Affiliate Disclaimer and Our Dedication to Genuine Content

To “us,” “TorNews,” honesty is everything, not just a nice-to-have.

When you’re making important decisions regarding your digital safety and security, you deserve to know and understand how TorNews.com works, how we make money, and the reasons to trust what we publish.

This page will lay it all out for you.

Nothing corporate, no hidden agenda, just honest statements regarding how we fund our research and continue to conduct our reviews honestly and independently.

We have spent years testing cybersecurity platforms, services, and products. Everything from antivirus software to password managers and everything in between. And we have learned (one thing above all): your trust is worth more than any commission check we could cash. 

That is precisely why honesty is not optional for us; it is built into everything we do. TorNews was created for one reason: to help you keep yourself secure online.

In a world where data breaches occur almost daily and the threats evolve seemingly every minute, you deserve to have access to reliable information that you can put to work tomorrow.  

That’s why we’re here.

The cybersecurity industry is filled with products that all make bold claims; some live up to them, and some simply do not. We are here to separate the marketing noise from what actually works. We test everything ourselves, publish genuine data, and are unwilling to let business relationships cloud our judgment. We even go and test dark web platforms for our readers, which are extremely risky.

You’ll see that we work with affiliate partnerships, and you’ll see our disclosures of these relationships. This page will explain how we utilize affiliate partnerships, why we utilize affiliate partnerships, and most importantly, why they will not compromise our reviews. Whether you are looking to buy antivirus protection, evaluating password managers, or researching security tools, we will give you the real story. 

No fluff, no promises, just what you need to make smart decisions about your digital life security.

What Does “Affiliate Marketing” Mean?

Affiliate marketing is easy to understand. It’s when websites are compensated for recommending products or services from other companies.

When someone “clicks” on a tracking link and pays for a product, the website gets rewarded from the transaction. It’s a popular way online publications benefit without billing readers when they subscribe. 

Think of a restaurant recommendation: If a friend is in town and you recommend that they check out a restaurant, and they do go there, it would be cool to get some kind of small thank you from that restaurant. Affiliate marketing is not much different, except that it happens on the Internet and the tracking is automated.

How Does This Relate to TorNews? 

TorNews accepts donations. But since the donations we get are not enough to keep the boat floating, TorNews uses affiliate marketing to pay the bills and make our testing possible. When you click on certain links and purchase a cybersecurity product, we get a small commission from the vendor. The important part: we’re not influenced by those commissions on what we write – not even a drop!

We understand that this comes off as a line every review site says, but hear us out! We will show you how we maintain that independence – our testing methodology, editorial process, and review policy exist independently of our business relationships. We understand most of our readers are hardcore security enthusiasts; we stand firm with you, and hence, your safety is much more important than any affiliate check. If a product performs poorly, we will tell you. Even if that costs us the salary we would have received. This is not just good ethics. It’s good business. Your trust is why you keep returning, and there is significant value in your trust beyond a single sale.

Why We Uphold Affiliate Relationships

Affiliate partnerships are critical to TorNews’s operation. 

They allow us to offer comprehensive, hands-on reviews of cyber products at no charge to you and without a paywall. To run a legitimate testing operation is not cheap. We have to get software licenses, support multiple devices and operating systems, pay experienced security analysts, and adjust our testing infrastructure as the threat landscape develops.

Purpose Behind Affiliate Relationships

Affiliate commissions fund the tangible work that goes into our news and other content. Every test, regularly checking the dark web and other sources for availability, security features, or performance benchmarks, requires resources.

Funds from these partnerships cover the software subscriptions we are testing, the hardware we run those subscriptions on, and the individuals who spend countless hours investigating the capabilities and limitations of that technology or website. 

Facilitate Testing and Research

The testing lab we operate is not virtual – it is actual hardware running actual software against actual threats. It costs money to operate as well. We invest in multiple computers running different operating systems, dedicated testing devices, network equipment, and subscriptions to threat intelligence services.  Our team needs competitive salaries because we hire people who actually know what they’re doing when it comes to cybersecurity.

Affiliate revenue makes all of that possible. Without it, we’d either need to charge you for access or dramatically scale back our testing depth. Neither option serves you well.

Keep Content Free

This is huge: affiliate partnerships let us keep TorNews.com completely free for you to use. You can read our news, reviews, compare products, access our buying guides, and use our research without paying a cent. No subscription walls, no premium tiers, no “pay to unlock the full news article” schemes. We believe information about digital security should be accessible to everyone, not just people willing to pay for it. Affiliate revenue makes that possible.

Zero Additional Billing to Users

Let’s clear this up right now: using our affiliate links will not cost you more money. The price you pay stays exactly the same whether you use our link or go directly to the vendor’s website. In many cases, you’ll actually save money through our links because we negotiate exclusive discounts and deals with cybersecurity vendors. These offers are only available through our site, so clicking our links often gets you a better price than you’d find elsewhere.

