NordVPN's anti-consumer and anti-gamer strategies focus on protecting users' privacy and performance.
NordVPN's anti-consumer and anti-gamer strategies focus on protecting users' privacy and performance.
NordVpn is widely recognized as one of the most popular VPN services, offering a feature called split tunneling to disable their service in specific applications. However, despite enabling it, I continue encountering anti-vpn blocks across 99% of games, and my connection remains unstable enough for even turn-based titles like MTGA that don’t require a VPN connection. After some investigation, I tested the functionality using a browser to verify if the split tunnel was operational and matched expected speeds. The results suggested the tunnel was working correctly, yet DNS always pointed to Nord regardless of settings. After extensive troubleshooting, both myself and a Nord representative confirmed that even with the tunnel active, DNS remained consistently directed to Nord until disconnected. It’s worth noting they didn’t provide a clear timeline for resolution, mentioning it might never be fixed.
The decision to be banned from games or streaming platforms is made by the developers, not by the VPN service you use. The same applies to other services, as many now have systems to identify VPN usage and restrict access. This isn’t the VPN’s responsibility and isn’t illegal—since you’ve accepted the terms of service that prohibit VPN use, violating them could block your access.
This post also seems to be attributing malicious intent to NordVPN…. But thinking about the root problem here, I’m not sure that the NordVPN client has the control you’re expecting it to. Applications make their DNS requests via OS APIs, unless they have a lot of extra code to do it themselves which is rare outside of browsers. The OS can then use whatever DNS servers are programmed to resolve those lookups. The NordVPN client can update the list of DNS servers (maybe even to itself running on your PC before going outside of the PC), but the requests have no information about which application they came from. Short of having a list of URLs which should be resolved outside of the VPN, there’s nothing that could be done. And even a workaround like I just mentioned is a lot of work and thus this is more like laziness than malice (and this is a big enough task that I wouldn’t even call it laziness).
Your system is limited to one DNS provider at a time, as far as I understand. You mentioned several options, but it’s not about having multiple “and” choices—it’s about choosing from a single source. When you request multiple servers through DHCP, the device will always attempt the first one first and skip the next unless it succeeds. If the first fails, it moves to the next on the list. You’re asking if it’s possible for more than one DNS provider to supply IP addresses, but that doesn’t align with how these systems operate.
I’m not familiar with nords software since I don’t use it, but I do use a split tunnel setup on my laptop. This lets me connect back home when away, and I can only rely on one DNS provider at any given moment, no matter the data path. However, in my situation… this is exactly what I need because I want Pihole to function as an ad blocker and access all my services from my local lab just like when I’m at home.
But I haven’t seen any evidence suggesting you could switch DNS providers based on the destination gateway. The issue lies in how your system determines which DNS to use—it waits for a response before deciding, so it doesn’t know the gateway until after the lookup. That’s why this setup makes sense, and it shouldn’t be confused with nordVPN.
If you configured Nord's DNS servers on your Windows network card, they'll remain active even when a VPN is running. You likely won't need a subscription for them to function properly. If the problem stems from DNS itself, Nord offers an option to switch to alternative DNS providers like Cloudflare or Google. It seems unlikely DNS settings are responsible for the issues you're experiencing. DNS determines how your device links web addresses to IP addresses. People choose custom DNS for reasons such as faster access through nearby servers, enhanced privacy by avoiding certain ISPs, and blocking specific content like ads or malware. The websites and services you connect to don't know which DNS provider you use. Unless the DNS service actively blocks or hides the services your game relies on, it shouldn't interfere with gameplay. Even a moderately slow DNS should have little impact because gaming typically involves fewer IP addresses and the operating system caches previous lookups. Regarding Split Tunnels for games, they often require multiple connections from different locations, which can complicate setup since some services appear in game folders, others come from Windows services, and still others are part of the VPN setup.
I've navigated this route before using a task manager. I added all executables, even launchers, but couldn't get anything to work.
This might only be addressing the exit side of getting DNS from Cloudflare. If every DNS request is sent via the VPN—which seems typical—you’ll encounter this problem. Labeling it an issue isn’t quite accurate; it’s more about a built-in capability rather than a defect. I get why you’d expect it to function that way, but I’m not sure that’s the actual behavior or what most users need. It’s possible Nord designed their client to support your preferences, though the feature isn’t currently active. You might want to disable split tunneling during gaming or find an alternative method for DNS without using Nord. That could resolve the concern about it not working as intended. Perhaps a clearer question would be why you’re relying on a VPN, and whether you’re comfortable with Docker containers—I’d suggest exploring Gluetun. It lets you launch any application inside a Docker container while routing traffic through a VPN, keeping your regular Windows tasks unaffected.