What is NordVPN’s email protection feature?
Email protection is a smart security feature now built into Threat Protection Pro™, NordVPN’s advanced security suite for macOS and Windows. It’s designed to stop cybercriminals who exploit a tactic almost as old as email itself from stealing credentials or distributing malware.
When you open an email in a web browser, email protection analyzes all visible links and checks whether they lead to safe or unsafe websites. If a link is known to host phishing pages, malware, or scams, the feature immediately alerts you before you make a move and click on it.
Email protection activates before malicious link threats can strike and cause damage. It’s a proactive layer of defense that helps reduce the success rate of phishing campaigns and other online threats targeting users through email.
How does email protection work?
Email protection starts working the moment you open an email in a supported web browser. It scans every visible link in real time and checks its reputation against a database of known malicious websites.
If the system detects an unsafe link, it flags it directly in the email body. A red shield icon appears next to the link to signal that the destination may contain malware, host phishing pages, or otherwise pose a scam risk. Hovering over the icon reveals a brief warning message explaining the potential threat.
A banner also appears at the top of the message and remains visible while the email is open. It provides a summary of all detected threats. For example, if two unsafe links are found — one flagged as “Scam” and another as “Malware” — the banner will combine them into a single warning, such as “Scam and malware.”
Why phishing remains such a threat
Phishing may be one of the oldest tricks in cybersecurity, but it’s also one of the most effective. Modern phishing emails are sophisticated, convincing, and often indistinguishable from genuine messages. Attackers use company logos, familiar names, and real domain patterns to make their messages look legitimate.
These emails exploit human instincts more than technology. They create urgency (“your account will be closed”) or curiosity (“you’ve received a delivery”) to push people into clicking before thinking. And that single click can lead to a fake website built to steal passwords or install malware.
Traditional spam filters detect and block many malicious emails, but advanced phishing attempts can still evade these systems. That’s why active link analysis — like the one built into email protection — is so crucial. It examines where each link actually leads instead of relying only on standard spam filters, giving users a visual cue before they fall for a scam.
NordVPN already offers a free link checker that lets users manually verify suspicious URLs. Email protection takes that same idea and builds on it by eliminating the extra step you would otherwise have to take yourself. It checks every link in your inbox for you so that you can read your emails with confidence and without interruption.
What about privacy and user control
Email protection is designed to protect users from malicious links without compromising their privacy. The feature analyzes links, not the content of your emails, ensuring that what you read and write remains private.
Whenever possible, the scanning process happens locally on your device. Only minimal metadata (the link itself) is sent to NordVPN’s threat detection systems for reputation checks. This lightweight approach allows the feature to assess potential risks quickly while keeping personal information secure.
Email protection gives users control over how it runs. You can turn it on or off anytime from the Threat Protection Pro™ settings menu, depending on how you prefer to browse your inbox. And whether enabled or paused, the feature never stores or shares your email content, keeping NordVPN’s commitment to privacy at the center of its design.
Why did we build email protection?
Email protection does more than just spot dangerous links. It targets the very idea of email phishing. Each warning that appears in your inbox reduces the chances of a successful scam, meaning fewer stolen passwords, fewer malware infections, and fewer payoffs for people running these scams.
Trust is built through consistent protection. And when users see their security tools stopping threats reliably, confidence grows, not just in the product, but in the safety of their everyday browsing.
For NordVPN, email protection represents a natural evolution. It strengthens Threat Protection Pro™ as a security solution and sets a higher standard for consumer cybersecurity — one built on prevention and not just privacy.
Email remains a primary attack vector in both personal and professional environments. With email protection, Threat Protection Pro™ users can secure their inboxes passively, without going out of their way to verify every link themselves.
Online security starts with a click.
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