NordVPN - any good?

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brandynz

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#257119 16-Sep-2019 14:25

The 3 year Sale for NordVPN is finishing today.

Was wondering if anyone uses NordVPN and what your thoughts are on this?

It’s a lot cheaper than IPVanish – but maybe not as good?

Thanks

dt

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#2318554 16-Sep-2019 14:30

what in particular do you need the service for? if its just for geo unblocking then yeah its fine.

Item

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#2318556 16-Sep-2019 14:38

I believe they are less forthcoming/transparent with exactly what data and logging they keep and what they would then give up to any requesting parties compared to other providers...

If that is a concern for you, I would go with TunnelBear or Private Internet Access. I have used the latter for a few years and very happy.

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-vpn-service/

nathan

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#2318565 16-Sep-2019 14:52

the 3 year sale "ending today" sale is a marketing scam, a bit like Briscoes.

As someone else said, they are less than transparent and therefore there are better options out there.

engedib

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#2318575 16-Sep-2019 14:58

nathan:

the 3 year sale "ending today" sale is a marketing scam, a bit like Briscoes.

As someone else said, they are less than transparent and therefore there are better options out there.

Yes, they usually send some last day offers before the subscription expires.

Same applies for PIA:

https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/pages/rejoin-vpn-last-day

MCSE+M/S, MCITP

sbiddle

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#2318584 16-Sep-2019 15:22

Really depends what you want a VPN for.

brandynz

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#2318608 16-Sep-2019 16:12

Thanks all.

Appreciate your feedback.

Cheers

Dyson

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timmmay

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#2318629 16-Sep-2019 17:03

I tested Nord a in August 2017. I checked my notes, the key thing I found was how unreliable it was. Some servers wouldn't let me connect. Some would connect then fail after a speed test. When they worked speeds were highly variable, with NZ servers between 2Mbps and 40Mbps, upload mostly failed but sometimes 10Mbps up. Australia was similar, download speeds 10Mbps to 80Mbps, upload unreliable. This was from a 2degrees 100Mbps fiber connection.

I wouldn't use them. I've used Astrill on and off over the last decade. They're reliable and quite fast, but I find their customer service between ok and terrible. Once they cut me off for some violation but wouldn't tell me what, it took me half a dozen emails to get them to back down and activate my account.

I haven't found a reasonably priced VPN provider that has a service that's technically good with good customer service.

Jase2985

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#2318813 16-Sep-2019 21:18

i use nord. vary rarely do i have issues, and normally the intentet just stops so i just tell it to reconnect.

ive used it all over the world with next to no isses and never had a speed issue (im on 70/30 VDSL here) but i have used it on a gigabit cable connection and was limiting my own connection to 200mbps as it was shared with a few others.

like others have said it depends on what you want it for.

TheoM

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#2318857 17-Sep-2019 00:21

I use Nord also. It's pretty fast downstream. Up is another story. I usually get around 200/20 on a 900/400 line, which is pretty good. It really comes down to your CPU. OpenVPN is very much CPU bound and will give you a better result on cores that are clocked higher (I hear multithreading is happening sometime, but as to when, I don't know)

Hi! I'm TheoM, but you know that already. I run Linux mirrors in NZ together with 2degrees. Like a mirror added? PM me!

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Tinkerisk

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#2318859 17-Sep-2019 03:36

If a VPN is a must, I'd look to Mullvad (supports WireGuard) or protonVPN. They aren't cheap but think twice how the cheapies get their money beyond your paid fees.

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dt

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#2318938 17-Sep-2019 09:25

Tinkerisk:

If a VPN is a must, I'd look to Mullvad (supports WireGuard) or protonVPN. They aren't cheap but think twice how the cheapies get their money beyond your paid fees.

+1 for Mullvad, its run by geeks and made for geeks

It's what I use and its reliable, fast and has great customer support but as mentioned it is expensive..

It really comes down to your vpn requirements though, if its just used for GEO unblocking any of the ones that spam youtube ads and are on every "review site" with affiliate links will do

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outdoorsnz

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#2319034 17-Sep-2019 10:38

Generally NordVPN works for what I want. I signed up for 3 year deal and it was next to nothing cost wise.

But sometimes speeds drop away at peak times.

And running PiHole DNS, some interesting looking data gets logged up when running nord! Weird looking website addresses. random text string.xyz etc.

Geo blocking doesn't work that well.