Yes, NordVPN is one of the world’s most secure and safest VPN providers due to its state-of-the-art 256-bit encryption, various advanced security features such as obfuscation, NordLynx, and audited zero-log policy.
So when we say “Yes, it is safe” in response to your “Is NordVPN safe?” question, then you should definitely believe us. We can assure you that we are not just shooting in the dark here. We have concrete evidence that this provider is 100% safe and secure.
But before we continue, if you wish to read comprehensive and in-depth information about NordVPN, then check out our NordVPN Review.
Let’s journey together and see what features and tools make this provider safe in 2021.
Features that make NordVPN Safe
It’s no surprise that NordVPN offers almost all the industry-standard security and privacy features. However, this provider special regarding safety is that it has ensured to outclass other top-tier VPN providers of 2021 by implementing scarce security and encryption mechanisms for its user’s security and privacy.
We will be taking a peek at these amazing and rare features you can only find with NordVPN – Recommended VPN by Forbes.
NordVPN’s Jurisdiction
NordVPN couldn’t safeguard its user’s online privacy unless it itself were safe from any mandatory data retention laws. NordVPN headquarter is located in Panama.
A country that is not a part of either 5 eyes, 9 eyes, or 14 eyes alliance. Due to its headquarters location, NordVPN isn’t obligated to store or record any user data concerning VPN connections.
Its jurisdiction makes this provider the perfect choice for privacy-conscious users as their online data and privacy will be completely safe and secure with NordVPN.
NordVPN’s Privacy Policy
Since NordVPN is operating from Panama, it can offer a no-log policy. Therefore, it doesn’t record the user’s activity after connecting to the VPN network.
Your connection timestamps, session information, bandwidth usage, traffic data, and VPN IP address is completely hidden from anyone, including NordVPN itself.
The only thing NordVPN keeps logs of are email addresses, payment data, and server performance data. Don’t worry though, this type of data is pretty conventional and wouldn’t actually jeopardize your actual identity.
Headquarter in Panama, along with a zero-log policy, makes NordVPN completely safe and secure for netizens. You can read more about it in the NordVPN Log policy.
NordVPN’s Encryption
NordVPN proudly offers next-generation encryption for its VPN tunnel. It uses an AES-256-Bit encryption mechanism that scrambles the internet traffic so it can not be intercepted and read by any third party entity such as Internet Service Provider, Cybercriminals, or even the Government.
Right now, there isn’t any practical attack that can break AES-256-Bit encryption. Also, finding the possible combination to decipher this encryption is nearly impossible as it has 2^256 possible combinations.
It should come as no surprise that the provider known for providing the best in business security and privacy would use an encryption algorithm that the US Government adopts for classified information.
But it doesn’t end here; NordVPN uses three different IKEV/IPSec, OpenVPN, and NordLynx to ensure that your internet traffic is encrypted, secure, and completely hidden from different third parties.
- IKEv2/IPsec utilizes powerful cryptographic algorithms and keys that are even unbreakable by supercomputers.
- OpenVPN is a versatile security protocol that consists of TCP and UDP protocols for safe browsing, gaming, and live streaming.
- NordLynx combines WireGuard protocol and doubles NAT (Network Address Translation) to provide fast results. Check out how fast NordVPN is to learn more about what speeds you can expect from it.
NordVPN’s DNS Leak Protection
NordVPN DNS server ensures that your DNS queries are not resolved on your Internet Service Provider DNS server to prevent your actual IP and location leak. To test NordVPN’s DNS leak protection, we ran a test after enabling NordVPN, and you can witness the result below.
As you can see, NordVPN successfully passes the DNS leak test, confirming that your DNS queries will be resolved on NordVPN DNS servers. It is always good to know that your DNS isn’t leaking, as it can greatly impact your streaming experience.
With confirmed protection, you can comfortably stream your favourite geo-blocked streaming services with NordVPN.
NordVPN’s Double VPN
This feature allows NordVPN to encrypt and route your internet traffic using two VPN servers instead of just one.
When the connection is established, your internet traffic is encrypted on your device, and then it travels to another VPN server, where it gets encrypted again. Before reaching the final destination, the data is decrypted by a NordVPN server.
There are multiple advantages of encrypting your data from two different VPN servers. These advantages include:
- Your data is secured with an extra layer of encryption. Unfortunately, this also makes interception and deciphering of data by third parties very difficult.
- The security level of online activities is increasing as the connections are mixed between UDP and TCP protocols.
- As the first server masks your actual IP address, the second server has no idea of your actual IP or location. This increases the security level of online privacy.
Learn more about NordVPN’s Double VPN.
NordVPN’s Onion Over VPN
Onion Over VPN combines Tor Network with NordVPN to provide you with the ultimate and simple online privacy form.
