Published on: July 2, 2024
NordVPN has earned a landmark certification from AV-Comparatives for its anti-phishing capabilities, becoming the first VPN to get it. More specifically, its Threat Protection Pro system is among just eight products that have received this certification in 2024 so far.
Available in the “Plus” and “Ultimate” subscription tiers, Threat Protection Pro protects against phishing scams, malware, and fraudulent websites by automatically scanning URLs, links, and ads on web pages you visit. It protects users regardless of whether they’re connected to the VPN or not.
AV-Comparatives, an independent Austrian-based organization that evaluates cybersecurity product performance, tested NordVPN’s Treat Protection Pro’s effectiveness in identifying phishing URLs.
The company’s test involves running a mix of live phishing links and clean URLs leading to legitimate websites through the tool to see how well it works. It then looks at two key elements: its effectiveness in spotting scams and the number of false positives recorded.
NordVPN achieved an 85 percent accuracy rate and a perfect score of zero false positives, successfully passing the test.
Unlike other DNS filtering tools, Threat Protection Pro operates on a deeper level — it analyzes JavaScript and URLs in addition to domain-level checks. This approach offers more comprehensive protection, suppresses annoying ads, and provides greater peace of mind. Subscribers can use Threat Protection Pro to scan downloads for malware.
Note that at the time of writing, Threat Protection Pro is only available on desktop (PC and Mac).
However, you can use NordVPN, which is one of the top VPNs on the market, on mobile, desktop and many other devices. Its most basic plan also includes Threat Protection, which stops ads, trackers, and malicious sites.
It also scans downloaded files for malware, removing any detected threats and sending alerts. You can also enable cloud-based threat detection, so Threat Protection inserts suspicious files on the cloud for better safety.