NordVPN Threat Protection Pro Review 2025: Is It Your All-In-One Security Solution?

Does NordVPN's Threat Protection, an integrated ad and malware blocker, live up to the high standards set by the brand itself? We've determined that NordVPN Threat Protection Pro is a solid blocking tool with some gaps in protection. 

Based on our testing, Threat Protection does a commendable job of clearing pesky ads but it's recently struggled at blocking trackers. It might not be the best solution if all you need is an ad and tracker blocker, but it's great if you want comprehensive protection from NordVPN. 

We'll detail our thoughts and testing experience in our NordVPN Threat Protection review. 

Overview

Ads blocked on Forbes	21
Adblock Tester score	86/100
Cover Your Tracks score	1/3
Can You Block It score	3/3
Does it block YouTube ads?	No
Whitelisting available	Yes
Blacklisting available	No
Compatibility	Threat Protection Pro: Windows, macOS Threat Protection: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome, Edge, Firefox
Price	$3.99–$17.99/mo
Learn more	Get NordVPN Threat Protection

We last tested NordVPN Threat Protection Pro on June 17, 2025.

Our experience

We've found Nord products and features included with the virtual private network (VPN) to be consistently user-friendly, providing informative walkthroughs for first-time users. 

Once we installed NordVPN, we were given the option to enable Threat Protection Pro. Nord went ahead and enabled it on the app itself and added the browser extension to all the browsers we had downloaded. 

From the NordVPN sidebar, you can select the shield icon to customize your Threat Protection Pro settings. We like how clean the layout is, with anti-malware, advanced browsing protection, and the ad and tracker blocker all clearly displayed. There are also buttons to pause or customize the features as needed. 

As we started using Threat Protection Pro, we noticed that webpages we visited like the Forbes homepage had little to no clutter from ads. After diving into the ad and tracker blocker section of the Threat Protection Pro tab, we found a list of everything that was blocked. 

Threat Protection Pro no longer lists the number of ads and trackers blocked, which is a feature we liked, but you can manually count how many were blocked. On the Forbes homepage, Threat Protection Pro blocked 21 ads and trackers. 

Unfortunately, Threat Protection Pro failed to block YouTube ads during our latest round of testing. This issue has been intermittent during our past testing experiences, so we hope to see it block YouTube ads more consistently in the future, similar to Total Adblock and Surfshark CleanWeb.

Prices and subscriptions

Included with NordVPN, Threat Protection starts at $12.99/mo for the monthly plan and goes as low as $3.09/mo (billed every two years) for a two-year commitment. 

The regular Threat Protection is a DNS-based tool included with all Nord plans. It only blocks ads and malicious domains. NordVPN Plus, Complete, and Prime include the more comprehensive Threat Protection Pro. It provides anti-malware protection, advanced browsing protection, and an ad and tracker blocker.

Threat Protection doesn't offer a free plan, unlike Total Adblock, and is more expensive than most ad blocker bundles, such as Surfshark CleanWeb. However, you'll receive VPN protection and a blocker against ads, trackers, and malicious files. 

Below, we compare the pricing for monthly, annual, and two-year subscription lengths for each NordVPN plan tier. 

Plan	Monthly plan	1-year plan	2-year plan
Basic	$12.99/mo	$4.99/mo (billed annually)	$3.09/mo (billed every two years)
Plus	$13.99/mo	$5.99/mo (billed annually)	$3.99/mo (billed every two years)
Complete	$14.99/mo	$6.99/mo (billed annually)	$4.99/mo (billed every two years)
Ultimate	$17.99/mo	$8.99/mo (billed annually)	$6.99/mo (billed every two years)

Threat Protection Pro vs. Threat Protection

NordVPN offers two variations of its cybersecurity solution: Threat Protection Pro and Threat Protection.

Threat Protection Pro has a comprehensive feature set that includes malware scanning, phishing protection, tracker blocking, and ad blocking. It's available on Nord's desktop apps for Windows and macOS, and it doesn’t require a VPN connection.

In contrast, Threat Protection focuses primarily on blocking some ads as well as malicious domains and phishing domains. However, it can’t block all ads, doesn't block trackers, and can't scan for malware during downloads. It's compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as Android and iOS mobile devices.

Additionally, the regular Threat Protection is available on NordVPN's extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. A significant difference is that a VPN connection is required to use Threat Protection.

