Avast VPN Review

Avast has been in operation since 1988. You may know the company from its computer cleanup and antivirus utilities. The company launched Avast Secureline VPN in 2014 to make the World Wide Web safer and more private. 

Avast VPN Features

Here are some useful features that we compiled after experimenting with Secureline for this Avast VPN review:

Shared IP Address

Avast gives different users one IP address. That means that a cybercriminal can’t connect an IP address with a specific user. This feature also makes it harder for anyone to track people’s online behavior.  

Kill Switch

Any unplanned disconnections can interfere with your fail-safe connections, which can expose you to prying eyes. You can enable Avast VPN kill switch to protect you if anything happens to bring the VPN’s servers down.

This feature shuts down any open connections when it detects an incoming termination issue. 

Split Tunneling

Split tunneling is a feature that allows users to choose what applications pass through the VPN tunnel. For instance, you can opt to watch your favorite TV shows on blocked networks using the VPN. You can also choose to make orders to purchase products from e-shops by surfing the web without the VPN. As you’ve probably read on other Avast VPN reviews, this is a handy feature for many users.

IP Shuffle

Having a dedicated IP for a long time can make it easier for hackers to access your private data. It's for that reason that Avast VPN reshuffles the addresses to give anyone tracking you a hard time. Depending on your setting, the reshuffles can happen anywhere between every ten minutes to 12 hours.

Bank-Grade Encryption

Encryption makes your data incomprehensible to third parties as it travels around the internet. This VPN has a reliable encryption service that uses a key to decrypt/unscramble the information when it reaches the right recipient. 

Avast VPN encryption uses 256-bit AES, which is unfeasible to crack. The 265-bit AES uses a mixture of symmetric and asymmetric cryptography. Here are Secureline’s encryption protocols:

• OpenVPN Galois Counter Mode (AES-256-GCM)
• 4096-bit RSA keys
• SHA256 f
• IKEv2/IPsec 

As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, your devices are as safe as the bank with this VPN.

Automatic Wi-Fi Protection

Remembering to turn on your VPN while using public Wi-Fi can be tricky, especially if you're distracted by work deadlines. The dangers of using public sources are many, and your device requires full-time protection.

Fortunately, you can configure Avast VPN security to launch automatically whenever you turn your computer on, which protects you over Wi-Fi and other public networks. However, you must remember to enable this setting.

Optimal Location

You don't have to worry about what servers to use with this VPN. All you have to do is enable the “On” button once, and the software's algorithms will do the rest. To ensure optimal performance, the VPN will use the servers closest to you.

Infrastructure Load Balancing

Most VPN speeds go down during peak hours due to hardware limitations. Avast has smart systems with excess capacity balancing to enable all servers to operate smoothly. Note that this feature is automatic. 

Location Masking

It's easy for advertisers to target you depending on your location, which is open to anyone if you're not using a VPN. The exposure doesn't stop with advertisers and ISPs, but this data is also available to anyone trying to track you. Secureline masks your real IP address and gives you a virtual one to hide your actual location.  

Avast VPN Advanced Features

This solution doesn’t offer any advanced or proprietary features. 

Avast VPN Servers and Locations

The company has 34 server locations worldwide, spread across 35 countries. Users across 190 countries scattered around the seven continents can use this VPN. It is also available in a variety of languages.

Avast VPN Speed

When preparing this Avast VPN review, I tested the VPN’s speed. On its website, this company claims to have “lightning speeds.”

But is that true?

To establish whether I could browse or stream at those breakneck speeds, I set my device to three different locations. The areas were the US, Australia, and the UK, and there wasn't that big of a difference speed-wise with or without a VPN.

The download speeds for the three locations were relatively lower than what I normally experience. However, it’s not unusual to experience slower speed when you connect to servers that are far away from your actual location.

Avast VPN Privacy and Jurisdiction

Avast claims that it has a no-log policy.

However, I perused their privacy policy and discovered that they do collect some data. 

Since your data is sensitive, Avast claims that it processes, stores, or discloses it in line with relevant laws. 