This process involved four different stages:
- You establish a connection to the Onion network at a random entry point.
- While your data is travelling through various servers, multiple layers of encryption are added to it.
- Near the destination point, the encryption layers are removed one by one.
- At the destination point, data is decrypted, and you exit through a random node, landing on the web.
While Onion Over VPN or Tor Network provides anonymity, the NordVPN network handles the security. When combined, these two technologies complement each other while supporting the main goal – the safety of users’ online privacy.
Get full detail about NordVPN’s Onion Over VPN.
NordVPN’s Obfuscated Servers
The specialized servers hide the fact that you are even using a virtual private network. While a normal VPN connection does hide your internet activity from your ISP but not the fact that you are using a VPN, the obfuscated servers manipulate the data packets in a way that even tools for blocking VPN connection let it pass.
This technology is popular and widely used by users who wish to bypass ISP and firewalls that actively block VPN traffic. Also, Journalists and political activists dealing with delicate information while working in a heavily restricted area can benefit from using obfuscated servers.
This feature is quite rare, and only a handful of top-tier VPN providers offer it for security and privacy in VPN-restricted environments such as Russia, China, and Syria.
Read more about NordVPN’s Obfuscated Servers.
NordVPN’s CyberSec
NordVPN’s CyberSec feature allows you to block intrusive ads and malicious content, including websites. This feature helps you enhance your security, increase your online performance, and give you more control over what content you wish to receive.
It blocks websites known for hosting malware or phishing scams and takes care of annoying flashy ads, which speeds up your browsing experience. Ultimately, this makes you safe from any online threats.
Learn more about NordVPN’s CyberSec feature.
NordVPN’s Internet Kill Switch
NordVPN’s promise to safeguard your online activities and privacy wouldn’t be fulfilled without providing an Internet Kill Switch feature. When enabled, this feature continuously monitors the VPN connection, and if the connection is disconnected for any reason, it will shut down the device’s complete internet connectivity.
This action will prevent actual IP address and location leaks over the internet. It is quite handy for users heavily involved in sensitive online activities such as P2P/File-sharing. Our friends who use NordVPN for torrenting can enable this feature, and rest assured that your actual IP and location won’t be a leak if there is a VPN disconnection.
NordVPN’s Audit and Warrant Canary
We all know how strict NordVPN’s no-log policy is but is there any way to receive authentic reassurance about it?
In late 2018, NordVPN requested an industry-first independent assurance engagement for verifying their no-logs claim – a cornerstone of their privacy mission.
As a result of this request, one of the industry-leading auditing and assurance firm – PricewaterhouseCoopers AG Switzerland (PwC Switzerland), conducted an independent audit of the VPN provider.
After analyzing and evaluating their no-logs claims, they reported that the policy description defined by NordVPN is accurate.
Read NordVPN’s independently audited logging policy.
In addition to that, NordVPN also introduced a Warrant Canary. A warrant canary is a regularly published statement confirming that a service provider has not received a secret warrant and has been prohibited from reporting it.
As of 2021-06-21, NordVPN:
- Have NOT received any National Security letters;
- Have NOT received any gag orders;
- Have NOT received any warrants from any government organization.
Check out NordVPN’s Warrant Canary.
FAQs
Let’s take a look at some of the frequently asked questions.
Is it safe to use NordVPN?
Yes, NordVPN is safe to use. Its headquartered in Panama, which doesn’t have any data retention laws, offers military-grade AES-256-Bit encryption for VPN traffic and various advanced security features to protect user’s online privacy and freedom.
Does NordVPN spy on you?
No, NordVPN doesn’t spy on you. NordVPN ensures that no one can spy on you by intercepting and reading your internet traffic. It protects that by masking your actual location and IP address with high-level encryption and security features.
Who really owns NordVPN?
NordVPN is owned by the Lithuania-based, Tesonet. The difference in names is a common business practice. Like many people know, the company “Procter & Gamble” by the names “Pampers,” “Oral-B,” and “Gillette.”
Final Thoughts
By now, we believe that all your doubts concerning “Is NordVPN Safe?” are disappeared. If you still have some doubts, you can avail of NordVPN’s free trial and test the service at your end to see how safe and secure this provider really is. Even if you subscribe to the premium subscription, you can always cancel NordVPN anytime and receive your funds back due to its 30-day money-back guarantee.
But if you decide to leave this service due to any technical problem, we recommend you try our easy NordVPN troubleshooting steps for an instant solution.
While NordVPN is a perfect companion for your online security, it is also quite capable of unblocking all sorts of streaming content and blocked websites on your device. Furthermore, you can easily protect your macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, Roku, Firestick, and other devices with six simultaneous devices connection.