NordVPN has two versions of threat protection built into the app. The NordVPN Standard plan you buy from Blue Mint includes both: Threat Protection Pro on Windows and macOS, and Threat Protection on your other devices.
Threat Protection (formerly Threat Protection Lite)
- Works at the DNS level: blocks known malicious sites, trackers and ads before they load.
- Requires you to be connected to the VPN.
- Included in every plan and in almost every app: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
Threat Protection Pro
- Does everything the standard version does, and also checks URLs and JavaScript, warns you before you open a dangerous page and scans downloaded files for malware.
- Works even without a VPN connection.
- Available in the Windows and macOS apps.
How to turn it on
- Windows / macOS: click the shield (Threat Protection) icon in the app and switch it on.
- Android / iOS: turn on Threat Protection in the app settings.
- Linux:
nordvpn set threatprotectionlite on
A site I trust won't open
Threat Protection can occasionally block a site that isn't dangerous. Turn it off for a moment to confirm. On Linux, Threat Protection can't be combined with custom DNS servers (nordvpn set dns): use one or the other.
Related: Kill Switch · Getting started with NordVPN
