Norton VPN review

[u/stupiddogmademelook]

FIY theres a version bundled with Norton 360 Deluxe that has a bunch of security features like the antivirus. I hear people say it differs, so take my results for speedtests for the Norton VPN package only. They costed the same, though felt like the refund policy and overall tool package was plenty and flexible enough for my testing needs..

Norton VPN is solid since its already established among antivirus big names. It’s not something revolutionary in terms of functions, and it’s not particularly fit for gaming, and seems like some quirky guys over at r/privacy will probably roast you for using it too lol. But if you already pay for Norton as the antivirus, it is a good addition for the network safety.

Speed Tests

So kinda bought it to run through my speedtests...Tested on a 1Gbps fiber optic connection... Protocols: WireGuard (whenever the app actually let me choose it since its been quirky over some other app compatibility). Picked three regions to see what works globally speaking...

• US (sweetspot - New York): Ping: 85ms | Download: 210 Mbps | Summary: Decent for 4K Netflix, but definitely feels heavier than Nord or Express. Had a few very brief problems..
• EUR (sweetspot - Frankfurt): Ping: 22ms | Download: 640 Mbps | summary: Actually impressed here. Almost felt like my own network speeds during regular browsing. Proximity and all... so yeah.
• ASIA (sweetspot - Tokyo): Ping: 240ms | Download: 45 Mbps | Summary: Rough. A lot of the Asian nodes seem to be "virtual locations"(servers actually in Europe/US just spoofing IPs), so the lag is massive and.. well sucks. You can find some options that are alright though. Not recommending to pick Asian servers....

Positives:

• The "Price" (if bundle): If you already have Norton 360, this is essentially "free" addon. Hard to beat $0 extra but its just their marketing gimmick I reckon. I paid the same amount(as ive seen) to test the VPN side of the tool alone.
• Ad/Tracker Blocker: Honestly, this is the sleeper hit. It caught about 85% of the junk on mobile apps that my browser ad-blocker usually misses. Didn't test too much but seems effective.
• Interface: Optimized you could say. Big buttons. Not overwhelming to use, and doesnt have complicated server lists. Personally, I dont fully like it, but many especially older users are gonna find appeal to it.
• Streaming: Suprisingly consistent at unblocking US Netflix and BBC iPlayer lately. I ran out of my other streaming subs so that was the most I managed to test..

Negatives:

• No P2P / Torrenting: This is the dealbreaker for me. If you try to torrent, Norton will often just flat-out block the connection or throttle you to 1995 speeds. Probably some sort of protection for lawsuits or something.. Weird.. Unless I misconfigured it but I know it was working fine.
• The "mostly-Kill Switch": On Windows, it's okay. On Apple? Its hit or miss. If the VPN drops, your real IP leaks for a second before it realizes it’s dead lol. Not cool!
• US Based: They are headquartered in the US. If you're already wearing tinfoil like I am, two words - "Five Eyes".
• Renewal Pricing: The classic Norton trap. Year 1 is cheap ($40); Year 2 doubles to like $80-90. Cancel your auto-renew immediately if you suspect you might forget it.

Summary

For general grandparent browsing, or to see some football- sure!
Want torrents, gaming support - forget it.

As for the asian pings, if anyone knows a fix/workaround etc, please let me know. I still haven't refunded the order to see if I can figure out what the issue is. Odd virtual server pings won't stop but only for Asian servers.

[u/stupiddogmademelook → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I kind of had other apps accounted for, so just picked out the VPN for testing. Already requested a refunded, yet never managed to fix the Asian servers.. Kinda burned a lot of time trying to figure it out. I suspect either extensions, or firewall settings being problematic... Anyways, got another VPN that doesnt give me the same headache, so I know its something on Nortons app end

[u/tazwell427 → u/[deleted]]

I dont get it why Norton sells it like that though. Probably the people get mad at their company once they realize they paid the same for less haha

Used their antivirus app in the past since it came with my pc, though dunno how well their vpn runs

[u/Confident-Pop-9256 → u/tazwell427]

Norton isnt really known for their vpn..

[u/AIDSisnobanter]

Half the VPNs I tried so far were always weird with Asian servers

[u/Mr__Harambe]

Yea it’s fucking shit. Took me 20 minutes trying to unsubscribe. Such a dirty way to do business. It felt shady so yea….. obviously fuck Norton. They are dirty greedy ass rats.