The vendor pays us a referral commission from their end as a token of thanks for sending them people interested in their product or service. Your purchase price doesn’t increase to cover that commission. It’s already built into their business model.

“We only partner with cybersecurity vendors who meet our security and quality standards. Using our affiliate links doesn’t affect your price. It simply means we receive a commission when you make a purchase.”

How We Keep Up with Unbiased Information

TorNews takes editorial independence seriously. 

We recognize that when selecting security products or services, you’re putting your most sensitive information in the hands of that product or service. You shouldn’t rely on a decision predicated on biased and unreliable information. Our review process is created to purposely prevent financial relationships from shaping editorial content.  

Here is how we separate affiliate relationships from editorial.

Demarcation Between Editorial and Revenue

Our content is created, edited, and written autonomously from any affiliate relationships. The people who test products, websites, and write reviews have zero contact with the people who manage vendor relationships. Our researchers and reviewers don’t know which products have affiliate programs and which don’t. They don’t see commission rates. They don’t get bonuses based on affiliate revenue.

Their job is simply to test websites, services, and products thoroughly and report what they find. The editorial team has final authority over all content, scores, and rankings. No business relationship can override their judgment. If our head of testing says a product failed our security tests, that’s what gets published, regardless of any affiliate partnership.

Same Testing Scheme for Every Product

Whether the vendor is an affiliate partner paying great commissions, or a startup with no affiliate program to start with, that’s irrelevant. 

We employ the same testing protocols and functionally evaluate the same criteria, and use the same scoring mechanism for everything. For example:

• Our antivirus tests measure the same performance metrics.
• Our password manager reviews examine the same security features.
• Our evaluation of VPN services applies the same privacy practices.

Fairness matters, but consistency matters even more to make for quality comparisons. You can’t make an informed decision if different products were tested differently.

Disclosure in Every Article

We believe in radical transparency. Every article includes a clear disclosure about affiliate relationships, typically placed near action buttons or at the start of the page. Wherever on our website, when you see a “Get Started” or “Visit Site” button, you’ll also see language explaining that we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through that link.

It’s always there, always visible, never hidden in fine print. This makes sure that you are never taken by surprise; you always know when you are clicking an affiliate link and can make an informed decision on whether or not it is for you.

Our Testing and Review Process

At TorNews.com, we do not simply read marketing materials and repeat the vendor’s claims. We buy the services or products, install them on real devices, and comprehensively test their functionality that simulates real-world use cases. The goal with our testing is to answer the questions that matter – does this product or service work? Does it provide real security? Is it worth the price? Will it slow down your machine? Can an average username use this software?

Hardware and Tools

We will have a varied testing environment that encompasses the devices and operating system types that most users actually use:

Windows systems: 

• custom-built desktop (Intel Core i7, 32GB RAM, 1 Gbps Ethernet connection, Windows 10 and 11)

macOS devices: 

• MacBook Pro (M2 chip, 32GB RAM, macOS Ventura)

Mobile devices: 

• iPhone 16 (iOS 17) 
• Samsung Galaxy S22 (Android 12).

Linux systems: 

• Ubuntu desktop
• Raspberry Pi 4

Gaming Consoles: 

• Xbox Series S
• PS5
• Nintendo Switch 

Network Equipment: Enterprise-grade router with custom firmware for testing VPN configurations and network security tools.

This diversity matters because cybersecurity products often perform differently across platforms. A password manager might be fantastic on Windows but buggy on Android (we have seen dozens of such cases). An antivirus might excel on Mac but drain battery life on iOS. We test across all major platforms to catch these differences.

Connection Types

We test products under real-world network conditions, not just ideal laboratory environments.

Home Network: Our primary testing uses a 1 Gbps fiber connection that simulates a modern home internet setup. This represents the best-case scenario for most users.

Public Wi-Fi: We also test on actual public networks—coffee shops, libraries, airports—where connections are slower and less secure. Security applications should perform not only at the office or at home, but also when you are away from home and traveling.  With mobile apps, we test both 4G LTE and 5G mobile networks to observe behaviors when they are using a cellular data connection.

We are testing at various time frames to identify different workloads during peak and non-peak times. A VPN app may work well at 3 am, but it will be horrible when everyone is streaming videos at 9 pm. 

Software Testing and Tools

We test with common industry tools and any testing scripts we created, in order to collect the same information consistently. 

Performance Testing Tools: We test performance using the Ookla Speedtest app, PassMark PerformanceTest, and performance benchmarking scripts to measure the impact on the system.

Security Appliances and Tools: We utilize EICAR test files, VirusTotal integration, DNS leak testing, and packet analyzers/files for testing security claims.

