How does NordVPN work? Plus how to set it up & use it

[RV_]

I use Nord VPN, have for three years now. You pay for one subscription and load it on as many devices as you have, Phones, computers and tablets, you can even install it on your Router which I don't do, but for enterprise that is very useful in a SOHO. It allows up to six connections simultaneously. Since there are only two of us here we have never needed six devices using it at once. At most four devices - our two phones and our two computers. In order to watch Sling TV Blue one of our streaming services with all the cable news networks and cable channels on it, I have to disconnect the VPN, then pop it back on when done. That is a Sling TV issue.

I really liked this article and learned a bunch from it too.

Excerpt:

"NordVPN is one of our higher-rated VPNs, and we've had a number of chances to get to know the company. Here's everything you need to get it, install it, configure it, and use it successfully.

The acronym VPN stands for virtual private network. Those three words tell a lot about how a VPN works.

Let's start with network. VPNs provide network connections, meaning they move data to and from your device. Private means they make that movement private, helping prevent hackers from seeing what you're sending. And virtual means that you're doing it all in software. You're not running a new set of wires. Instead, you're creating a software-based network connection that then moves data over the physical connection (whether that's wireless or wired).

What a VPN actually does is take data that you're sending out over the Internet and encrypt it before it leaves your machine. That encrypted data is sent to the VPN provider's servers, where it's decrypted, and then sent on to, say, Google or Netflix. NordVPN, which is the service we're talking about today, has more than 5,200 servers across the world.

On the flip side, a VPN takes data from a server on the internet, encrypts it on one of Nord's servers, sends that encrypted data to your computer, which decrypts it when it arrives.

This is what provides protection against, in particular, Wi-Fi snoops at airports, hotels, and schools. By virtue of your data leaving the VPN provider's server (which, for NordVPN, can be in your choice of 60 countries), your actual location can be hidden, and the final server sees as your location what's actually the location of your provider's server.

That's how VPNs obfuscate your location. Although it's sometimes illegal, many people use this capability to change their apparent region to watch blacked-out sports or region-locked TV. Far more important is that activists and those concerned about stalkers use it to hide their location for their personal security.

OK, so with that introduction into how VPNs -- and, specifically, NordVPN -- works, let's look at how to set up and install NordVPN. We're going to do this on a Windows machine, but the practice is very similar for Macs, Linux, and mobile devices."

The rest is in the article here with lots of hot links and more info:

https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-does-nordvpn-work-plus-how-to-set-it-up-and-use-it-tutorial/?ftag=TRE-03-10aaa6b&bhid={%24external_id}&mid={%24MESSAGE_ID}&cid={%24contact_id}&eh={%24CF_emailHash}

[Dutch_12078]

I use NordVPN on my PC's, tablet, phone, and Firesticks. Other than general privacy and security, as mentioned, it's also useful for reaching geo-locked content  such as the various cities served by the Locast streaming OTA translators.

[RV_]

Yep, very good for RV Park and other public WiFi. I have been able to watch some BBC content I otherwise could not just to see once.

I never thought about local event blackouts because we don't watch sports except for ski shows and and scuba/skin diving.

I will give it a try.

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by RV_

[CFerguson]

Longtime USA Nord user here and i have to say I LOVE it. I mostly got it for privacy/security but i also like logging in locally to events around the world (Aussie Rules!).