NordVPN Free Trial Guide
With how the world is now becoming more digital every single day, more and more people are now living online and are actually doing a lot of their important stuff through the internet.
However, criminals and third-party entities are also becoming more active in trying to steal your private information and personal data through the internet.
This has made a good VPN like NordVPN a must-have in today’s world. NordVPN offers you a free trial, but how do you take advantage of it before you decide to subscribe to NordVPN?
NordVPN offers you a 30-day period wherein you can get your money back if you are not satisfied with their services. While you indeed do have to pay for the subscription at first to take advantage of the 30-day grace period, you can instantly get your money back if you decide to cancel within those 30 days.
So, if you look at it, NordVPN technically doesn’t give you a free trial off the bat.
But because there are workarounds that will allow you to use actually take advantage of its offers, you are basically able to use it for free. So, if you want to know more about how you can do it, it’s best that you read on.
What is NordVPN?
What is VPN
When you are surfing the internet or when you are doing different online activities, what you are actually doing is that you are making use of your internet service provider’s or ISP’s servers so that you could connect to the internet.
What happens here is that everything you are doing can be monitored by your ISP because you are basically using its servers.
In most cases, your ISP will not only be monitoring your activities but may also store your internet traffic in the form of logs.
Generally speaking, the fact that your ISP can monitor and store all of your internet traffic isn’t too dangerous if you merely factor in what your ISP can do with your data.
However, there are plenty of cases wherein ISPs also sell or pass your data to third-party entities that use your information for marketing purposes.
In some cases, they can even use your internet traffic for law enforcement purposes such as when the authorities ask for your private data whenever they are monitoring cyber-related crimes or whenever they are trying to keep their eyes on certain suspects.
What is even more dangerous is the fact that cybercriminals can easily infiltrate your ISP’s servers and steal some of your data and private information.
This has become quite common today especially when cybercriminals have begun to steal banking and credit card information from people shopping online and when they could use any of your information to try to blackmail you.
The internet may have become a very useful tool for us today but situations such as those have made it just as dangerous as it is useful.
In such cases, this is where a virtual private network or a VPN comes in.
A VPN is a service wherein you are now connecting to the internet by making use of the VPN service provider’s servers so that you will have a more secure and private connection to the internet.
In other words, you are no longer allowing your internet traffic to pass through your ISP’s servers because you are now using your VPN’s network instead.
Think of it in this kind of situation. When you want to go out of your house to do your usual day-to-day activities, it is hard to avoid the peering eyes of your neighbors as well as the cameras that are scattered across the streets.
Even if you are not doing anything suspicious, it still is difficult to feel confident doing whatever you want to do knowing that there are plenty of different eyes monitoring you.
This is what happens when you are doing your online activities as your internet traffic goes through your ISP because they can always monitor what you are doing online.
But using a VPN prevents that from happening because you are now technically using a backdoor or a tunnel that finds a workaround for you to get to where you want to go or do whatever you want to do without people monitoring you.
If you are a fan of the Harry Potter series, think of it as you going out of your house but you are now wearing an invisible cloak that allows you to hide from everyone and everything around you.
A VPN is able to do that because of how it encrypts your connection to the internet by making your connection pass through its servers first before you get to connect to the internet.
So, in other words, before you are able to get to where you want to go online or before you get to do your online activities, a VPN hides your identity, location, and IP address by allowing you to pass through its private servers first.
As such, not even your ISP will be able to monitor you even though you are still technically using their internet connection.
But not all VPNs are equal to one another in terms of their services.
While some VPN service providers do still provide the same kind of service and security you would expect from a standard VPN, there are those that tend to stand out more than the others because of how much more secure and private their servers and features are compared to the others.
One such VPN that stands at the peak is NordVPN.
What is NordVPN?
NordVPN is one of the biggest VPN service providers in the entire world and is consistently at the top of the list of the best VPNs because of its overall quality.
What makes it as popular as it is all over the world is that it literally is all over the world because of its vast network of different servers that number over 5,000 scattered in more than 60 countries.
That makes it one of the largest VPN service providers in terms of its network.
Aside from that, NordVPN is also one of the more secure VPNs on the market because of its no-logs policy. What that means is that it does not monitor your internet traffic unlike other VPNs do.
On top of that, it doesn’t keep any of your logs and makes it a point that you are basically anonymous and unknown even to NordVPN itself.
This means that NordVPN is one of the most secure and private VPN service providers available today as you wouldn’t have to worry about getting your privacy and safety compromised while you are doing your online activities.
Another reason to love NordVPN is that it actually makes it a point to stay at the top of its game.
Back in 2018, it hired an independent auditor to audit all of its security claims. It was needless to say that the audit came back with evidence that suggested that NordVPN truly does not keep any of your logs even for a very short time.