You'll be relieved to know that Avast Secureline VPN does the following to keep you undetectable:

• Deletes the data every 30 days 
• Doesn't store any originating IP, data logs, or DNS queries.

The company also relies some on third parties to help them analyze data, but still keep your identity anonymous. For Android and iOS, you get:

• Google Crashytics
• Google Analytics
• AppsFlyer Analytics

In a nutshell, Avast never discloses your data to any third parties except for:

• Legal requirements - only after a government body serves a valid subpoena.
• Avast group - for product development. 
• Provision of services - for instance, when using your card or PayPal to make payments.

Jurisdiction 

Avast headquarters are in the Czech Republic. Now, for a long time, this country didn’t have any laws requiring it to keep activity logs.

Until now.

Today, this country is no longer privacy-friendly.

That means that the government has more power over your private online data, and that includes when using VPNs. Therefore, if the relevant authorities require your private data from this site, then the company will have no choice but to disclose it.

Avast VPN Security Protocols

Avast VPN for multiple devices uses three military-grade protocols to allow data transmission across the internet. The protocols are:

• OpenVPN
• IPSec
• IKEv2

Avast VPN Leak Test Results

Avast VPN doesn’t disclose your real IP, meaning it can’t leak your DNS information. I conducted several DNS leak tests, and Avast VPN passed all of them splendidly.

Avast VPN and Streaming Services

Avast supports streaming services for smart Android TVs, Mi Box, or Nvidia Shield TV. The company has dedicated servers for this service.

This feature is especially helpful if you travel and are unable to watch your favorite shows because they're not available in your destination—remember to choose a US VPN for this service.

What about Netflix?

The service can bypass geo-restriction from companies like Netflix and currently has several US servers for this service alone. 

The user-written Avast VPN reviews clearly show that its customers are delighted with this.

How Good is Avast VPN for Torrenting?

Avast is great for torrenting and dedicates servers on its network for this function. This VPN supports P2P networking to enable you to share with other users securely while not compromising on your speed.

Secureline VPN torrenting uses features like a kill switch to keep you anonymous. However, remember that the company stores connections logs for 30 days, after which the system deletes them. 

Can Avast VPN Bypass Geoblocks?

No, you can’t use this VPN to bypass government-imposed geo-blocks. If you are looking for a VPN service that can easily bypass geo-blocks, you can consider NordVPN or another solution from our top VPN picks. 

Ease of Use

I discovered that using this service was a breeze while compiling this Avast VPN review. The setup wizard was straightforward, and I was able to get things rolling in under a minute. Nothing that I did with this product required any technical know-how.

Most of the settings just required enabling, so no coding. Avast VPN's main interface is minimalistic and easy to navigate. It contains only a few things like connection time, virtual IP and real IP, location, and the on/off button. 

Here is Secureline's interface:

Customer Support

Avast Secureline offers phone (24/7) and email support for its premium clients. For users on the free trial, there are no dedicated client support options. However, they can either search the knowledge base or get answers from the community forum.

Avast VPN reviews sometimes point out the lack of real-time chat option as a disappointing. And I totally agree. 

Avast VPN Price

Avast has a 30-day money-back guarantee for its three paid plans.

Also, this product offers a 7-day trial period. 

This is the cost of Avast Secureline VPN:

For five devices:

• One year - $4.60/month
• Two years - $4.20/month
• Three years - $3.75/month

*Note that the company does annual billing. 

Avast VPN Review - Verdict

My tests for this Avast VPN review proved this is one of the best solutions. With P2P servers, torrenting, kill switch, split tunneling, encryption amongst many others, this VPN is worth a shot.

However, this VPN does store your private data due to the Czech Republic’s data policies. 

This company doesn't offer live chat, but the 24/7 phone support beats the option since you can speak to a human being directly. Also, its speed isn’t what I’d call lightning fast. Still, it’s fast enough for regular users. 

What's more?

The company gives you a whole week to try out the service and see if all the above features work for you. Besides, you get a 30-day money-back guarantee. Don’t hesitate, try it now!