Avast SecureLine VPN Review (2018)

Have you ever felt like someone might be snooping on your online activities? That advertisers, your internet provider, even the government could be tracking which websites you visit? If so, you‘re not being paranoid. It‘s a sad reality of the internet today. But there are ways to protect your privacy and security when browsing the web. One of the best solutions is to use a Virtual Private Network or VPN.

A VPN routes your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server operated by the VPN company. This masks your real IP address and location, making it very difficult for third parties to monitor your online behavior. A VPN also shields your data from hackers when using public WiFi networks.

One popular VPN service is Avast SecureLine VPN. You may recognize the Avast name from their antivirus software. But is their VPN offering on par with their reputation in the security world? I put it to the test to find out.

In this in-depth review, I‘ll cover:

• The privacy and security features of Avast SecureLine VPN
• Whether it can bypass local content blocks and access streaming services
• How it performs in real-world speed tests
• The pricing model and whether it‘s a good value
• How easy the apps are to set up and use
• The support options if you run into trouble
• Alternatives to Avast VPN you may want to consider

By the end of this review, you‘ll have all the facts to decide if Avast SecureLine VPN is the right choice to protect your privacy online. Let‘s dive in!

Why Use a VPN? Key Benefits Explained

Before we get to the specifics of Avast‘s service, it‘s important to understand the key benefits of using a VPN:

Privacy through anonymity – By masking your real IP address and location, a VPN makes it extremely difficult for websites, advertisers, and other third parties to track your online activities. The encrypted connection also prevents your internet provider from monitoring which sites you visit.

Security on public WiFi – When you connect to a public wireless network, like at a coffee shop or airport, the lack of encryption means hackers could spy on your internet traffic. The encryption provided by a VPN secures your data against snooping.

Access geo-restricted content – Many streaming services like Netflix and Hulu restrict their content to certain countries. By connecting to a VPN server in a country where the content is available, you can bypass these geographic blocks.

Circumvent censorship – Some governments block access to specific websites and services. Using a VPN can allow you to tunnel past these censorship efforts to freely access the uncensored internet.

It‘s important to note that VPNs aren‘t a complete privacy solution. Your VPN provider could still potentially log your browsing activity. And no VPN is 100% secure against government efforts to track people. But for most people, a trustworthy VPN provides a big step up in online privacy.

Company Overview – A Trusted Name in Security

Avast has been a well-known name in digital security for over 30 years. The Czech company was founded in 1988 and released their first antivirus software in 1995. Avast products, both free and paid, are now used by over 435 million people worldwide.

In addition to antivirus protection, Avast offers a full suite of internet security tools for consumers and businesses. Avast SecureLine VPN is one of their flagship products.

Avast has generally maintained a good reputation over their long history. Unlike some other free antivirus programs, the company has never been accused of selling user data. However, in 2019 Avast was criticized for its handling of user data collected by a subsidiary company called Jumpshot.

While this incident didn‘t directly involve the VPN product, it does make it important to take a close look at Avast‘s privacy policy…

Privacy Features – No Browsing Logs, But Some Logging

When you use a VPN, you‘re entrusting that company with ALL of your internet traffic. If they decided to log and sell your browsing history, your VPN could actually undermine your privacy instead of protecting it.

So VPN provider‘s logging policies are extremely important. Some VPNs claim to be "no-log," meaning they don‘t record any information about how you use their service.

Avast SecureLine VPN falls into a middle ground when it comes to logging:

• The good: Avast does not log your browsing history, the apps you use, the websites you visit, what you download or your instant messages. In other words, they don‘t record what you do online.
• The not-as-good: Avast does log connection metadata including timestamps of your sessions and the subnet of your originating IP address (but not the full address). They also track bandwidth usage on each session.

This level of logging shouldn‘t be a dealbreaker for most users. Even with the connection logs, your privacy is still massively improved compared to not using a VPN at all. But if you‘re an activist or journalist who needs maximum anonymity, you‘ll likely prefer a VPN with a stricter no-logging policy.