Feature	Threat Protection Pro	Threat Protection
Blocks malicious domains
Blocks phishing domains
Blocks ads		Limited
Scans downloaded files for malware
Blocks trackers
Blocks malicious websites
VPN connection required
Compatibility	Windows, macOS	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Edge
Learn more	View plan	View plan

Should you get NordVPN for Threat Protection Pro?

NordVPN and Threat Protection Pro are worth the cost since both provide security features that help secure your internet connection and keep your online activities safe from prying eyes — even those of your internet service provider (ISP) and hackers.

NordVPN is also our top-recommended VPN service. It has a large server network (8,100+ servers in 120+ countries) and can consistently unblock streaming services.

The VPN app also comes with specialty servers, including:

• Obfuscated servers using OpenVPN (TCP)
• Onion over VPN
• Double VPN
• P2P
• Dedicated IP

NordVPN is based in Panama and has a verified no-logs policy. This makes it an excellent choice for anyone who needs internet access but lives in a country with stringent censorship rules, such as China, or for those who need to protect their personal data. Learn more in our complete NordVPN review.

Features

With NordVPN Threat Protection Pro, you get web protection, file protection, and vulnerability detection. These features include the following: 

• Malware blocker
• Web tracker blocker
• Ad blocker
• URL trimmer
• Cloud-based threat detection

NordVPN Threat Protection Pro equips you with antivirus and ad-blocking features. This powerful duo works in tandem to keep you safe from malware, ads, trackers, and phishing attacks.

A stand-out feature is its real-time protection, which provides vigilant monitoring of downloaded files and immediate action against suspicious activities. 

However, the absence of a standalone firewall might be a point of contention for some, since that could require relying on separate antivirus software or existing firewall solutions.

Real-time protection

Another noteworthy feature of NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro is its real-time protection capability. This feature keeps tabs on your online activities, including web browsing, emails, and app interactions. If it detects suspicious activity, it immediately alerts you.

Threat Protection can shield you from a variety of malware threats, including Trojans, ransomware, and spyware. Our testing revealed no hitches with the real-time protection as it easily deleted harmful files.

Phishing protection

NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro also incorporates anti-phishing features. With the malicious URL blocker, it scans URLs and blocks access to any sites it finds malicious. During our tests, we found it adept at identifying and blocking phishing attempts, adding a critical layer of protection to your browsing.

The setup process is fairly straightforward, requiring minimal technical knowledge. However, it could benefit from more granular control options, like allowing you to fine-tune your level of protection.

Tracker and ad blocker

Threat Protection Pro is mostly efficient when it comes to blocking ads and trackers. It keeps a count of blocked ads, providing you with a quantifiable measure of the protection it offers.

However, certain aspects could be confusing for novice users, like the whitelisting feature. During our testing, we couldn't find out how to whitelist within 10 minutes of searching the app and extensions. 

After some Google searches, we found that you can by going to Threat Protection Pro > Web protection, then scrolling down to Web protection activity. You can select the three dots next to any URL, which will provide you with the option to exclude a domain from threat blocking. 

Despite these minor learning curves, the ad blocker remains an integral and powerful part of NordVPN's Threat Protection.

NordVPN Threat Protection Pro test results

In our commitment to provide you with reliable and objective data, we conducted rigorous tests on NordVPN Threat Protection Pro. We used AdBlock Tester, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF’s) Cover Your Tracks tools, and Can You Block It to test its ad blocking capabilities and antivirus effectiveness.

NordVPN Threat Protection Pro scores

	AdBlock Tester	Cover Your Tracks	Can You Block It
NordVPN Threat Protection Pro score	86/100	1/3	3/3

We tested Threat Protection Pro’s ability to block ads and trackers using three key tools. The first is AdBlock Tester, a web tool designed to test the effectiveness of an ad blocker in preventing common forms of online advertising, such as pop-ups and banner ads, as well as analytics tools and error monitoring. 

Threat Protection had a high score of 86/100. It most failed tests under the analytics tools and error monitoring sections, which aren't concerning as far as blocking ads and maintaining privacy.

The second tool is Cover Your Tracks, which assesses the degree to which a tool can prevent online tracking by third-party entities. 

Threat Protection Pro only partially blocked tracking ads and invisible trackers. It was also docked one point based on our fingerprint, which was found to be unique. 

We were disappointed because Threat Protection Pro could previously block tracking ads and invisible trackers fully. Now we're not confident about its tracker protection.

Can You Block It tests for ad blocker warnings, banner ads, and interstitial ads (or those pesky ads that pop up while the webpage loads). Threat Protection Pro blocked all three test types with ease.

