Technologies

NordVPN’s Free Meshnet Is Cool, but It Won’t Replace Your VPN

Hands-on: Meshnet has a lot of potential, but it has its limitations. We’ll walk you through what it is and what it isn’t.

NordVPN feature Meshnet lets you securely share files and route traffic through other devices, regardless of where you are in the world. The free feature, released in June 2022, essentially gives you the ability to create your own personal VPN server through your computer without the need for any special equipment, configuration or advanced networking knowledge. It’s had more attention recently because Nord made it free to all in March 2023. It was previously only available to the company’s paid VPN subscribers.

NordVPN pitches Meshnet as a feature you can use for all sorts of applications, including gaming, P2P file sharing, remote collaboration and remote device access. With Meshnet active, you can set up a secure local area network of up to 60 devices (10 of your own and 50 external) remotely from anywhere. You can host a LAN party with your friends, for example, whether you’re all in the same room or in another part of the world.

Meshnet devices are connected via NordVPN’s proprietary WireGuard-based NordLynx protocol, so you can access and share files securely, not unlike you would on a corporate network. The NordLynx protocol also encrypts the VPN tunnel you create if you or your friends want to remotely route your traffic through your home computer and connect to the internet using its IP address.

All you need to make this work is the NordVPN app on your compatible devices (MacOS, Windows, Linux, Android and iOS). And — as mentioned above — you don’t even need a paid NordVPN subscription anymore, because Meshnet is now free to everyone.

Meshnet has a ton of potential, and there really is a lot you can do with the tool if you’re able to fully leverage its capabilities. However, the feature is still a little rough around the edges and has a few inherent drawbacks. It’s worthwhile to understand what Meshnet can and can’t do, and what you can practically use it for.

NordVPN

Fastest VPN we’ve tested in 2023 / Number 3 overall choice

In order to use Meshnet, you’ll need to sign up for NordVPN and use that service’s app. However, the Meshnet features are available for free — you won’t need to provide any credit card info. Read more:

See at NordVPN

What Meshnet does

For most people, Meshnet is perhaps best used for transferring files from one device to another. It’s also great for routing traffic through another device’s IP address and for secure online collaboration between colleagues and friends.

Meshnet offers immense practical value as a way to easily share files between devices. Even in 2023, it can sometimes be cumbersome to send a file from one device to another. Sending files via email isn’t secure, and you have to make the effort to compress larger files due to the severe limitations email providers set for file capacity.

Even cloud storage tools like Google Drive or Dropbox and file transfer tools like WeTransfer impose limitations on sending files unless you pay up. You could go the wired route, but that will require the devices to be next to each other. It’ll also probably involve various adapters in addition to the requisite wires. Meshnet lets you send up to 1,000 files of any type and any size wirelessly and securely from anywhere in the world in a single transfer — for free.

If you’re someone who routinely transfers lots of photos, videos or other large files between devices, or if you share files with friends, family and colleagues, Meshnet is an excellent solution. NordVPN offers tutorials on how to share files with Meshnet on various platforms, but some of the instructions are incomplete and the file sharing process may take a little bit of figuring out. For example, the iOS file transfer tutorial indicates that you will be able to «find the files shared with you by checking your device’s default download folder location.» It doesn’t mention that you will have to manually select the file’s destination on your iOS device. The file won’t just automatically appear in a default download folder.

If you have friends that you game with online around the country or around the world, Meshnet is a great tool for setting up your own private gaming server to host remote LAN parties with them. This functionality is particularly beneficial for sandbox games like Minecraft or Roblox. Or if you work on a remote team and need to securely collaborate in real time with your colleagues, Meshnet can be of real value. Applications like this may require some additional technical know-how, but NordVPN’s tutorials are usually good enough to get you started. (Note, of course, you’ll want to vet the tool with your company’s IT department before installing it or using it for any corporate projects.)

Meshnet is useful, but limited, if you want to route your internet traffic through your home or office computer remotely. To route your traffic through another computer on Meshnet, all you need to do is open the NordVPN application on another device and connect to the host machine directly from the app. However, the functionality is limited because your host machine, wherever it is, must be online, active and connected to Meshnet. It’s a practical solution if you know you’ll need to use the routing functionality in the short term and have your host machine prepped and ready to host the connection.

