NordVPN’s New Tech Claims to Outsmart VPN Blockers—Here’s How

Agencies Ghacks
Jan 30, 2025
VPNs
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NordVPN has introduced a new protocol, NordWhisper, which it claims can help users bypass VPN blocks in regions with restrictions. The company says NordWhisper works by mimicking regular internet traffic, making it more difficult for websites and internet service providers (ISPs) to detect and block VPN usage.

VPNs are widely used for privacy protection, accessing geo-restricted content, and circumventing government censorship. However, many governments and platforms have developed methods to detect and block VPN traffic by identifying patterns associated with VPN servers. NordVPN’s new protocol attempts to counter these blocks by disguising VPN traffic as normal browsing activity.

While the company asserts that NordWhisper can improve access in restricted regions, it acknowledges that the technology may not work perfectly in all cases. Additionally, the protocol may introduce higher latency due to the extra steps involved in obfuscating traffic. NordWhisper is currently rolling out for Windows, Linux, and Android users, with support for other platforms expected in the future.

Some countries have intensified their efforts to block VPN usage, even pressuring companies like Apple to remove VPN apps from their app stores. One nation has reportedly experimented with isolating its internet infrastructure from the global web. While VPNs continue to function in these regions, their long-term accessibility remains uncertain.

Despite NordVPN’s new technology, privacy advocates warn that VPN users should remain cautious. Since all internet traffic is routed through a third-party service, there is always a risk of data exposure through government requests or security vulnerabilities.

As NordVPN expands NordWhisper to more platforms, it remains to be seen how effective this new approach will be in countering increasingly sophisticated VPN detection methods.

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Comments

  1. Ulti P. Uszer said on February 2, 2025 at 7:31 pm
    Reply

    I had Nord for 2 years, the first year it was great, but in 2024 Nord got an idea to greedily over sell their bandwidth and their VPN became dreadfully slow. It didn’t matter which Nord server you connected to they were all so slow you couldn’t use it. But turn off Nord and everything was fast & normal.
    … When I got Nord I paid with a virtual CC card, but I have since closed that card, assuring that Nord won’t ever again charge me for their now worthless service. Also in the 2 years that I had Nord they had insanely gouged the price each year and continue to do so. Nord is now one of the worst VPNs out there with their zero user bandwidth and crazy high price. When this Nord bandwidth issues started to happen to me in 2024, there was also a thread on Reddit with a lot of people saying it had happened to them also.

  2. AIgenerated said on January 31, 2025 at 1:04 am
    Reply

    It would be nice to get something more than a press release. Like, does it work? Is this actually something new, or is it basically the same as Mullvad’s Obfuscation setting (= Shadowsocks, UDP-over-TCP), which is only occasionally effective at bypassing VPN-blockers?

  3. Steve F. said on January 30, 2025 at 7:31 pm
    Reply

    Use PIA for several years now, all in all, its ok. I do get blocked alot, but if the site wants a trackable IP address, well I’m not willing to accomodate them, they loose a visit, but I doubt it makes a difference to them when millions don’t care enough to obscure themselves, which I believe is just common sense on the internet.

    Nord’s protocol sounds attractive, but I’m not willing to change VPN for it.

  4. Artem S. Tashkinov said on January 30, 2025 at 6:45 pm
    Reply

    They have reinvented HTTPS encapsulation? I.e. shadowsocks? Yeah, it works except not for UDP and not when you hit bandwidth bottlenecks.

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