Malware Testing: We use controlled malware samples in isolated virtual machines to test real-world threat detection.

Usability Analysis: We document setup time, interface navigation, and feature accessibility for average users.

Every test generates data points that go into a centralized spreadsheet. 

At a minimum, we collect over 80 individual measurements for every product to get a detailed picture of the performance. 

We test most major products every quarter to identify and report any changes that have occurred from the previous testing and to keep our update current. 

The field of cybersecurity changes fast from what you knew yesterday. The product that was thought to be excellent can have a vulnerability overnight. 

We’ve got the full details about how we tested methodology, including each of the test cases we used and the evaluation criteria

So, check out this page with our testing methodology, where we break down all aspects of how we prevented our process.

Compliance with Regulations and Laws

TorNews (at all times) fully follows all applicable laws that oversee affiliate disclosures or advertising. This isn’t simply following laws- it’s also keeping trust with our readers. We follow Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requirements for clear disclosure of affiliate relationships.

Every affiliate link is properly marked, ensuring you always know when clicking a link might generate a commission for us. We also comply with region-specific regulations like the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) requirements, which mandate transparent disclosure of commercial relationships in review content.

Our legal compliance extends beyond just affiliate disclosures. We follow data protection regulations, respect intellectual property rights, and maintain ethical standards in all our publishing practices.

Data and Cookie Policies

Affiliate tracking relies on cookies to track clicks and assign sales/revenue to the proper referral source. In the spirit of transparency, we refer you to our Privacy Policy for any tracking that we employ.

We do not collect more than the data that is needed for operating our website or attributing affiliate commissions.  Moreover, we do not sell any of your personal information to anyone, nor do we share your information with any third parties unless it is absolutely required to provide the basic functionality of the site.

We encourage you to reference our Privacy Policy to understand completely around how your data is used, what cookies we utilize, and your rights regarding your information.

Our Affiliate Relationships At a Glance

As mentioned, we work with many of the leading cybersecurity vendors in the world.  And those partnerships, aside from funding our business, allow us to remain unbiased for you, our readers. Some of the major cybersecurity brands that we are affiliate partners with include:

Bitdefender: This top-ranked antivirus solution is known for strong malware detection rates and low impact on system resources.

NordPass: This is a top-quality password management service with encryption, a great UX, and family sharing options. 

NordVPN: Here’s a popular VPN service that carries strong privacy policies. It comes with fast speeds and even a massive number of servers worldwide.

Malwarebytes: This one an anti-malware product for fishing out and getting rid of threats. It’s more efficient than a regular antivirus solution.

We want you to know that we also review many cybersecurity products and services that don’t have affiliate programs. While we may use an affiliate link to products and services that we review, we do not revise coverage of a product based on whether or not we are an affiliate. Whether it is the affiliate program or not, an author’s review or our review process is the same for every platform, product, and service.

Our commitment is to provide honest evaluations regardless of business relationships.

How Our Recommendations Work

TorNews bases all recommendations on objective testing and data analysis. 

Here’s exactly how we arrive at our ratings and suggestions.

Objective Scoring

When we provide an internal and external score indicating a cybersecurity product’s overall quality, that score is based on measurable performance across multiple categories. 

For antivirus solutions, we look at malware detection and removal rates, and performance impact on the user’s system. 

We also look at the likelihood of false positives, user interface design, any additional features provided, and the quality of support. 

For password managers, we take into account encryption strength, multi-platform functionality, account/data autofill functionality, security audit features, password generation capabilities, and usability. 

Likewise, for VPN solutions, we measure connection speeds, server availability, encryption protocol options, privacy policies, streaming capabilities, and price-to-value. 

Each category score in a review has a unique weight to provide a grade to the product. 

It is common for security features to have a heavier weight than general convenience features, being that the primary function of these products is to protect user data and provide peace of mind. 

A product’s overall score represents actual performance, not just something that is advertised. 

We lead by example and provide test results with specific findings in each review.

Conflicts of Interest

No cybersecurity vendor can pay for a higher ranking or better score. That’s a hard line we never cross.

Our reviews are based on testing data, security analysis, and honest evaluation of features and performance. 

Affiliate commissions and partnership agreements have zero influence on editorial decisions.

The editorial team maintains complete independence from our business development team.

They cannot override scores, mask negative results, or endorse products that are not worth such support. 

Money-Back Offers

If you buy a cybersecurity product from our recommendation, most of the vendor partners have money-back offers. 

Typically, those refund policies are for a length of time between 30 to 60 days each, so you can have a proper evaluation of the product in your own environment. 

If it doesn’t work well for you, ask for a refund from the vendor within the timeframe they have specified. 

This provides assurance for you that you can make decisions off of our recommendations without worrying about your finances. You can try the product and if it doesn’t work alone, get your money back.

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