Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
Norton Ultra VPN is a self-colored offering from a caller dedicate to securing your technical school , but its pricing anatomical structure , lack of browser app integration and dull pep pill make it tough to recommend over others .
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Norton monitors your app activity.
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Norton is likely a brand that needs no introduction , with decades of experience protecting devices from cyber threats ( read ourreview of Norton 360 ) . That intend there ’s quite a little of hoard in the name , and the company ’s VPN service sagely leans on that ancestry .
Norton ’s VPN program are , outdoors of the basic grade , tied into its security software package to assist offer real - time protection from bad actors . It comes with a watchword handler , dark web varan , and cloud storage , but the VPN side of thing is a small lacking .
Norton monitors your app activity.
Perhaps it ’s from testing so many of the best VPN services that we ’ve grown used to a sure Seth of non - negotiables . primary among them is internet browser extension options to allow for speedy switching , but at the time of authorship , there ’s no such offering from Norton .
Then there ’s the option to give monthly , but Norton demands an one-year fee . While it ’s a smaller amount than many charge , there ’s a caution that while Norton Secure VPN ( one machine ) is $ 39.99/£19.99 for the first year , it then reincarnate at $ 79.99/£39.99 , and other plans only get more egregious – the Norton Ultra VPN ( five devices ) $ 49.99/£24.99 architectural plan rise to $ 109.99/£79.99 for a second twelvemonth , while the $ 59.99/£29.99 Norton Ultra VPN Plus family plan ( ten gimmick ) jumps to $ 129.99/£94.99 .
With better , and , crucially , faster options , available , it ’s hard to launch the feeling Norton ’s VPN offering necessitate some retooling . Still , if you ’re appear for real - clip shelter it remains a good certificate - focused option , but with geoblocking being discrepant in our testing , you might need to await elsewhere for your outside Netflix fix .
Norton’s VPN can track for a whole host of information types on the Dark Web.
Take a look at our round of golf - up of theBest VPNs for Mac .
Features & Apps
Foundry
As refer above , Norton ’s VPN does include tidy sum of accouterments that other VPNs either do n’t have or charge up extra for .
you’re able to add the app on your iPhone , iPad , and Mac , and all three platforms have apps that work well and track down nicely in the background .
Norton does a great job of offering real-time threat reporting and download scanning.
Despite the lack of a internet browser extension or plugin , Norton ’s root is a menu for internet browser Protection , which scans site as you browse . That means it ’s not as easy to switch one browser app to one realm ( perhaps for site testing ) , but does intend you get the benefit of real - time signal detection alerts if a site might be unsafe .
The same go bad for downloads , with Norton scanning Indian file before they land on your machine . It run well in my testing , and barely bring any extra time to the duration of downloads .
One affair that was interesting was how it monitor tracker on email . As a journalist , I get a lot of pressing releases and pitches , and while I ’ve always assumed many of them use some kind of tracking to see when they ’re opened , Norton proffer to quarantine so many that I was quite hold aback .
Whether it ’s a little over - enthusiastic or well within its rights will depend on how much you appreciate your inbox ’s seclusion , but it did well to bring with third - political party apps like Outlook and Spark .
There ’s also apassword managerif you ’re not already usingApple ’s new Passwords app , but most of these features are bond to the middle subscription tier and above .
The basic grade , simply dubbed Norton Secure VPN , will only protect one twist , block advertising and offers VPN functionality , but it ’s a little more barebones . Considering that 2nd - year price hiking , that ’s something to consider despite the low-pitched price right now .
Performance
VPNs of course decrease your internet speeds as your sign is fired across the globe , and Norton has servers in 32 countries – a steep bead from the 111 in NordVPN ’s portfolio – but it does tender four protocols to select from .
IKEv2 , OpenVPN and WireGuard are pretty commonly found across the plank of challenger , but Norton has its own Mimic communications protocol which is intended to be idealistic for unblocking external cyclosis services .
deplorably , testing on a 70 Mbps connexion ensure a reproducible speed drop - off . For context , NordVPN and ExpressVPN dropped 12 and 13 percent of speeds when using them in our tests , while Norton ’s oblation dropped nearer to 25 % lower in download speeds .
That ’s not ideal , but not put behind bars behind some contender . It just underlines how far ahead some VPNs are , and it ’s worth considering when you ’re locked in for a year , or plotting an expensive replacement .
As for Mimic , Norton ’s own VPN communications protocol , I was disappointed to find some international streaming services simply were n’t able-bodied to be unblocked with it . With that aver , I did have more luck with more standardised protocols , and I ’m pleased to see Norton at least give the choice to wobble between them .
remark : Norton contact us to clarify that Mimic is specifically plan for customer with special function case who are ineffectual to use WireGuard . They excuse : “ Mimic is a backup option when connect to certain public Wi - Fi networks where WireGuard is not available , or in positioning where VPN is restricted . If the customer ’s spirit is to stream content from a specific part , they do not require to utilize Mimic . WireGuard has compatibility for this purpose . ”
Privacy & Security
VPNs deserving their salt should always focus on privacy as their primary concern , and in this instance , Norton does a good job .
While it remains a curious thing to prove a company has a “ no logarithm ” policy ( where users and their session data are n’t logged ) , Norton underwent an audited account from VerSprite , a security house , just a few month ago .
The 2024 audited account passed Norton ’s VPN , although , unlike some companies , it ’s not necessarily gentle to find the audited account ’s finis online ( although that could be an bill of indictment on the current land of Google hunt at the time of writing ) .
Still , the company ’s privacy insurance has a dedicated VPN section that confirms what kind of data is included .
Should you buy Norton Ultra VPN?
Here ’s the rub with Norton ’s VPN offering . If the price was still twelvemonth - on - yr , I cogitate I ’d be prepared to recommend it more wholeheartedly .
It ’s not a high-risk VPN , and if you ’re look for an choice that carry a whole host of cyber - security shaft into one easy - to - use software system , the $ 49.99/£24.99 a twelvemonth deal is an easy sell .
That goodish 2nd - yr Leontyne Price jump is always coming around the bend , though , and for that reason , I ’d view signing up for a year and potentially set off to see if there ’s a new customer deal after twelve months .
As impressive as the security - disposed tech behind Norton ’s VPN is , whether it ’s worth the business deal - off of inflexible defrayment option and a decrease in swiftness will be down to you as the end user .
