NordLayer: A Name You Can Trust
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NordLayer is a cybersecurity company that offers business VPNs. The company was established in 2021, but it quickly skyrocketed since it's already a well-established name. The team that worked on NordLayer created NordVPN, one of the fastest and most reliable VPNs on the market. They offer three different plans to accommodate different businesses needs; Basic, Advanced, and Enterprise. NordLayer already has 1,100 servers across the globe, quickly making them a major competitor in this field.
A trusted brand name is a good start, but what does this product have to offer? Read along to find out.
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Cons
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Quick Stats
What Is NordLayer? And Who Is It for?
The world-renowned NordVPN is now rebranding itself as Nordlayer. They used to provide personal VPN exclusively, but now they are offering cybersecurity solutions for businesses in the form of a business VPN. To keep it simple, NordLayer is a business VPN, while NordVPN is a personal VPN.
What Is the Difference Between a Business and a Personal VPN?
Cybercrime is on the rise, and people are resorting to VPNs to protect themselves. There are two types of VPNs: personal and business. The technology they use is similar; the differences come from what you use them for.
Personal VPN
This is typically reserved for your online activity outside of work. The internet has become a place with restrictions and threats. Most services enable you to connect from any device, whether it is your laptop, TV, tablet, or even your router; this means that any device connected to the internet will be protected, as it will secure the connection by creating an encrypted connection between the chosen device and a server. Torrenting, streaming, unblocking geo-restricted content are all a few examples of what you can use a personal VPN service for.
VPN services rushed to provide consumers with the ability to:
- Unblock geo-restricted content
- Safely connect to any public network
- Browse privately
- Protect themselves from external threats like hackers
Business VPN
Employees working remotely could finish their jobs from anywhere, café, airport, park, or a foreign country, meaning they do not have access to a secure network. As cybercrime against businesses is on the rise, it is essential to take that extra layer of security to protect your business as the company will no longer have its own server and have to rely on a remote server. So this is suitable for people that are strictly using it for working purposes.
Getting a business VPN allows people to:
- Protect themselves from data breaches
- Control panel for all employees
- Access blocked content from anywhere
- Advanced security features
NordLayer Speed
This section goes to the features that contribute to increasing the speed. Aspects like the number of servers, protocols, and geographic distribution all play a role in determining how fast or slow your browsing experience will be.
1. Speed
Consumers have reported that there has been no lagging with NordLayer; internet speed has remained noticeably the same, so you could continue to do your work with no speed drops. That being said, some users that use Linux have reported experiencing slower internet speed.
2. Number of servers & geographic distribution
NordLayer has 1100+ servers distributed between 33 countries. A good VPN service offers many server locations because It helps relieve traffic congestion; if a server has too many users, the internet speed will drop.
3. Fastest available protocol
VPNs use protocols, and these are a set of instructions that determine how the data routes between the device and the server chosen to guarantee a secure and stable connection. They currently offer two protocols OpenVPN and IKEv2; the fastest is the latter. They are working on adding WireGuard, which will be the fastest among them once it is added. When NordVPN brought in their service to the market, they created their own protocol, which proved to be the fastest. NordLayer is taking the same step in developing a separate protocol exclusive for the business VPN.
NordLayer Security and Privacy
One of the main reasons people use a VPN is to secure their connections and keep them private. VPN services work on many features to make sure their clients are getting what they need; these features include:
1. Encryptions & protocols
NordLayer provides the top-notch AES 256-bit encryption as the default. They also offer IKEv2, OpenVPN UDP, and OpenVPN TCP. The WireGuard has been reported to be in development and is likely to come out before the end of the year. The same way NordLynx was made for NordVPN, they are currently creating their own protocol exclusive to NordLayer.
| Protocols | IKEv2/IPsec | OpenVPN UDP | OpenVPN TCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | All platforms | All platforms | All platforms |
| Security | IPsec encryption | AES encryption (most secure) | AES encryption (most secure) |
| Firewall | UDP ports 500 and 4500, and ESP IP Protocol 50 | Uses 1194 port (hard to block) | Uses 443 port |
| Speed | Generally fast (faster than OpenVPN) | Slow | Slowest of the three |
2. Logs policy
NordLayer doesn't have a no-log policy. However, according to their privacy policy, they collect access logs, including IP addresses, operating systems, browser information, and signatures. They justify this move by saying it is essential to fight DDoS attacks and protect against hacking attempts. They also take it as feedback to help solve any problems with their servers and administrators as well as improve the design of their website.