Meanwhile, in 2019, NordVPN also hired an independent firm that simulated a security attack on its servers.
While there were indeed minor issues that came up as a result of the simulation, NordVPN was quick to patch those issues up to make sure that its users don’t ever have to experience their privacy and personal information getting compromised by cybercriminals and by third-party entities.
The long and short of it all is that NordVPN is one of the best VPN service providers on the market and should be at the top of your list if you are shopping for a VPN that will truly keep you safe from any sort of attack on your privacy and data on the internet.
What are the advantages of using NordVPN?
If you want to know more about NordVPN, here are the advantages you would get if you are looking to sign up with them:
- NordVPN has a no-logs policy
As we have mentioned, your ISP actually keeps logs of your internet traffic and they can very well monitor everything that you are doing online to the detriment of your privacy and personal data.
That’s why people use VPNs to hide their activities from their ISP because their internet traffic is no longer passing through the ISP.
However, there are still some VPN service providers that tend to keep logs of your internet traffic.
While your logs are generally safer with your VPN as compared to your ISP, it can still be pretty dangerous and risky. That’s why NordVPN has a no-logs policy.
What that means is that NordVPN doesn’t keep tabs on your logs and are not concerned about monitoring or keeping your internet traffic and online activities.
The moment you activate NordVPN, you are already hidden even from the people behind NordVPN itself. They even went on to prove this by hiring an independent auditor.
In that case, you can enjoy your privacy to the fullest when you are using NordVPN no matter where you are and what kind of connection you are using.
You no longer have to worry about your VPN having records of your online activities because NordVPN keeps none of them and doesn’t even monitor what you are doing on the internet.
- You can unblock Netflix and other streaming services
At this point if you are an avid Netflix user or if you happen to be using other streaming services, you might have already noticed that there is some content that is unavailable in your area because the streaming services made it a point to do so.
This is called geo-blocking, which blocks different content depending on the location of the one trying to access them.
The reason why Netflix doesn’t allow its full library of movies and shows to be released in all countries is that there are some movies and shows that are licensed to be streamed by different streaming services in other countries.
So, if Netflix made such movies and shows available to that country even though there is a different license holder in that region, they could get into trouble.
But if you want to make full use of Netflix’s large library of content, NordVPN can help you. While other VPNs are unable to unblock Netflix’s geo-blocking, NordVPN can.
As such, all you need to do is to select a server of a country with the Netflix content you want to watch and you can already unblock those movies and shows.
So, for example, if there are shows in Netflix Canada that you want to watch while you are living in the US, simply switch your location over to a server found in Canada.
- NordVPN has a large network of servers
One of the many perks of using NordVPN is that it offers you a large network of different servers found in over 60 countries.
It boasts more than 5,000 servers that will help you find the optimal location for your personal needs and preferences.
On top of that, NordVPN even has special servers that you can use depending on your needs. Some of those servers use double-encryption to really improve your privacy and security while some servers are optimized for speed and streaming.
In any case, the sheer volume of servers you are free to choose from makes NordVPN one of the largest VPN service providers in the world.
You will never run out of options when it comes to the location you want to appear in or in terms of the server you want to use.
- NordVPN is based in Panama
In case you didn’t know, NordVPN is based in Panama and fully operates under the laws of that country. What is the significance of that?
Well, Panama is not part of the alliance of countries that require their ISPs and VPNs to keep records of their clients’ data and cannot be compelled to actually release any information they have of their users.
That means that you can trust that NordVPN will never give out your information to anyone in case they do indeed keep your logs, which they don’t because they are not obliged to do so by the domestic laws of Panama.
How important is that for you? Well, in plenty of different countries around the world, the police and other law enforcement agencies use programs that automatically track down potential offenders and criminals based on their internet traffic and online activities.
Often times, such programs failed and were able to list down people as potential offenders even if they were actually innocent.
Also, there are some countries that try to get hold of certain people’s private information and data through their ISPs and VPNs.
So, they do so by serving warrants and subpoenas to the ISPs and VPNs, which will then oblige by releasing any sort of information or data they have of their clients.
But, in NordVPN’s case, you can trust that they will never do that.
On top of how NordVPN has a no-logs policy backed by Panama’s laws, they also cannot be compelled by foreign and domestic authorities to release any kind of information they may have of their clients regardless of whether or not their clients may be criminals.
They even regularly release a statement that says that they have not been served any warrants and subpoenas. As such, you can fully trust that NordVPN has your back when it comes to your privacy.
- You can have full coverage
Unlike other VPNs that limits you to three devices at the most, NordVPN offers you full coverage in the sense that you can activate it on six different devices all at once.
