NordVPN's Antivirus Tool Blocks 94% of Phishing Sites in Latest Independent Test

The independent evaluation, conducted between August 12 and 22, pitted the tool against 250 active phishing URLs. The software also faced 250 legitimate URLs to check for false alarms, and it accurately distinguished between safe and malicious sites without a single error.

The 94% detection rate placed NordVPN third overall, behind Avast One Free Antivirus and Norton Antivirus Plus.

NordVPN has a track record of strong independent results. In June 2024, it became the first VPN provider to earn the AV-Comparatives anti-phishing protection badge, a certification requiring at least an 85% block rate with zero false positives. The company has previously achieved 96% and 92% block rates in similar testing, according to the report.

The antivirus, formerly known as NordVPN Threat Protection Pro, is part of the provider’s Complete subscription tier. It runs alongside the VPN tunnel to block trackers, intrusive ads, and malicious sites in real time, extending beyond traditional IP masking.

Domininkas Virbickas, product director at NordVPN, described the tool as “a second pair of eyes.” “Anybody might slip up eventually, and when you do click on something you shouldn't, that's where we step in. Results like this are what we work for, because our users deserve protection they can count on,” he said in the report.

While software can block 94% of threats, researchers and security experts continue to stress the importance of user awareness. They advise checking URLs for suspicious prefixes or typos, verifying HTTPS usage, and enabling two-factor authentication to mitigate the remaining risks.