NordVPN Teams Review: Features, Pricing & More

Online safety is a course of, not a one-and-done venture. Once upon a time, a very good firewall and robust password insurance policies have been ample, however not anymore. Your firm’s community and knowledge are more and more susceptible each time workers — particularly these working remotely — are on-line.

One resolution is a digital non-public community (VPN), which encrypts your knowledge on public networks and hides your IP deal with. The NordVPN score for its client VPN is excessive, and it not too long ago launched a multi-user model for small companies. We’ll look at its execs and cons, pricing, and assist so you possibly can reply the query, “Is NordVPN good for my firm?”

Who is NordVPN Teams for?

Founded in 2012, NordVPN launched its first client VPN app for Android and iOS units in 2016. It has since added desktop functions for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and extensions for Chrome and Firefox browsers. Features embrace a number of encryption protocols, a kill swap, cut up tunneling, and as much as six concurrently linked units per person.

NordVPN launched NordVPN Teams in December 2019. It contains multi-user administration through an admin management panel, centralized billing, and devoted account managers. In this overview, we’ll deal with NordVPN Teams as a substitute of its client merchandise.

NordVPN Teams’ options

NordVPN creates an encrypted “tunnel” linked to distant servers that secures incoming and outgoing person on-line knowledge, even on public Wi-Fi networks. It additionally hides customers’ IP addresses to masks their bodily location.

A VPN ensures safe communications between a number of areas and units. Image supply: Author

VPNs enable companies to guard proprietary knowledge and communications from hackers and different third-party intruders. Beyond on-line safety, customers typically use VPNs to entry geo-blocked content material on streaming providers corresponding to Netflix, whose catalogs fluctuate by nation as a result of licensing restrictions.

We’ll take a better take a look at NordVPN Teams’ core options: encryption protocols, functions, kill swap, cut up tunneling, and multi-user administration.

VPN protocols

Multiple VPN protocols, every with its personal strengths and weaknesses concerning pace, safety, and different components, exist to create encrypted on-line connections. NordVPN makes use of three:

• OpenVPN: This open-source protocol offers robust safety and cross-platform performance.
• IKEv2/IPsec: This presents connection stability for customers switching between networks and shortly reestablishes dropped connections.
• NordLynx: Based on the open-source Wireguard protocol, NordVPN’s proprietary protocol additional will increase pace and safety.

Encrypted connections are as helpful because the entry to them is protected, and NordVPN Teams contains multi-factor authentication (MFA) and single sign-on (SSO) performance to extend login safety.

Applications

For most safety, a VPN ought to function throughout a number of platforms and units. NordVPN Teams contains:

• Desktop downloads: Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Mobile apps: Android and iOS
• Browser extensions: Chrome and Firefox
• Other units: Android TV and routers

When you and your workers are on the go, the NordVPN Teams app allows you to simply select a safe server and different choices to guard your on-line knowledge, actions, and placement.

The NordVPN Teams app contains full VPN performance. Image supply: Author

Another helpful characteristic is NordVPN’s CyberSec advert blocker. It retains adverts from overrunning you whenever you’re on-line (a pet peeve of mine at information websites), and it protects you from malware threats and phishing makes an attempt.

CyberSec streamlines on-line looking and offers further safety. Image supply: Author

CyberSec does not block adverts if you happen to obtain the Android app from the Google Play Store, however you possibly can nonetheless use it by downloading the app from the NordVPN web site.

Kill swap

Even one of the best VPN can reduce off as a result of an unstable web connection, particular apps or web sites that do not enable VPNs, or a community failure. Even if that is for a couple of seconds — and lots of occasions you will not understand it is occurred — your private data, knowledge, and placement may very well be discoverable.

The NordVPN kill swap blocks web entry when your VPN drops till it is reestablished. If you are a journalist or social activist working in a rustic like China or Iran with restrictive web insurance policies, you could go away it on on a regular basis. Or, you possibly can activate it on a case-by-case foundation relying on the extent of required safety.

Split tunneling

If you do not wish to manually swap your VPN on and off, use NordVPN’s cut up tunneling characteristic. This permits you to designate which apps do or do not use your VPN.

For instance, after I use Slack for firm communications, a VPN is important. But for my private Twitter account? Not a lot, plus it would preserve firm bandwidth and enhance NordVPN pace by avoiding knowledge bottlenecks.

You can allow or disable your VPN app by app. Image supply: Author

A key a part of your IT risk management is making a clear-cut coverage about when to make use of cut up tunneling so nobody by accident exposes firm knowledge.

Multi-user administration

Many VPN suppliers deal with the buyer sector, and their functions lack the multi-user administration options companies want. Sure, you possibly can share a login for a VPN account with a small group or workgroup, however after you have greater than a handful of customers, that is too cumbersome.

