well worth the investment for the security and privacy and that both their laptop and Android phone have very reliable connections without too much speed loss.
How Does the NordVPN Netflix Connection Work?
After researching Netflix with various VPNs, it seems that the service tends to block them when it can. Does the NordVPN Netflix connection work?
Yes, as far as we’ve read on both the company’s website and a few NordVPN review sites that have tested Netflix and NordVPN, you can watch it with NordVPN on.
The company recommends using the VPN server closest to your location for best connection and speed when using NordVPN and Netflix. If NordVPN is not connecting, then they recommend choosing the next closest server.
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NordVPN Review vs VPN Unlimited Review
NordVPN is often reviewed next to other services such as KeepSolid’s VPN Unlimited, one of their competitors. We’ll just do a mini-comparison here.
When looking at VPN Unlimited reviews and ratings on TrustPilot, people tend to rate NordVPN better.
TrustPilot (out of 10):
- NordVPN 5.4
- VPN Unlimited 8.8
VPN Unlimited does not have as many user reviews out there, which could point to them having fewer users overall on the service.
One other significant difference we found in a VPN Unlimited review was that they offer a 3-year subscription plan for just $2.78 per month and a lifetime plan (if you want to take a chance VPNs will still be needed in 50-100 years) for $199.99.
Their server count is considerably less than NordVPN’s, with 400+ servers we found in a VPN Unlimited review as compared to NordVPN with 4800+ servers.
What’s the Best VPN for Torrenting?
When you’re looking for the best VP for torrenting, you typically want something with a decent download speed. We’ve heard from several reviewers that NordVPN’s speed can be lacking.
In a speed test by Tom’s Guide, they found the megabits per second (Mbps) were 36 percent slower than the non-VPN speed, giving a download speed of 34.7 Mbps for NordVPN.
As a comparison, when we were reviewing a competitor VPN service, they had a speed averaging about 62 Mbps.
So, depending upon how much you download on peer-to-peer sites, NordVPN might not be the best VPN for torrenting.
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AdvisoryHQ’s NordVPN Review Conclusion
NordVPN has its pros and cons. In our NordVPN review, we found that people generally like the service and give it big props for being very easy to install and use.
Cons include issues with NordVPN not connecting always or not staying connected and with the drop in speed.
Some people praise their helpful customer support while others say the opposite. It appears that if it’s something they can help with or fix, the service is excellent. But, if it’s a problem with a blocked site, then they may not be quite as helpful.
NordVPN reviews come out mainly positive overall, with most thinking the service and privacy offered is worth the price. So if you’re looking for more anonymity online, NordVPN is a decent option to consider.
Image sources:
- https://nordvpn.com/tutorials/windows-10/application/
- https://nordvpn.com/download/
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