YouTube ad test

We imagine many of our readers can relate to the frustration caused by YouTube ads. You'll be mid-video when an ad interrupts your experience. This is where ad blockers can come in handy. 

One of the primary perks of an ad blocker is its ability to block YouTube ads. We test all ad blockers we review on this ability. First, we turned off Threat Protection Pro and navigated to YouTube. We found a video and took note of any ads we spotted, like pre-roll ads and banner ads. 

Then, we enabled Threat Protection Pro and refreshed the YouTube video. Unfortunately, it failed to block a mid-video ad during our latest round of testing. We hope it succeeds the next time that we test it, like it has in the past.  

Bypassing paywall test

Another common frustration while browsing online is paywalls. You'll find an interesting article, read the first paragraph, but then the site will block you from continuing unless you have a subscription. 

We tested NordVPN Threat Protection Pro on sites known for having paywalls, such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The Atlantic. It couldn't bypass any of these paywalls. 

This isn't a feature expected from ad blockers, so we weren't concerned about the result. 

AV-TEST results

• Result: Threat Protection Pro is approved by AV-TEST.

AV-TEST is an independent research institute that conducts testing on antivirus programs and VPNs. NordVPN was evaluated for its malware detection capabilities alongside other VPN providers, including ExpressVPN, IPVanish, and ProtonVPN.

NordVPN significantly surpassed all the other providers, with an 83.42% detection rate. It also flagged 11 false positives, beaten only by Mullvad, which detected seven false positives. 

Due to its high test results, NordVPN has received the AV-TEST Approved certificate for Network Threat Protection.   

AV-Comparatives results

• Result: Threat Protection Pro had a high phishing protection rate and no false positives. 

AV-Comparatives is another independent organization dedicated to testing and evaluating cybersecurity software, such as antivirus and parental controls. It runs multiple types of tests, including real-world protection, malware protection, performance, and more. 

NordVPN Threat Protection Pro hasn't undergone the standard AV-Comparatives antivirus tests, but it does undergo AV-Comparatives anti-phishing tests. 

Threat Protection Pro blocked 93% of 275 phishing URLs and detected zero false positives. It previously blocked 85% of phishing URLs in 2024, so it's reassuring to see that the product continues to improve. 

Customer support

NordVPN offers a variety of support channels for its customers, ensuring help is available whenever needed. This includes 24/7 live chat support, a resource we found quite responsive and effective in resolving queries related to Threat Protection. 

In our interactions with customer service representatives, we found them to be knowledgeable, patient, and keen on providing practical solutions.

Alongside real-time support, NordVPN provides a comprehensive knowledge base comprising guides, FAQs, and troubleshooting articles.

Specific to Threat Protection, NordVPN offers easy-to-follow online guides. These cover a broad spectrum of topics, from setup to dealing with potential issues. These guides are laid out in a user-friendly manner, using non-technical language that's easy to comprehend.

How to use NordVPN Threat Protection

Because Threat Protection is bundled with NordVPN, using the ad-blocking service isn't as straightforward. You can enable the basic Threat Protection to work with the NordVPN browser extension. For Threat Protection Pro, you'll need to use NordVPN's Windows or macOS app. 

To get Threat Protection to work on your browser, follow these steps:

1. Search for the NordVPN extension in the Chrome Web Store, Microsoft Store, or Firefox add-ons page. 
2. Once the extension is installed, log in to your NordVPN account. 
3. Select the Settings gear. 
4. Toggle Threat Protection on.  

Top alternatives

While NordVPN Threat Protection offers comprehensive protection, there are other bundled services in the VPN, ad blocker, and antivirus landscape. 

FAQs

Bottom line: Is NordVPN Threat Protection good?

When it comes to overall protection and cybersecurity, NordVPN Threat Protection is a solid contender. With its inclusive ad blocking and antivirus functionalities, it adds an extra layer of safety to your online browsing and data. 

NordVPN Threat Protection shines particularly with its real-time protection and phishing safeguards, adding a strong layer of proactive defense against online threats.

However, if cost is a significant consideration for you and if you’re looking for highly specific or advanced antivirus features, Threat Protection Pro might feel limited. It also provides only partial protection against trackers. 

NordVPN Threat Protection is an excellent ad blocker if you're looking for a well-rounded, user-friendly, and reliable online protection suite. The service combines essential cybersecurity features in one package, making it ideal for those who value convenience and comprehensive protection.

See how NordVPN Threat Protection compares to Total Adblock.