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Tom's Guide
07-07-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Is NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro worth it?
NordVPN is the best VPN on the makret based on our testing, and not just because of its speed, reliability, or unblocking capabilities, although they are impressive. What really sets this provider apart is its wide range of privacy and security tools. One such feature is Threat Protection Pro, which adds an extra layer of protection by blocking malware, phishing domains, trackers, and ads in real time. However, this service is not included in NordVPN's basic subscription. To use it, you need to subscribe to or upgrade to a higher-tier plan, such as NordVPN Plus. With this being said, you can upgrade now for as little as $0.85 per month more than NordVPN Basic, with an extra 4 months and an Amazon gift card worth up to $50 thrown in for free thanks to NordVPN's exclusive deal. This article breaks down what Threat Protection Pro actually does and how it performs in the real world when compared to the antivirus protection offered by other VPN providers like ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and ProtonVPN, as well as dedicated antivirus software. Can it replace a standalone antivirus, or is it just a useful add-on, and is the small extra cost for the upgrade really worth it? NordVPN Plus: get enhanced online protection and a free $20 Amazon gift cardNordVPN is our #1 VPN overall thanks to its super-fast speeds, top-of-the-line security and incredible server support. With this exclusive deal, you get a $20 Amazon gift card as well as 4 months extra free of you'll get... • Protection for up to 10 devices• 950 Mbps+ speeds• Streaming service unblocking, including Disney+• Post-quantum encryption• Threat Protection Pro• NordPass password manager• 30-day money-back guarantee• $20 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $3.76 per month ($105.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro combines a malicious domain blocker, anti-phishing protection, ad and tracker blocking, a real-time malware scanner, and even scam and fraud alerts, all rolled into one integrated suite. While some competing VPNs offer similar tools, they're often limited in scope or spread across separate features that don't work as seamlessly together. Such a bundled approach might give NordVPN an edge when it comes to delivering advanced threat protection right out of the box. But Threat Protection Pro doesn't just stop threats at the DNS level, unlike most VPNs. It actively scans downloads, blocks malicious websites, and alerts you to shady activity before it becomes a problem. This feature works whether you're connected to a VPN server or not, which is a huge plus. In our testing, Threat Protection Pro blocked 78% of phishing sites and 56% of malware domains, outperforming all other VPN-based tools we tested. That's a total of 134 blocked threats, which is nearly three times what the next best VPN managed to block. On the other hand, ExpressVPN's Threat Manager did a decent job as a DNS-based blocker for ads, trackers, and malware, but it's limited in depth. While it does offer extra tools like ID Alerts, data removal, and even ID theft insurance, it only blocked 44% of phishing and 10% of malware threats in our tests. Comparatively, Surfshark offers a comprehensive privacy suite, including Alternative ID, Clean Web, and Antivirus tools, which, on paper, could be particularly beneficial for privacy-conscious users. However, its actual threat-blocking performance was modest, detecting only 34% of phishing and 16% of malware in our latest testing round. Then, there's Proton VPN, which only caught 14% of phishing sites and 34% of malware. Its NetShield, just like PIA's MACE, is a straightforward DNS-level filter that blocks known ads, trackers, and some malware domains. They're both lightweight and easy to use, but in terms of effectiveness, they lag behind Threat Protection Pro. While most VPNs now offer some form of ad or tracker blocking, NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro stands out for its depth, accuracy, and real-time scanning. It doesn't just block threats; it actively hunts them. If serious security is your top priority, it's the most complete VPN-based protection currently available. With integrated tools like NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro gaining traction, one might ask whether a standalone antivirus is still necessary. After all, NordVPN claims its tool has already blocked over 300 million scams this year alone. It was also included in AV-Comparatives' respected 2024 Anti-Phishing test, alongside heavyweight antivirus names such as Kaspersky, McAfee, and Bitdefender. In that test, NordVPN achieved an 85% phishing protection rate. While that's impressive for a VPN-integrated tool, it still trails behind the established leaders: Bitdefender scored 89%, McAfee 92%, and Kaspersky led the pack at 95%. This was further supported by our own internal testing, which employed a similar methodology, and the results aligned with those of AV-Comparatives, confirming that Threat Protection Pro delivers strong, if not top-tier, protection. That said, there's a difference between solid phishing defense and comprehensive antivirus coverage. While NordVPN excels at blocking malicious domains, ads, trackers, and scam sites, it doesn't go as far as monitoring local system behavior, which is a key feature in detecting zero-day threats or advanced malware strains. That's an area where traditional antivirus tools still have the upper hand. NordVPN Complete: get a free $40 Amazon gift card while protecting your data and your filesWith this exclusive-to-Tom's Guide deal, you'll get a $40 Amazon gift card, as well as 4 months extra you'll get...