But if you’re traveling, especially overseas or for more than a few days, you’ll need to be willing to have the host machine remain on and active the entire time you’re away if you’re hoping to stream content online as if you’re at home. Even then, there’s no guarantee that the machine will stay connected. In cases like this, it’s far more practical to simply use a paid NordVPN account to connect to a server in the region you want to access content from. Also, be aware that the traffic routing functionality on MacOS is only available on the sideloaded version of the app, which is available for download directly from NordVPN — it doesn’t work if you download it from the App Store.

Don’t confuse Meshnet for a full VPN

Meshnet is a cool feature, and once you’re experienced you can get creative with how you use it. But even though you can create your own VPN server and connect through it, Meshnet ultimately can’t replace a full-fledged VPN service. Most notably, it’s not a practical solution for geofencing your IP address for international streaming, and secure internet browsing is only possible if your host machine is connected to a VPN server when using the traffic routing feature (otherwise your traffic is exiting from the host machine’s ISP-assigned IP address).

The feature still has a lot of room to improve. I understand that it’s an innovative new feature for a VPN provider, but I wish it delivered a more seamless experience overall. For instance, devices that are online and connected to Meshnet don’t always show up on other devices as online and available for file sharing or traffic routing. I had to switch Meshnet on and off again a few times to get our devices to communicate with each other properly.

However, once you get past its little quirks and figure out how to make it work for you, it can be a useful feature. Just keep in mind that you need to have the NordLynx protocol active on any device you connect to Meshnet.

For security reasons, be careful to only allow people you trust to connect to your Meshnet when sharing files, setting up a LAN or allowing traffic routing through your machine. You’re responsible for the online activity associated with your IP address, so if someone you don’t know is using routing their traffic through your IP address and doing something illegal, you’re on the hook for it. If someone you don’t know sends you a file through Meshnet, that file may contain malware. If someone you don’t know is connected to your local network through Meshnet, they’ll have access to the other devices on the LAN.

It’s a good idea to also set permissions for Meshnet’s various functions to ensure you’re limiting access to the level you’re comfortable with.

Also, be aware that you’ll need to provide NordVPN with an email address to create an account and use Meshnet, even though it’s available free of charge. If you’re not comfortable providing your email address, you could theoretically use a burner email to sign up. And don’t be surprised if you’re periodically prompted to sign up for a paid NordVPN subscription, or at least whenever you sign into your account. Though Meshnet is free, NordVPN would naturally want to convert as many free Meshnet users into paying users as possible.

If you prefer the paid option, note that Nord currently offers a variety of two-year (27-month) plans starting as low as $4 a month ($108 due at signing), and the service’s 30-day money back guarantee makes it risk-free to return to the free Meshnet version, if you’d prefer.

For more information, check out our NordVPN review and VPN FAQs.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Aug. 13, #324

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 13, No. 324

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition was really tough for me. Sometimes I wish the New York Times would switch from a Connections: Sports Edition puzzle to a Connections: Movie Edition, or Connections: Music Edition. My sports knowledge is maybe weaker than I thought. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Touch ’em all!

Green group hint: You perform these in a gym, perhaps.

Blue group hint: Stars of the court.

Purple group hint: Hoops hopefuls.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Slang for home run.

Green group: «-up» exercises

Blue group: Tennis players to achieve career Grand Slam.

Purple group: Lottery picks in 2025 NBA draft.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is slang for home run. The four answers are big fly, dinger, jack and tater.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is «-up» exercises. The four answers are chin, pull, push and sit.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is tennis players to achieve career Grand Slam. The four answers are Graf, King, Laver and Nadal.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is lottery picks in 2025 NBA draft. The four answers are Edgecombe, Fears, Flagg and Queen.

Technologies

Made by Google 2025: We Found All the Biggest Pixel 10 Leaks and Rumors

Google’s Pixel 10 may be getting a lot of new features thanks to a new processor, camera systems and magnets.

The new Pixel 10 line will debut on Aug. 20 at the Made by Google event, and it almost feels like the phones have been revealed in detail thanks to a multitude of rumors and presumed leaks.

Google itself isn’t hiding that the Pixel 10 is coming, posting multiple looks of the phone when promoting the upcoming announcement, but the company is still keeping detailed specs and features of the Pixel 10 line to itself. If we follow the series of rumors, though, several recent details suggest a lot of new life to the phone line. While we do expect the Pixel line to continue the overall lineup of the Pixel 9 — including a base Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL and Pixel 10 Pro Fold — rumors are pointing to significant changes to what’s inside these phones to make them more feature-packed than ever.

