NordVPN

An increasing amount of companies – including Amazon and Sky – offer their customers various streamable multimedia content. Many series and televisions formats are actually only available through streaming services. New episodes of that favorite series are often not available yet in the streamer’s home country and can only be seen in the US because of licensing problems. Many American sports events have the same problem. IP blocking makes it impossible to access the streams from one’s own country. Aside from Amazon Prime Video, television stations in the US and Great Britain also block access from other countries due to licensing issues.

VPN software allows users to change their IP and therewith their virtual location or, differently put, mask their actual location. They are virtually “residing in the desired country” and circumvent IP blocking. Streaming providers and websites locate the VPN users in the US and provide full access to films, series, and sports broadcasts.

NordVPN operates more than 4434 servers globally, of these 250 high-performance servers in the US alone. Even high-quality content in 4K resolution can be streamed thanks to a maximum download rate of up to 101 Mbit/s and unlimited data volume. Modern Smart Play Technology by NordVPN allows direct access to all streaming websites. Users automatically receive a dynamic IP address thanks to the enormous amount of free address and can also purchase a dedicated IP address. Up to 6 different devices like computers, tablets, smartphones, and game consoles can be used in parallel with one account. An app is available for mobile devices.

State Internet censorship has been on the rise for years now. In certain countries, such as Iran or China, the censorship is especially draconic. Firewalls prevent access to most Internet content and services in public institution as well as companies. Many very important websites and services are usually affected such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, and YouTube. These fundamentally important Internet services are not available because of this censorship. This is more than just a nuisance to users.

VPN software allows users to circumvent the firewall, one of the most important censorship measures. To do so, the software masks the actual IP address of the user. The address and all data communication is encrypted beyond recognition. Therefore, the connection is no longer recognized as undesired by the respective firewall, allowing for full access. Users can surf the Internet without restrictions and move around the web freely thanks to VPN software. They are no longer censored and can use all services on offer.

NordVPN always offers its users enough free IP addresses with more than 4434 servers located all over the globe. Dedicated IP addresses can be purchased in addition to the dynamic IP addresses. The server locations are distributed over the whole world. The servers of the company cover all continents – apart from Antarctica. Data are always secured using a modern AES-256-CBC encryption. This reliably protects them from third-party access. NordVPN uses a special SOCKS5 proxy for secure and fast surfing. Users have access to more than 3,000 proxies in total.

NordVPN offers its customers almost global coverage thanks to its high server density with more than 4434 servers in almost 57 different countries. This reliable coverage offers users one decisive advantage: The software automatically changes servers in case a server is overloaded or offering less-than-optimal performance; users need not fear connection interruption. Connections are always reliably established, taking only 7 seconds to establish on average. In addition, users benefit from a low ping time of only 5 milliseconds and unlimited data volume.

Table 3: Performance data

The actual status of all active servers is shown in real-time so that users can get an overall impression of NordVPN server performance beforehand. The maximum download speed is 101 Mb per second, uploading is fast as well with up to 85 Mb/s.

There is no doubt in our minds: The experienced company NordVPN certainly ranks among the best VPN software providers. The company stands out by its more than 4434 servers worldwide as well as high upload and download speeds. NordVPN especially wins users over with its double encryption and intelligently functioning DNS Leak Resolver. NordVPN offers many important features such as SOCKS-5 proxy and an automatic emergency disconnection. Configuration and operation is intuitive and even suited for less-experienced customers. The no log policy ensures that customer data are not recorded and do not fall into the wrong hands.

NordVPN stands out with its excellent value for the money. It is very well suited for users who attach great value to anonymity and security. Customers can pay for the service completely anonymously using Bitcoins and can benefit from the 30-day money-back guarantee. Users who still have to make up their minds can test the software out at no financial risk.