It‘s also important to note that Avast is headquartered in the Czech Republic, a country with fairly strong privacy laws. The Czech Republic is not part of the "14 Eyes" intelligence sharing agreement between countries like the US and UK.

Security Features – Strong Encryption but Limited Options

Data security is the other critical piece of a VPN. You need strong encryption to prevent hackers and spies from intercepting your traffic. Avast SecureLine VPN offers industry-standard 256-bit AES encryption. This is the same level of encryption used by banks and militaries to secure their data. When enabled, Avast VPN will make your browsing data unreadable to anyone who tries to intercept it.

However, Avast doesn‘t offer a choice of VPN protocols like OpenVPN, L2TP, or WireGuard. It uses its own proprietary "Mimic" protocol. While this isn‘t necessarily a problem, it means security researchers can‘t fully audit Avast‘s encryption. The open-source OpenVPN is generally considered more trustworthy.

On the plus side, Avast VPN does include a kill-switch feature. This cuts off all internet traffic if your VPN connection is interrupted to prevent accidental leaks of unencrypted data.

During my tests, I didn‘t find any DNS or WebRTC leaks that could expose my real IP address. But I was concerned to find that the Avast VPN app contains some adware according to malware scans. For software designed to protect your security, any sort of malware seems unacceptable.

Unblocking Sites and Services – Hit or Miss

One of the most popular uses for VPNs is accessing region-locked content. Maybe you want to watch Netflix shows only available in other countries, or perhaps you need to access websites blocked in your location.

In theory, Avast SecureLine VPN can help. It offers servers in 34 countries, allowing you to virtually relocate yourself by connecting through an IP address in a different part of the world.

I tested Avast‘s ability to access geo-blocked streaming services and had very mixed results. Out of 8 random servers I tried, only one allowed me to successfully stream Netflix. Even Avast‘s specialized "streaming servers" failed to bypass the Netflix VPN ban.

Accessing BBC iPlayer was slightly more successful. One out of the three UK servers I tried was able to unblock the British streaming service.

These lackluster results indicate that Avast is not expending much effort to combat the VPN blocking measures used by Netflix and other streaming platforms. If accessing region-locked content is a priority for you, I‘d recommend choosing one of the alternatives discussed later in this review.

For bypassing basic website blocks imposed by a government, school or employer, Avast performed much better. I had no issues accessing censored sites through the VPN. Just keep in mind that circumventing blocks in certain countries or at your workplace could land you in trouble. Use at your own risk!

Speed Tests – Middle of the Pack

Speed is an important consideration for any VPN. Slower speeds when connected to the VPN are inevitable due to the encryption overhead. But the best VPNs minimize this slowdown to maintain a responsive browsing experience.

Before I get into the results, here are my baseline (non-VPN) speed test results:
• Download: 25.42 Mbps
• Upload: 9.18 Mbps
• Ping: 40 ms

When connected to Avast‘s recommended server, my speeds were:
• Download: 18.25 Mbps
• Upload: 8.20 Mbps
• Ping: 55 ms

That‘s about a 28% drop in download speed, an 11% drop in upload, and a slight increase in ping (latency). Definitely noticeable, but not terrible.

Here are the results from a more distant server located across the Atlantic:
• Download: 12.76 Mbps
• Upload: 4.12 Mbps
• Ping: 132 ms

Now we‘re at a 50% decrease in download, 55% decrease in upload, and a much higher ping time. It‘s clear that your distance from the VPN server has a big impact on performance.

I ran these tests several times over a few weeks on a variety of Avast‘s servers. Speeds were always adequate for general web browsing, but noticeably slower than my non-VPN connection. The fastest speed I saw was about 80% of my baseline.

These results put Avast firmly in the middle of the pack when it comes to VPN speed. It should be sufficient for most use cases, but isn‘t breaking any records. For maximum performance, you‘ll want to choose a server close to your actual location.