• All NordVPN Plus features • 1TB of encrypted cloud storage• 30-day money-back guarantee• $40 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $4.62 per month ($129.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) Based on our testing, Threat Protection Pro delivers the strongest VPN-integrated cybersecurity currently available, outperforming similar tools from ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and Proton VPN. It blocks phishing domains, malware, scam sites, trackers, and intrusive ads, and does so even when the VPN isn't actively connected. However, Threat Protection Pro isn't a full replacement for dedicated antivirus software. Unlike traditional antivirus tools like Bitdefender, Kaspersky, or McAfee, it doesn't monitor local system behavior or detect sophisticated, zero-day threats. For users who frequently download files, use external drives, or are exposed to targeted attacks, a standalone antivirus remains essential. That's where pricing becomes a deciding factor. A quality antivirus typically adds another $30–$60 per year, on top of your VPN subscription. For users who want both, that cost can add up quickly. However, for everyday users who mainly browse, stream, shop, and use email, Threat Protection Pro provides solid, real-time protection at a fraction of the cost. In fact, it's available for just $0.85 more per month with the NordVPN Plus plan, and if you subscribe new you can also claim a $20 Amazon voucher. It's an affordable all-in-one security upgrade that makes sense for many users who want simplicity without sacrificing safety. NordVPN Prime: get the ultimate cybersecurity protection and a free $50 Amazon gift cardGet the complete cybersecurity package with NordVPN Prime. This exclusive deal also bags you a $50 Amazon gift card and 4 months extra you'll get...• All NordVPN features from previous plans• NordProtect identity theft protection• Up to $1 million in ID theft insurance • Up to $100k in cyber extortion insurance• Credit & Dark Web monitoring• Dedicated case manager• 30-day money-back guarantee• $50 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $6.33 per month ($177.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Tom's Guide
06-07-2025
- Tom's Guide
Why a VPN is essential for summer travel
While the thrill of catching that flight to your dream destination this summer can be all-consuming, it's important not to lose sight of the fact that keeping yourself safe while travelling goes beyond just locking up your valuables. In today's digital age, online security is just as essential, which is why you should seriously consider packing one of the best VPNs alongside your sunblock and bathing suit. Just in time for summer, our #1 rated VPN NordVPN has launched an exclusive deal with us, giving you a hefty discount, 4 months extra free and an Amazon gift card worth up to $50 if you subscribe to one of its Plus, Complete or Prime two-year plans. So, you can get protected by the best VPN on the market and get a little something extra for your holiday. NordVPN Plus: get the best travel VPN and a free $20 Amazon gift cardNordVPN is our #1 VPN overall thanks to its super-fast speeds, top-of-the-line security and incredible server support. With this exclusive deal, you get a $20 Amazon gift card as well as 4 months extra free of you'll get... • Protection for up to 10 devices• 950 Mbps+ speeds• Streaming service unblocking, including Disney+• Post-quantum encryption• Threat Protection Pro• NordPass password manager• 30-day money-back guarantee• $20 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $3.76 per month ($105.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) If you've never used one before, you might be wondering why one would come in handy while you're on vacation. Here are some of the top reasons why a VPN is especially useful when you're travelling. First, a VPN allows you to continue streaming your favorite movies, shows, and sports events from back home while you're out and about traveling in a country where those streaming platforms might be unavailable. It's worth noting that streaming platforms operate under different copyright and licensing agreements in each country, which means the content available on services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, or BBC iPlayer can vary significantly from one region to another. That's why your favorite show might be available at home but missing when you're abroad. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. By using one of the best streaming VPNs, you can bypass these restrictions by spoofing your IP address and making it appear as though you're still in your home country. All you have to do is connect to a VPN server located in your home region, and the platform will treat your connection as local, granting you access to the full library you're used to, no matter where you are in the world. NordVPN Complete: protect yourself on vacation and get a free $40 Amazon gift cardNordVPN Complete gives you everything Plus offers, as well as encrypted storage to keep your files secure. With this exclusive deal, you also get a $40 Amazon gift card, as well as 4 months extra you'll get...• All NordVPN Plus features • 1TB of encrypted cloud storage• 30-day money-back guarantee• $40 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $4.62 per month ($129.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) Besides ensuring you're thoroughly entertained on your trip abroad, a VPN is also essential for maintaining your digital privacy, especially since you'll likely be relying on public Wi-Fi networks to conserve your limited mobile data while overseas. Public Wi-Fi often lacks proper encryption or uses weak security protocols, leaving your online activity exposed to cybercriminals, who may be lurking on the network. Hackers can easily snoop on your data and steal sensitive information like login credentials for banking sites, email, or social media accounts, potentially leading to dangerous outcomes like identity theft or financial fraud. By using one of the most secure VPNs, you can avoid these risks by encrypting your internet traffic. By routing your data through end-to-end encrypted tunnels, a VPN makes it unintelligible to anyone who might intercept it, ensuring your online activity remains private and protected. Oftentimes, you may find yourself traveling to a country that enforces strict internet censorship, whether for political, national security, or cultural reasons. This can result in limited or no access to essential day-to-day websites and apps, including work tools like Slack or Zoom, communication platforms such as WhatsApp or FaceTime, and even independent news outlets. Thanks to its IP spoofing capabilities, a VPN allows you to sidestep these restrictions and reclaim open access to the web. Plus, with the obfuscation of one of the most private VPNs, your VPN use will stay completely under the radar. By connecting to a VPN server in a country where the content or services you need are freely available, you can browse, communicate, and stay informed without interference Last but not least, using a VPN while traveling also helps keep your professional data security intact. This is especially useful if you're someone who works remotely. Accessing private company servers or intranets remotely can be risky, even if you're on a private Wi-Fi network, because there's just no guarantee it's truly secure. And when it comes to sensitive company resources, it's not something you can afford to take chances with. As mentioned earlier, a VPN encrypts your connection end-to-end. This ensures that all your communications remain secure and helps prevent unauthorized access to company servers, whether you're tapping into internal company resources, transferring confidential files, or using remote desktop tools. With all that in mind, whether you're looking for a VPN to secure your personal and business communications on unsecured Wi-Fi networks or access region-restricted content, including streaming platforms, NordVPN is my top pick as the best travel VPN. In addition to rock-solid essentials, like a kill switch, an audited no-logs policy, and a huge server network, NordVPN also includes Threat Protection Pro, a full-fledged cybersecurity suite. It features anti-malware protection, advanced browsing safeguards, ad and tracker blocking, and even a data breach scanner to keep you extra safe, no matter where in the world you are. The best part? You can get Threat Protection Pro for just $0.85 more per month than its basic subscription just by upgrading to NordVPN Plus. What's more, if you subscribe right now, you can also get a $20 Amazon voucher as part of the deal. If you want to increase your protection even more, consider upgrading further to NordVPN Complete or NordVPN Prime. They cost just $0.96 and $2.57 more per month than NordVPN Plus, and come with excellent cybersecurity features like encrypted cloud storage and dark web monitoring. Plus, each comes with an Amazon gift card for subscribing – $40 for Complete and $50 for Prime. NordVPN Prime: get the ultimate cybersecurity protection and a free $50 Amazon gift cardGet the complete cybersecurity package with NordVPN Prime. Only available in the US, you get identity protection, cyber theft insurance and more, plus a $50 Amazon gift card and 4 months extra you'll get...• All NordVPN features from previous plans• NordProtect identity theft protection• Up to $1 million in ID theft insurance • Up to $100k in cyber extortion insurance• Credit & Dark Web monitoring• Dedicated case manager• 30-day money-back guarantee• $50 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $6.33 per month ($177.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Tom's Guide
05-07-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Is upgrading your NordVPN plan worth it?