NordVPN Teams contains an admin person administration dashboard and centralized billing. As an admin, you possibly can invite new customers, assign them to groups, and test or set their standing. Unfortunately, admin performance is proscribed to the online portal and isn’t obtainable — but — on the NordVPN Teams app.

The Organization dashboard allows you to handle customers and groups. Image supply: Author

NordVPN Teams permits you to reassign present person licenses as workers come and go as a substitute of managing a number of particular person accounts. You even have entry to devoted account managers, which is important as little documentation about NordVPN Teams is obtainable within the on-line data base.

NordVPN Teams’ ease of use

NordVPN Teams serves two constituencies: your IT division and everybody else.

Instead of getting workers use a shared login for a number of VPN subscriptions, your IT help desk will respect the multi-user management panel. Select a person to see the final time they logged into NordVPN, reset passwords, droop or delete accounts, and ship hyperlinks to ask new customers.

If you’ve gotten a security operations center (SOC), NordVPN Teams will likely be an integral instrument as soon as it provides superior options, corresponding to permitting admins to set system-wide safety insurance policies on endpoint units.

Other customers choose the success of a VPN based mostly on how little effort is required to make use of it. For them, NordVPN Teams will shortly recede into the background of their day-to-day on-line actions. Multiple desktop downloads, apps, and browser extensions present straightforward VPN entry, and NordVPN’s technical infrastructure offers dependable, quick, and safe connections.

NordVPN Teams’ pricing

NordVPN Teams pricing contains:

• Basic: $9/month per person — Includes six concurrently linked units per person; cloud VPN; management panel; kill swap; auto-connect; MFA; SSO with Google, Azure AD, and Okta; centralized billing; license transferability; shared entry to 33 server areas; and 24/7 buyer assist.
• Advanced: $11/month per person — Adds devoted account administration, customized gateways, precedence assist 24/7, and the choice to buy a devoted server with a set IP deal with for $50/month.
• Enterprise: Quote-based — Adds centralized administration, site-to-site VPN, LDAP Active Directory, API entry, on-premise devoted servers, and 24/7 cellphone assist.

You can save 22% on the NordVPN value for the Basic plan, or 18% on the Advanced plan, with an annual subscription.

NordVPN’s client plans allow you to set up its VPN software program on routers, which protects all units on a community whereas counting as one of many six allowed connections. According to NordVPN buyer assist, NordVPN Teams has not been examined on routers, however, usually, if the router helps OpenVPN, it ought to work.

NordVPN Teams’ assist

NordVPN pricing contains 24/7 stay chat and electronic mail assist requests. The Advanced plan presents precedence assist with responses to inquiries inside three hours. The Enterprise plan provides 24/7 cellphone assist.

I need to give a shoutout to NordVPN’s stay chat assist. I used it a number of occasions to ask technical questions and obtained fast, informative responses on the spot. This contrasts with different corporations’ stay chat interfaces that usually immediate you to submit an electronic mail assist ticket or steer you towards a gross sales rep.

Your main self-service useful resource is a web-based data base with articles and tutorials for setup, billing, and troubleshooting. However, search phrases corresponding to “groups,” “management panel,” and “multi-user administration,” produced few or no helpful outcomes.

This search end result does not encourage confidence in case you have questions on NordVPN Teams. Image supply: Author

The NordVPN Teams weblog has the most recent launch notes, product updates, and extra common details about preventing cyberattacks and associated cybersecurity points. NordVPN’s client YouTube channel has greater than 350 movies in a number of languages, however the NordVPN Teams channel has six movies, and the newest ones have been uploaded in May 2020.

Benefits of NordVPN Teams

Answering the query “Is NordVPN protected?” should embrace the corporate’s privateness insurance policies and authorized protections. NordVPN has a strict no-logs coverage, so it will not monitor or retailer on-line person actions or knowledge. As famous above, the corporate is included in Panama, which does not share data with world surveillance alliances.

The NordVPN Teams technical infrastructure makes use of safe servers in 33 areas all over the world. You may purchase devoted on-demand servers, whitelist a set IP, and create customized gateways for various groups. Further enhance login safety with MFA and SSO performance.

Other NordVPN merchandise to extend your cybersecurity embrace NordLocker, which offers safe on-line file storage, and NordPass, an enterprise-level password supervisor.

Enhance person administration with NordVPN Teams

If you wish to handle a number of customers in your VPN, NordVPN Teams is an efficient place to start out with its person administration dashboard, centralized billing, and additional options to extend login safety. As a comparatively new product, nonetheless, on-line technical documentation is missing, so be ready to determine its finer factors by yourself.