We’ve rounded up the biggest rumors we’ve found so far about the Pixel 10 line here, and will continue updating as we hear more ahead of the Aug. 20 event.

Pixel 10, 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL’s release date, pricing and cameras

Starting with the three non-folding phones in the Pixel 10 line that are getting revealed on Aug. 20, we expect the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro XL to look similar to the Pixel 9 line on the outside. This includes the same rounded camera bar on the back. The entry-level Pixel 10 will get a brand new third rear camera. While we can see the third camera in the photos Google posted of the Pixel 10, according to a chart posted by known leaker Evan Blass, this will be a 10.8-megapixel telephoto camera that will join a 48-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 13-megapixel ultrawide. This will help the Pixel 10 compare better with the base Galaxy S25, which also has a telephoto camera.

The 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL will continue to be differentiated from the standard Pixel 10 with a higher-specced camera system, which includes a 50-megapixel wide-angle, 48-megapixel ultrawide and a 48-megapixel telephoto, according to the same chart posted by Blass.

The colors for the Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro phones also appear to have leaked, with Android Headlines reporting that the base Pixel 10 will come in Obsidian, Indigo, Frost and Lemonade editions. These names would roughly correspond to a black, blueish purple, light blue and yellow colors, respectively. The Pro models will also come in four colors, with Android Headlines reporting models named Obsidian, Porcelain, Moonstone and Jade. Those should roughly match up to black, white, gray and a light green. More photos of these phones were posted by Blass, purporting to be the Pixel 10 lineup from the front, back and side profiles

Despite the concerns with tariffs, the Pixel 10 line is rumored to keep the same starting prices as the Pixel 9 line.

Pixel 10 line rumored prices

Phone	Storage	US Price
Pixel 10	128GB	$799
Pixel 10	256GB	$899
Pixel 10 Pro	128GB	$999
Pixel 10 Pro	256GB	$1,099
Pixel 10 Pro	512GB	$1,219
Pixel 10 Pro	1TB	$1,449
Pixel 10 Pro XL	256GB	$1,199
Pixel 10 Pro XL	512GB	$1,319
Pixel 10 Pro XL	1TB	$1,549

Pixel 10 could support Qi2 magnetic charging

The Pixel 10 series could support magnetic accessories, making it one of the few Android phones that would work with many of the MagSafe accessories that were first built to work with Apple’s iPhone. That’s because the Pixel 10 is rumored to fully support Qi2 wireless charging, which supports magnetic alignment and has magnets built into the phone without needing a case.

An image posted by Blass appears to show a Pixel 10 with a circular wireless charger attached to the back, likely using magnets similar to how MagSafe works with the iPhone. If this is the case, it’s a huge step for the Qi2 wireless standard, as the only other Android phone so far that supports magnetic accessories is the HMD Skyline.

This would allow the Pixel 10 series to natively work with magnetic phone chargers, wallets, mounts and other accessories. Google might also create its own branding for this feature, as an Android Authority report claims that official Pixel 10 accessories that magnetically attach would be called PixelSnap.

If this comes true, it would also make it easier to swap accessories between the iPhone and the Pixel. In addition to the iPhone’s support for charging over USB-C, this would mean that MagSafe accessories first purchased to use with an iPhone should work just as well when swapping over to a Pixel 10 phone.

Google’s Tensor G5 chip

Following last year’s Tensor G4 chip in the Pixel 9 lineup, we presume that the Pixel 10 phones will be powered by a (supposedly named) Tensor G5 chip. We’ve heard a few Tensor G5 rumors, including that it will be made on an industry-standard 3nm process by chip fabricator TSMC, according to an Android Authority March report.

Other rumors are less promising, like a July report from WCCFTech suggesting that while the Tensor G5 is a significant upgrade on last year’s Tensor G4, a leaked benchmark test claims it will run slower than the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor that’s used in Samsung’s Galaxy S25 line and the OnePlus 13. That Qualcomm processor might also soon be surpassed by the next Qualcomm silicon coming at Snapdragon Summit in September. That’s not to imply the phone itself will perform slowly, as the same report says it will run faster than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor that powers

Whether the Tensor G5 lags behind other mobile chips isn’t as worrying as it might seem, since the Tensor chips are built for Google’s Pixel devices — and those don’t seem to be underperforming in daily use. As CNET Editor-at-Large Andy Lanxon said about the Tensor G4 powering the Pixel 9 Pro XL, «On the one hand, it’s disappointing not to see more of a tangible improvement over the predecessor. On the other hand, it doesn’t feel like it’s lacking in power in any major way.»