Based on our comprehensive testing, NordVPN is the best VPN on the market, thanks to its speed, robust encryption, and user-friendly apps. However, it does keep some of its more advanced cybersecurity features behind a steeper plan tier, which leaves us asking: is upgrading worth the extra cost? All of NordVPN's higher tiers come with the enhanced protection of Threat Protection Pro. This includes real-time malware scanning, phishing-site blocking, ad and tracker filtering, and scam alerts, all of which are features typically reserved for standalone antivirus suites. Complete and Prime are even more feature-packed, with encrypted cloud storage and even cyber insurance included as well. With its exclusive deal, you can upgrade now for as little as $0.85 per month more than NordVPN Basic, with an extra 4 months and an Amazon gift card worth up to $50 thrown in for free. Below we'll go more in-depth on NordVPN's subscription tiers, what they provide and whether or not the upgrade is worth it. NordVPN Plus: get enhanced online protection and a free $20 Amazon gift cardNordVPN is our #1 VPN overall thanks to its super-fast speeds, top-of-the-line security and incredible server support. With this exclusive deal, you get a $20 Amazon gift card as well as 4 months extra free of you'll get... • Protection for up to 10 devices• 950 Mbps+ speeds• Streaming service unblocking, including Disney+• Post-quantum encryption• Threat Protection Pro• NordPass password manager• 30-day money-back guarantee• $20 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $3.76 per month ($105.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) NordVPN offers four subscription tiers: Basic, Plus, Complete, and Prime, each with varying levels of cybersecurity features. The Basic plan includes access to NordVPN's core VPN service, Threat Protection Lite, and allows up to 10 simultaneous connections. Threat Protection Lite provides DNS-based filtering that blocks ads, trackers, and known malware-hosting domains while browsing. Upgrading to the Plus tier unlocks Threat Protection Pro, a more advanced security tool. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. In addition to ad and tracker blocking, Pro includes real-time anti-malware protection, advanced browsing security (such as phishing site detection), and a data breach scanner that alerts you if your credentials appear in known leaks. This tier also adds NordPass, Nord's cross-platform password manager. NordVPN's Complete plan includes everything in Plus, and also adds 1TB of encrypted cloud storage. This means you can securely back up sensitive files, safe in the knowledge that they will be kept safe from any prying eyes. NordVPN Complete: get a free $40 Amazon gift card while protecting your data and your filesWith this exclusive-to-Tom's Guide deal, you'll get a $40 Amazon gift card, as well as 4 months extra you'll get...• All NordVPN Plus features • 1TB of encrypted cloud storage• 30-day money-back guarantee• $40 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $4.62 per month ($129.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) At the top end, the Prime plan includes all of the above, plus NordProtect, a suite of identity and credit protection tools. This includes dark web monitoring, 1-Bureau credit monitoring, a VantageScore 3.0 credit score report by TransUnion, credit freeze assistance, and insurance coverage: up to $1 million for identity theft and up to $100,000 for cyber extortion. As the tiers rise, the security benefits shift from browser-level filtering to full personal cybersecurity coverage, replacing the need for standalone antivirus or ID theft protection services. NordVPN Prime: get the ultimate cybersecurity protection and a free $50 Amazon gift cardGet the complete cybersecurity package with NordVPN Prime. This exclusive deal also bags you a $50 Amazon gift card and 4 months extra you'll get...• All NordVPN features from previous plans• NordProtect identity theft protection• Up to $1 million in ID theft insurance • Up to $100k in cyber extortion insurance• Credit & Dark Web monitoring• Dedicated case manager• 30-day money-back guarantee• $50 Amazon gift card (for a limited time)• 2-year deal for $6.33 per month ($177.36 up front for 28 months' coverage, discount applied at checkout) For most users, the Plus tier represents the best value upgrade. For just $0.85 more per month than Basic, it unlocks Threat Protection Pro, a significant boost over the Lite version. This adds real-time malware protection, advanced phishing site blocking, a data breach scanner, and includes NordPass, a premium password manager. If you subscribe now, NordVPN is also offering a $20 Amazon voucher with this plan. The Complete plan, at less than $1 more per month than Plus, offers all the same features plus 1TB of encrypted cloud storage, which is ideal if you need a secure place to back up sensitive files. This tier currently includes a $40 Amazon voucher on sign-up. At the top end, Prime costs just over $2.50 more per month than Plus and adds NordProtect, which includes dark web monitoring, credit monitoring, identity theft insurance (up to $1 million), and cyber extortion insurance (up to $100,000). A $50 Amazon voucher is also included for new subscribers. Ultimately, the Plus plan is a worthwhile upgrade for most users seeking extra security without overcommitting. Complete is worth the upgrade if you like the added benefits of Plus but want to extend the protection offered by NordVPN to your files as well. Finally, if you're looking for comprehensive digital protection, including identity and financial safeguards, the Prime tier justifies the added cost, especially considering how much the cost for separate VPN, antivirus and cyber insurance would be. We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
