• NordVPN's antivirus blocked 99.1% malware in latest West Coast Labs test
• Artifact Security ranked NordVPN first out of five providers for performance
• The tests confirm connection times of just 1.8 seconds and zero data leaks

Users looking for the best VPN want the perfect balance of security and speed. According to two newly released independent evaluations, NordVPN is currently delivering exactly that on a global scale.

Over the summer, testing firm West Coast Labs (WCL) awarded NordVPN's built-in antivirus tool its highest AAA certification. Back in June, London-based Artifact Security crowned the vendor as the fastest and most reliable provider in a comprehensive global performance test, proving NordVPN continues to score all-positive results on independent audits.

For everyday users, these results are incredibly reassuring. It means you don't have to sacrifice your browsing speeds to stay safe online. The evaluations simulated real-world conditions, proving the app can swiftly block malicious sites and high-severity threats and handle high-speed downloads without breaking a sweat or leaking your personal data.

Top-tier malware protection

Under its WCL Validated methodology, West Coast Labs threw 934 malware samples at NordVPN's next-gen antivirus. The software successfully detected 926 of them, achieving an impressive 99.1% detection rate, well above the 95% threshold required for certification.

This latest achievement builds on the tool's previous successes, having already aced independent testing for its high phishing block rate in past assessments.

Crucially, the testing evaluated the product using its default configuration, meaning no custom tuning or vendor-supplied exclusions were used to artificially boost the score. NordVPN passed all 22 Core and 12 Augment lifecycle requirements across six stages, including deployment, functionality, and removal.

Because a single Core failure results in instant disqualification, this sweep earned NordVPN the highest available AAA certification rating.

"These results tell us the product is doing its job where it matters," said Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer at NordVPN. "What we’re most proud of is that this was tested under default configuration with no exclusions applied. That’s how most users actually run it, and that’s the standard we hold ourselves to."

Unmatched speed and reliability

Security is only half the battle; a VPN must also be fast. Artifact Security's 2026 VPN Performance World Tour evaluated five major VPN providers (NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, and Mullvad) across five origin regions (Germany, Singapore, US West, US East, and the UK) spanning 55 route-pinned highways.

NordVPN dominated the field, finishing first with an overall score of 91 and taking home the test's only Platinum award. On its Windows VPN, the provider led the pack with an average download speed of 271.9 Mbps and a peak download median of 568.4 Mbps. It also proved highly responsive, averaging just 1.8 seconds to establish a working tunnel with a 98% success rate.

Most importantly for privacy advocates, all tested providers, including NordVPN, passed every standard and advanced leak scenario. Across IP, DNS, IPv6, WebRTC, server-switch, and split-tunneling tests, no traffic escaped the encrypted tunnel.

"Performance testing at this scale is a much harder standard to meet than a single-location benchmark," said Briedis. "Coming out first overall and winning three regions outright gives us confidence that the infrastructure improvements we’ve been making are translating into something users can actually feel, regardless of where they connect from."

• Tor unveils Snowflake Volunteer as a standalone Android app
• The app lets users share their open internet connection
• It is the result of a collaboration between Tor and Bloco

The team behind the censorship-resistant Tor Browser has unveiled Snowflake Volunteer — a standalone Android app that lets you help people living in restricted countries bypass internet censorship.

Developed in collaboration with Portuguese Android studio Bloco, the app expands on Snowflake's capabilities. That's Tor’s pluggable transport, which allows people on censored networks to connect to the Tor network via volunteer-operated proxies, making their connection appear as normal traffic.

Since its official launch in April, Tor reported that the app saw an increase from about 1,300 unique proxy IP addresses per day in May to 1,700 per day in June, marking a 29% increase in one month. That represents a win for raising public awareness and expanding its volunteer-led community.

Altruistic digital privacy

Tor Browser is a free-to-use, privacy-focused network that routes Internet traffic through a series of secure computers run by volunteers in different countries — the "layers of an onion" —to prevent snoopers from identifying you personally as the one visiting sensitive sites.

Just like the best VPNs, Tor is all about protecting your privacy online. However, its system only works if people around the world volunteer to run the access points.

Tor bridges, like Snowflake, allow digital users living in safer countries to make their private connections available by turning their phones and computers into proxies, making it appear that they are making video or audio calls. A system that has been widely used as an alternative to VPNs in countries under censorship, including Iran.

It uses the "domain fronting" technique to establish a connection with one of the thousands of Snowflake proxies managed by volunteers. For users subject to censorship, if their Snowflake proxy is blocked, the broker will automatically find a new one.

What Snowflake actually needs is more volunteers' proxies that can serve as disguised access points to the Tor network. Perfectly addressing this need, the Snowflake Volunteer app was created specifically to allow people with less technical experience to easily become these proxies and contribute to the network's continued expansion.

Indeed, until now, the option was available for Android on Orbot, Tor's main Android app, or via browser extensions, a desktop command-line tool, and manual access to Tor's Kindness mode to facilitate the process.

The new app widely simplifies the experience. Users can simply install the app from F-Droid and Google Play (or build it from the source code) and let it run in the background to have their device become part of the Tor bridge. They can also restrict its use to networks with unlimited data, and set a limit on the number of people who can connect at the same time.

Once enabled, the app automatically connects with users seeking a Snowflake proxy and helps route their connection through the Tor network, making it easier and more rewarding to help others online, as people can see the impact of their actions.

Tor vs VPNs?

Is it wise to use a VPN with Tor? Unfortunately, there is no universally accepted answer.

Tor's official stance for most users is not to use a virtual private network (VPN) to avoid the risk of exposing identifying information. However, if you’re an experienced user who understands the technical aspects of VPNs and Tor routing, you could safely opt for more complex configurations.

Others, however, argue we should all use VPNs: particularly in countries with high levels of censorship, some believe it’s better to use VPNs, as they mix better into normal traffic and arouse less suspicion.

Unfortunately, though, this approach fails where VPNs are subject to restrictions or made illegal — further proof that, when it’s about digital security, there might be no one-size-fits-all solution.