Pixel 10 Pro Fold

There aren’t many rumors pointing toward another Pixel Fold, but it’s always possible that Google surprises us with a big reveal of another version of its foldable phone line. The most recent, last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold, not only switched up its nomenclature to fit into that year’s standard Pixel lineup, but also altered its design from the wider passport-size original Pixel Fold to a taller, narrower format similar to other foldables like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

One Pixel 10 Pro Fold rumor from WCCFTech only shared details about the supposed Tensor chip powering it. But a recent rumor from Blass suggests we could expect the usual upgrades: a new Tensor G5 chip, perhaps slight spec upgrades and maybe even similar camera or battery upgrades if they are announced for the Pixel 10 lineup.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold would presumably get Android 16 out of the box, but since that software upgrade has already been released early (mere weeks after Google I/O 2025), last year’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold already has that update anyway.

We’ll keep updating this roundup as we get closer to Google’s Aug. 20 event for the Pixel 10 series.

Technologies

Get Prepared to See Six Planets Line Up in the Upcoming Planet Parade

Mark your calendar so you can catch Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus in the sky at the same time.

Fresh off the excitement of the Perseids meteor shower is a chance to see six planets lined up in the sky at once. These events, colloquially known as planet parades, only occur about once or twice a year, with the most recent one in February showing off all seven planets in our solar system at once. The next one will feature six of our closest celestial neighbors, and the event starts on Aug. 20.

The six planets sharing the sky will be Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. Mars will technically be there at the beginning of the night, but it dips below the horizon right after sunset, so it won’t be visible when all of the others are. Of those, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter will be visible to the naked eye, while the others will require high-powered binoculars or, preferably, a telescope.

Even though they’re spread out across the eastern and southern skies, the planets pair up with this one, making many of them pretty easy to find if you know what to look for. From east to west, here’s where each one will be.

Mercury — Eastern sky near the Cancer constellation. It’ll pop over the horizon just before sunrise, so you’ll have limited time to view it before the sun comes up and obfuscates it.
Venus — At the lower tip of the Gemini constellation in the eastern sky, a couple of hours before sunrise.
Jupiter — Will be near Venus, also in the Gemini constellation. It rises about an hour before Venus does.
Uranus — Will be near the upper tip of Taurus, rising after midnight. This one will require some magnification. If you see Pleiades, a cluster of stars at the upper tip of Taurus, you’ve gone too far upward.
Saturn and Neptune — These two are right next to each other and will be sitting between the Pisces and Cetus constellations in the southern skies. Neptune will be closer to Pisces while Saturn will be closer to Cetus.

Since it takes a long time for planets to move through the night sky, Aug. 20 is the starting point, and it’ll run through the rest of the month. Once September hits, Mercury will be too close to the sun, which will obscure it. From that point, there will be a five-planet parade for a while until Venus sinks below the horizon in early October. So, in all, you’ll have a chance to see at least five planets for over a month.

Will the planet parade be visible from my region?

Yes. We double checked Stellarium’s sky map from a variety of locations across the country, and everything above will be applicable everywhere in the continental US. Per Starwalk, the parade will also be visible in other parts of the world after the following dates for about the same amount of time (one to two weeks).

Abu Dhabi — Aug. 9
Athens, Beijing, Berlin, Tokyo and London — Aug. 10
Mumbai and Hong Kong — Aug. 11
Reykjavik, São Paulo and Sydney — Aug. 12

The planets will move based on date, though. The above locations are where they’ll be around Aug. 20, but if you’re looking a week or so later, they’ll be in the same general area, but will shift to a slightly different part of the sky.

Will I need any special equipment?

Yes. Neptune and Uranus, especially, will require some sort of magnification to see. We recommend a telescope, but high-powered binoculars may work if the sky is dark enough. Saturn is also difficult to see without magnification, so you’ll want it for that too. Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury should be visible on their own with the naked eye.

We also recommend taking a trip out to the country, as light pollution from suburbs and cities can make it even more difficult to see Neptune and Uranus. The moon will be out as well, which may make Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury harder to see. Other factors like weather may also make it more difficult to see all of them. If you’re lucky, you may see a few shooting stars at the tail end of Perseids as well.