That means that you are able to cover all of your devices at home so that you won’t have to fear any of your private information leaking out from one of your devices.
You can even cover your entire family if you are limited to a few devices per person in your household.
Another feature that you would love about NordVPN is that you can set it up in your router. In such a case, your router will be running NordVPN and everyone connected to it will enjoy the security and privacy features that NordVPN has to offer.
There are no limits as to how many people can run NordVPN as long as they are connected to the router. This is also a great feature to have if you have devices that are not compatible with the NordVPN app.
Speaking of the app, NordVPN is also available in plenty of different operating systems such as Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
And if you happen to have devices such as game consoles or smart televisions that can’t run NordVPN, all you have to do is to set NordVPN up in your router to offer everyone and everything that’s connected to your router complete protection.
- NordVPN offers money-back instead of a free trial
While we might have talked about NordVPN’s free trial, it technically isn’t a free trial because what they offer is a money-back guarantee instead.
How is that different from a free trial? Well, for starters, money-back is better than a free trial!
The reason why a money-back guarantee is better than a free trial is that NordVPN offers you the full experience right off the bat.
That means that no features are locked and you can enjoy everything that NordVPN has to offer to you from the start.
Meanwhile, VPNs that offer a free trial period often do not give you the full experience until you have decided to commit to their services.
So, technically speaking, NordVPN has no free trial period but you can make use of the money-back guarantee as a free trial.
All you need to do is to cancel your subscription before the 30-day period ends and you will be able to get all of your money back after fully enjoying the experience for a month.
This is great for those who are merely shopping for VPNs they want to try or for those who are only thinking of using a VPN for a short period of time while they are on vacation or on a business trip somewhere overseas.
So, if you want to know more about how you can make use of NordVPN’s free trial or money-back guarantee, here is how you do it:
How do I use NordVPN’s free trial?
Again, as mentioned, NordVPN doesn’t have a free trial but it does offer you a money-back guarantee period wherein you can get what you paid back as long as you cancel within the period. It technically operates as a free trial but you have to follow these steps if you want to know how to use it:
- Visit the NordVPN website
First off, visit the NordVPN website because that is where you can register for their services.
If you are still thinking about your decision of signing up with them, you can also check out their blog posts and their other articles to know more about VPNs and NordVPN itself.
After that, you should go to the subscription tab which you can easily find somewhere in the upper right corner of the welcome page. It is easy to find and you don’t need to take a lot of time looking for it.
- Choose your subscription
Once you have already entered the subscription tab, what you need to do next is to choose your subscription.
Like many other VPNs, NordVPN allows you to save a ton of money by choosing a long-term subscription plan that is far cheaper than a monthly plan if you look at the long-term savings you can enjoy.
We recommend that you go for a long-term plan instead of the shorter ones if you are indeed planning on signing up with NordVPN for the long term.
But if you are merely taking advantage of the free trial period and have no plans of signing up with them for a longer-term, use the one-month subscription instead.
After you have chosen your subscription, you will be prompted to choose your payment option. NordVPN offers a wide range of payment options that you can choose from.
But if you want to stay anonymous even when paying for your subscription, you can choose to pay using cryptocurrency instead. This is yet another one of NordVPN’s privacy and security features.
We cannot stress the importance of paying for the subscription because this is a money-back guarantee feature instead of a free trial. Just pay for the subscription because you are going to get your money back eventually.
- Download the app
After paying for your subscription, check your email inbox for the welcome message. From there, download the app from your computer or from your mobile device.
For those running Windows, just simply click through the steps of the installation file for the installation to be completed. Those running macOS, iOS, and Android will automatically have their NordVPN apps installed after downloading them.
- Run the app
Following the installation, simply run the app. You will be given the option to choose the server you want right off the bat. The server of choice depends entirely on you because it is up to your personal needs and preferences.
However, for those who are simply in it for safety and privacy, choosing quick connect will allow you to connect to the optimal server without much hassle on your part.
If you did your homework on VPNs, you can also go to the settings tab where you can choose the different features and options you want to take advantage of such as the automatic connect feature and the kill switch feature. Again, this depends on you as well.
- Take advantage of your 30 days
Use the VPN during the 30-day money-back period. Count the days and make sure that you get them correctly down to the last minute.
To be sure, maybe you want to count up to 29 days instead so that you won’t be able to get it wrong. This is the most important part because you will end up paying for your subscription from this point on if you missed the 30-day period.
- Open the live chat on the NordVPN website
When you are on your 30th day or if you are planning on ending the subscription earlier, open the live chat on the NordVPN website to request a refund.
Tell the reason why you want to cancel your subscription and the live agent will activate the refund after you have answered a series of questions.
It’s that easy! But you will have your money in about 5 to 10 days so it’s best to be patient.
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