Threat Protection:

What does it block the most?

Threat Protection:

What does it block the most?

What is Threat Protection?

As the name suggests, Threat Protection is a tool that defends you from online dangers: malware, trackers, and intrusive ads. How does it work? Threat Protection scans your files during downloads, detects malicious entities, and blocks them before they can infect your device. But don’t take our word for it. Let’s have a look at the numbers.

infographic numbers of trackers ads malware blocked

Protect yourself from malware

What is malware?

Malware is malicious software that seeks to damage or compromise a device or data. Malware’s scope varies from relatively harmless to extremely dangerous. Malicious software can track your data, steal sensitive information, or even delete it without your consent.

How can your device get infected?

Some types of malware can find their own way into your device, while others need to be planted there. Malicious software may infect your computer if you click on suspicious links, intrusive ads, or phishing emails. Using unknown USB flash drives, entering fraudulent websites, and downloading shady files are risky as well.

Common types of malware

Virus

Malware that spreads between computers and causes damage.

Ransomware

Malware that uses encryption to hold a victim’s information at ransom.

Scareware

Scares users into thinking that their computer has been infected.

Worms

Malware that spreads copies of itself from one device to another.

Spyware

Malware that gathers data about a victim and forwards it to a third party.

Trojan

Downloads onto a computer disguised as a legitimate program.

Adware

Unwanted software that throws advertisements up on a victim’s screen.

Fileless malware

Corrupts legitimate programs to infect a device.

Domain categories containing the biggest amount of malware

The following statistics were acquired by analyzing aggregated data gathered by the Threat Protection service. No identifiable user information was collected, reviewed, or otherwise involved when the research and compiled results were conducted.

infographic domain categories biggest malware

Block intrusive ads

What are intrusive ads?

Intrusive advertising refers to pushing invasive and irrelevant ads in front of consumers. They irritate users by popping up unexpectedly, blocking the host page, opening new pages and windows, or playing video and audio at inopportune times. Annoying ads don’t take days off. Yet there is a way to stop them.

Pros of using an ad blocker

Security. Ad-blocking software blocks malicious ads that can infect your device.
Privacy. Annoying ads rely on collecting data from your web activity and violating your privacy.
Speed. If a website is loading slower than usual – you can blame intrusive ads.
Better battery life. Free apps filled with unwanted ads could drain your device’s battery faster.

Domain categories containing the biggest amount of intrusive ads

infographic domain categories intrusive ads

Guard your devices against trackers

What are web trackers?
Web trackers are scripts, cookies, or tracking pixels that collect user preferences and activity on specific or multiple websites. Their main goal is to draw an accurate profile of each website visitor. Even though many claim that this data allows companies to create a more personalized experience for everyone, the main reason for using trackers is to increase profits. Tracking sometimes may have a malicious intent too.
The dangers of online trackers
While many trackers are a tool for advertising and improving user experience, they may also become handy for online spies. Internet service providers (ISPs), marketing agencies, social media companies, and governments can access your online actions and breach your privacy.

Your data may also become available to cybercriminals. Misuse of user information happens once in a while. Some companies experience data breaches. In order to protect your data from being tracked or leaked, online protection is a vital asset.

Domain categories containing the biggest number of trackers

infographic domain biggest number of trackers

The average number of trackers per website in each country

infographic average number trackers website country

Source: NordVPN research “Which countries’ websites have the most trackers?”, October, 2022. Accessible at: https://nordvpn.com/blog/nordvpn-research-website-trackers/

How to enable NordVPN’s Threat protection

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 from our website. To get Threat Protection on your PC, download the latest NordVPN app for Windows.

Do you have any questions?

We are ready to answer them. Let’s get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Does NordVPN have an antivirus?

NordVPN does not yet offer an antivirus. But we wanted to make the internet safer for our users, so we created Threat Protection. It doesn’t work the same way antivirus software does. Still, it increases your cyber threat protection by blocking trackers and annoying ads, scanning your downloaded files for viruses, and making sure you don’t visit a malicious website. If you’re already using a VPN and don’t want to invest in additional antivirus software, our advanced Threat Protection feature is a great anti-malware tool.

Do I need both Threat Protection and a VPN?

Most people use a VPN to stay safe online and protect their data from snoopers and cybercriminals. Threat Protection takes that one step further. It protects you and your devices from trackers, harmful websites, infected downloads, and intrusive and malicious ads. The best part? If you already have a NordVPN subscription, you get the Threat Protection feature with no additional cost.

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 proxy solutions on your computer or browser. Check if you have 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.

Which browsers support Threat Protection?

The Threat Protection feature is available for Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox browsers. If you’re using Firefox, make sure to restart the browser after enabling Threat Protection. You can do so by typing “about:profiles” into the browser’s search tab and pressing “Enter.” Then click on the “Restart normally” button on the right, and Firefox will restart itself. That’s it! Now you can enjoy browsing without a glitch!

What files does Threat Protection deep scan?

Threat Protection detects every file you download from the web. However, not all files are scanned.

Threat Protection runs deep scans only on executable files. Executable files contain instructions for a computer to perform a specific task that could be malicious.

Also, since a deep scan requires uploading the file to the cloud, we don’t scan files that may contain personal data, such as images, PDFs, or text documents.

We also don’t upload large files to the cloud, so the deep scan file size limit is 20MB.

Are you collecting my private data if the deep file scan is enabled?

Definitely not. We run deep scans only on executable files, which contain instructions for a computer to perform a specific task and are more likely to be malicious. Files like PDFs, DOCXs, or images, which might contain your personal data, are never uploaded to the cloud for the deep scan.