Pricing – Good Value for Families

Avast offers both free and paid versions of their SecureLine VPN product. The free version is quite limited – you only get access to one server location and are restricted to 1 GB of data transfer per month. Think of it as an extended free trial.

Avast‘s paid plans differ based on how many devices you need to cover:
• 1 PC or Mac: $47.99 per year
• 1 mobile device: $19.99 per year
• Up to 5 devices: $59.99 per year
• Up to 10 devices: $79.99 per year

This pricing structure is a bit unusual. Most VPN providers don‘t change their price based on the type of device. But Avast‘s 10 device plan for $79.99 per year is a pretty good deal for a family or group of housemates. It breaks down to just $6.67 per month to protect everyone‘s gadgets.

Unfortunately, Avast does not offer an option for paying with cryptocurrency to maximize your anonymity. And there‘s no free trial of the paid plans – just the limited free version mentioned above.

Apps and Ease of Use – Very User Friendly

Avast offers dedicated VPN apps for Windows PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads and Android devices. I tested the MacOS app and found it to be very user friendly.

Installation was a breeze and I was able to establish a VPN connection with a single click on the big green button. Choosing a different server location is also dead simple – just click the "Change Location" button and select your desired country from the list.

The settings menu is limited compared to some VPNs, but that could be seen as a plus for users who want a set-it-and-forget-it security solution. You can toggle the VPN killswitch and DNS leak protection features, choose between the OpenVPN and IPSec VPN protocols, and… that‘s about it. This isn‘t a VPN aimed at power users who want fine-grained control.

Overall, Avast‘s apps make it extremely easy for even a complete VPN novice to secure their internet connection. More advanced users may be frustrated by the lack of options and information.

Customer Support – Good But Not Great

When it comes to support, Avast offers several options. There‘s an online knowledge base with setup and troubleshooting articles. For more interactive help, you can post a question on the Avast forums and get answers from the community and Avast team members.

If you need one-on-one assistance, you can fill out a web form to open a support ticket. Avast promises a response within 2 business days. In my experience, the support agents were helpful but not always the most knowledgeable about technical VPN matters.

It‘s worth noting that phone support is not an option. Some other VPN providers do offer live chat and phone support. So while Avast‘s support is adequate, it‘s not best-in-class.

Alternatives to Avast VPN

While Avast SecureLine VPN is a decent service, you may decide it‘s not the ideal fit for your needs. Here are a few highly rated alternatives I recommend checking out:

ExpressVPN – This provider is a bit pricier than Avast, but justified it with excellent speeds, solid security and the ability to reliably unblock streaming services. 24/7 live chat support is also a big plus.

NordVPN – A popular "no-logs" VPN with user-friendly apps, a large server network, and advanced features like double VPN and Tor over VPN.

Surfshark – An affordably priced VPN that doesn‘t skimp on security or privacy. Allows unlimited simultaneous connections.

Final Verdict

So, is Avast SecureLine VPN worth your money? For basic web browsing privacy and security, it gets the job done. The apps are very easy to use and the connection speeds are decent. Avast‘s reputation and large user base also provide some peace of mind.

However, Avast didn‘t impress when it came to accessing region-locked streaming content. For that use case, I‘d recommend going with a more reliable unblocker like ExpressVPN. And users who need maximum anonymity should choose a provider with a stricter no-logs policy.

Overall, I‘d say Avast SecureLine VPN is a reasonable choice for encrypting your internet traffic, especially if you already use and trust other Avast software products. The 10-device family plan is also a good value. Just be aware of the product‘s limitations and decide if they‘re deal breakers for your particular needs.

My recommendation is to take advantage of the free version to thoroughly test out Avast SecureLine VPN for yourself. See how it performs in real-world use before committing to a subscription. Hopefully this review has given you the key facts and insights to make an informed decision. Stay safe out there!