Take cybersecurity to the next level with NordVPN’s Threat Protection

Protection from ads, trackers, and malware. It’s more than just a VPN.

What is Threat Protection?

Man protected from malicious websites with NordVPN’s Threat Protection

Threat Protection is a security solution designed to defend you from everyday online cyber threats, like malware and trackers. It scans your files while you’re downloading them, identifies threats, and blocks them before they can harm your device.

NordVPN’s CyberSec feature has been upgraded to Threat Protection — a powerful anti-malware tool. Similarly to an antivirus, Threat Protection scans the files you download for malware and blocks them before they infect your device.

Threat Protection also blocks trackers and intrusive ads and stops you from landing on malicious websites.

Threat Protection vs. Threat Protection Lite

Threat Protection

Offers threat prevention even when your device isn’t connected to a VPN server. Available on Windows and macOS, it blocks ads, trackers, and malicious websites and scans suspicious files for malware during download.

Threat Protection Lite

Threat Protection Lite works when you’re connected to a VPN. Blocks ads and malicious websites. Available on mobile devices (Android, iOS) and other platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge).

	Threat Protection	Threat Protection Lite
Available on	Windows, macOS	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Firefox, Edge
Scans files for malware during download
Blocks malicious websites
Blocks intrusive ads
Blocks trackers
VPN connection	Not required	Required

Fend off cyber threats and improve your digital experience

Threat Protection is an advanced security solution that makes your digital life safer.

Virus spreading through a network that lacks anti-malware protection

Intrusive ad blocked by NordVPN’s Threat Protection

Woman streaming content with peace of mind thanks to NordVPN

Anti-malware protection
IT security threats are everywhere, but scheduled malware scans offered by antiviruses aren’t always enough. Respond quickly to sophisticated threats with NordVPN’s Threat Protection. It automatically blocks malicious websites and scans the files you download for malware. If malicious file is detected, it will be removed before it damages your device.
Stop intrusive tracking
Surf the net without a trace. Websites you browse are full of third-party trackers that analyze your traffic to find out what you do online. This information is used to create your digital profile and then serve intrusive ads or unfair prices based on your previous purchases. Threat Protection will block trackers so that you can enjoy the highest level of privacy.
Avoid malicious ads
You open an article, and dozens of ads and pop-ups immediately cover the screen. Some ads are simply intrusive, while others contain malware that may cause significant damage. But Threat Protection stops intrusive and malicious ads before they even get the chance to load. This makes your browsing experience safer and smoother.

Man and woman protected by a VPN on a laptop and phone

Threat Protection’s anti-malware feature scanning downloaded files

Threat Protection blocking suspicious website before it loads

No need to connect to a VPN
Threat Protection works even when you’re not connected to a VPN — switch it on the NordVPN app and enjoy a higher level of security against unknown threats and all kinds of advanced attacks online. VPN and Threat Protection work together to provide your online data the protection it deserves. Plus, Threat Protection comes with NordVPN at no additional cost.
Know which threats you have avoided
Threat Protection is not just about improving your online safety and browsing experience. All the blocked ads, trackers, malicious websites, and malware-infected files will appear in a 7-day protection summary. You can analyze these security alerts and note which websites you should avoid visiting in the future.
Privacy-focused malware protection
Don’t worry about data loss or intrusion into your privacy. Threat Protection makes an initial scan of your download, and if it can’t discern it’s malicious, it uploads the file to the cloud for more detailed threat detection. Files that are too big or may contain personal data (images, PDFs, text documents) are not uploaded. Cloud-based threat detection only checks executable files that may contain malware. If Threat Protection detects a double extension, but no malware shows up during the scans, you will be separately notified.

NordVPN — more than a VPN

Threat Protection comes with NordVPN at no additional cost.

Malware protection

Avoid malicious websites and protect your devices from malware-infected files.

Tracker blocker

Block tracking cookies and browse the internet without leaving a trace.

Ad blocker

No more pop-ups and intrusive ads — only smooth browsing.

URL trimmer

Keep your online habits to yourself by getting rid of URL tracking.

How to enable NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature

Open

Open the NordVPN app.

Click the shield

Click on the little shield icon on the left side of your screen.

Turn it on

Toggle the Threat Protection switch on.

To use Threat Protection on Mac, download the NordVPN app for macOS using this link. To get Threat Protection on PC, download the latest NordVPN app for Windows.

One-click personal cybersecurity tool

A powerful anti-malware solution that lets you browse with confidence.

Get NordVPN

Frequently asked questions

Why is Threat Protection not blocking ads on my web browser?

If you switched on the Threat Protection feature and are still seeing ads, one of the reasons might be the proxy solutions on your computer or browser. Check if you have any other proxies enabled and turn them off. Otherwise, Threat Protection can’t inspect the website to block the ads. If this doesn’t work, get in touch with our support team.

How can I solve the “Software is preventing Firefox from safely connecting to this site” error on Firefox?

Since Threat Protection adds a new certificate to Firefox, you’ll need to restart your browser for it to take effect. To do that, simply close the browser and open it up again. You can now surf the net without annoying ads getting in the way. If you’re still experiencing any problems, contact our support team.

Why isn’t Threat Protection scanning recently downloaded files?

This might occur if you’re using Chrome in Incognito mode on the macOS operating system. Threat Protection can’t determine if the file was downloaded from the internet, so it won’t scan it. We are working hard to fix the issue as soon as possible.

What is threat detection and prevention?

Threat detection and threat prevention refer to an organization’s ability to monitor and analyze its IT security ecosystem in order to stop cyber threats. Detection and threat prevention are knit together — to fend off attacks, the organization has to detect them in real time first. By collecting, processing, and analyzing data, organizations and experts can gain threat intelligence that helps them understand how cybercriminals act and effectively mitigate cyber threats.