3. Kill switch
NordLayer has a kill switch. A kill switch acts to cut off your connection to the internet if your VPN connection fails; it does so to protect your real IP. Kill switch protection is divided further into IP leak protection and DNS leak protection.
4. Based country
NordLayer relocated to the United States. This is a significant change from their previous location, Panama, but they moved to meet their enterprise clients' needs. Most of their customers are in the United States and Canada, making this move perfect for growing.
5. Warrant canary
NordLayer does not have a warrant canary system. A warrant canary is when a company signals their clients when they receive a secret order to hand over data to the government. This is illegal in the states, so companies can not disclose when they receive these orders, so now that the company is based in the US, they run for the possibility of the government requesting information at any time.
NordLayer Specialized Features
1. Control Panel
NordLayer offers an easy-to-use centralized control panel; the business owner creates an account and sends an invitation to his employees to create a user name and join in. Once they enter all workers on the system, they can authorize what they access and develop teams. If you upgrade to the advanced and enterprise plan, the primary account holder can set up their own gateway and dedicated servers. Then they can monitor each gateway an employee is using and even the device they are using.
So basically, it can help manage all user accounts, create teams, authorize permission, create gateways, and manage dedicated servers.
2. Centralized billing
The owner of the organization will receive one invoice for all employees. They won't need to arrange a payment every time an employee joins in; NordLayer will do it automatically.
3. Two-factor authentication & Single Sign-On
Two-factor authentication is an extra layer of security that is added to the account to stop anyone from logging in. So if someone has your password, they would still have to pass the random code that is sent to the account user each time there is a login. The primary account holder could enforce this method from the control panel.
Team members can also use their existing credentials to log into the app with Google, Okta, and Azure AD.
4. Dedicated server option
You can purchase dedicated servers with static IP addresses, create gateways, and allowlist IPs for an extra few dollars. This will ensure that your company won't need to share a server with another organization enhancing its performance.
NordLayer Device Compatibility
NordLayer is made for businesses; therefore, a company can add unlimited users. So new employees that join can be added to the plan at any time, as the subscription requires you to pay per user.
They currently only offer a limited range of device compatibility, and they do not have any browser extensions.
NordLayer is compatible with:
- iOS
- Android
- macOS
- Windows
- Linux
NordLayer User Experience
NordLayer brings along the same excellent customer service, as they remain efficient and quick to respond.
1. Languages supported
Currently, English is the only language they support.
2. Customer service
Customer support agents will guide you through any questions you have; they quickly respond and accurately answer them to guarantee your issue is solved. Support is offered through:
- Live chat
- Blog
- Knowledge base
They compliment their service with excellent customer support, this is a new startup company, but they have a long history of solving tech issues. NordLayer has separate teams for each category, making the process of solving a problem faster.
The quickest way to get immediate help is to reach out to a representative, and this could be done by going to their website and clicking on their live chat. The support team should be able to answer any inquiry you have and guide you through it.
For more common questions, go to their blog page. There are dozens of articles that contain general information.
A solution category is also available, and it lists the most common VPN features. If this does not answer your question, you can opt for a free consultation.
NordLayer Pricing and Payments
NordLayer offers discounted prices for yearly subscriptions; they offer 22% of the basic plan and 18% of the advanced plan. The final plan is fully customized, so companies need to reach out to request a quote. For an extra $50 companies can get a dedicated server with a fixed IP address.
| Plans | Basic | Advanced | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original price | $9 user/month | $11 user/month | customized |
| Discount price | $84 annually ($7/month) | $108 ($9/month) | customized |
The basic plan comes with the following features:
- Cloud VPN
- Control Panel
- Centralized billing
- License transferability
- Kill switch
- Two-factor authentication
- SSO with Google, Azure AD, Okta
- Auto-connect
- Shared access to 33 server locations
- 24/7 customer support
The advanced plan comes with all the features of the basic plan plus:
- Purchase dedicated servers
- Choose between 20+ dedicated server locations
- Available dedicated account management
- Priority support 24/7
The enterprise plan is customized and comes with the previous features in addition to:
- Next-gen site-to-site capabilities
- Centralized configuration and management
- LDAP Active Directory
- API access
- 24/7 phone support
- On-premise dedicated servers
- Premium custom features
- Custom logo and app colors
Conclusion
NordLayer is rebranding and becoming all-inclusive. They now help businesses stay safe against security threats. Making them more than just a personal VPN service. They are taking a step into the SASE market, and this is the Secure Access Service Edge, a network that combines SD-WAN capabilities and VPN with cloud-native security functions. This service is launched by the same company that has introduced the world to one of the best VPN services available as well as the best firewall solutions.