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What is a VPN kill switch?
A VPN kill switch is an advanced security feature designed to protect your digital data from accidental exposure. If your VPN connection drops, the VPN kill switch will block your internet access until the connection to the VPN server is restored.
Why you need a VPN kill switch
Dropping your VPN connection for even a millisecond can lead to data being lost and your IP being exposed. Here’s why you should keep the Kill Switch on at all times.
If you’re a political activist, journalist, or blogger, who lives and works in a country ruled by an authoritarian government, a VPN kill switch will serve as a second line of defense. Check out NordVPN’s other features that might help in a situation like this.
If you have to handle sensitive or classified information for work, make sure it’s always encrypted. NordVPN with the internet Kill Switch on is the best way to protect yourself against data leaks and unexpected connection interruptions.
Getting locked out of your social media is not the end of the world, but it’s still a nightmare. Turn on the Kill Switch before typing in your passwords or other data that, if intercepted, could compromise your privacy.
Types of VPN kill switches
There are two types of VPN kill switches watching over VPN connections today — those that protect only certain apps and those that guard your whole system.
Application-level VPN kill switches don’t shut down your internet connection — they only terminate specific apps to prevent them from sending data. This type of kill switch will stop you from unintentionally leaking activities related to those apps without interrupting your browsing experience every time there’s a hiccup with your VPN connection.
System-level VPN kill switches take no chances — if your VPN connection drops, the VPN client will instantly shut off all internet traffic to protect your data. A system-level VPN kill switch is more secure than an application-level kill switch, but it can lead to frequent hang ups while browsing if you’ve got a spotty internet connection.
The Kill Switch offered by NordVPN software
NordVPN’s Kill Switch is not activated by default — you need to first turn it on in the app settings. To find out more about NordVPN’s Kill Switch, visit our Help Center.
Windows
The NordVPN Windows app lets you choose between an app-level and a system-level kill switch.
macOS
The newest version of NordVPN for macOS lets you specify which apps you want the Kill Switch to shut down.
Android
On Android 7 (or later) devices, VPN connections have native kill switches thanks to Android’s “Always on VPN” feature.
iOS and Linux
The Kill Switch is integrated into NordVPN Linux and iOS apps and will block your internet connection if your VPN connection drops.
VPN Kill Switch technology: How it actually works
The internet Kill Switch feature monitors your VPN connection and shuts down internet access if irregularities occur. Let’s have a deeper look.
1
Observe
The Kill Switch continuously observes your connection to a VPN server, looking for changes in the status or IP address.
2
Detect
If the connection between the server and the VPN client drops, the Kill Switch instantly detects this change.
3
Block
Depending on the type of kill switch you’ve set for your VPN connections, Kill Switch blocks some or all of the apps from accessing the internet.
4
Restore
When the tunnel to the VPN server is reestablished, the Kill Switch restores your internet connection.
When does a VPN kill switch get activated?
VPN connections may be terminated for a number of reasons. It’s not always the fault of your VPN provider — in many cases, your VPN connection drops because of software interference or an unstable internet connection.
Interruptions in your internet connection, weak Wi-Fi, timeouts, and continually switching between mobile internet and Wi-Fi hotspots can disrupt your connection to the NordVPN server.
Your firewall or antivirus might block the NordVPN app from establishing a VPN tunnel. This can be fixed by adding NordVPN to the firewall’s list of exceptions. If you don’t have auto-connect on, NordVPN might not connect after a reboot, so make sure it’s also activated.
Our server timeouts and failures are very uncommon – but they are possible. NordVPN has over 7000 servers. They are kept in secure locations with constant supervision. And yet, they are physical boxes, vulnerable to damage like any other physical object.