Avast SecureLine VPN Review

Avast SecureLine VPN is a reliable service launched by one of the global leaders in next-gen cybersecurity products for consumers and businesses. The company currently protects millions of people by implementing the latest artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to identify and stop threats in real-time.

Whether you are looking to enrich your Avast software collection with VPN protection or thinking about using it as an introduction to its software, keep reading this unbiased Avast SecureLine VPN review to learn all about its features and performance and determine if it meets your cybersecurity demands and preferences.

Speed & Performance

Our testing team located in Belgrade, Serbia (Europe) tested Avast SecureLine VPN in order to determine the effects of its encryption on connection speeds and gauge its overall performance. We tested 16 servers over the period of one week and most of them provided us with reliable performances and somewhat subpar speeds.

Our top performers were the servers in Paris and Amsterdam, followed by Dallas, Frankfurt, and London. The so-called “Gotham City” location (actually New York) also provided us with more than enough juice to stream Netflix US without any buffering issues.

The worst performances were recorded in Mexico and Japan, which managed to retain only 15.23% and 20.82% of our original speed, respectively.

The client took some time to establish a connection, especially with distant servers, but once we managed to connect, everything went pretty smoothly without any major issues or sudden interruptions.

Supported Platforms

Avast SecureLine supports the most popular platforms, including:

• Windows – 7 (SP1 and higher), 8/8.1 (except RT and Starter), and 10 (except RT and Starter). The latest version of Avast VPN does NOT support Windows XP and Vista. If you are running these systems, you can download version 5.0.407, but note that this is an older version of the software and does not receive any updates;
• macOS – Version 10.12 or later (64-bit processors only);
• Android – 5.0 Lollipop, API 21 and higher;
• iOS – Version 9.3 and higher;
• Browsers – Apart from its proprietary browser, Avast VPN provides its users with dedicated extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

Avast VPN does not support Windows Phone, WebOS, Symbian, Bada or routers. In other words, we are talking about pretty basic coverage that includes the most commonly used desktop and mobile platforms. If you wish to secure your streaming sticks, flashed routers, gaming consoles, and TV devices, Avast SecureLine VPN might not be the right choice for you.

Servers

Avast SecureLine VPN currently operates servers in 30+ countries and 50+ cities, with more locations added regularly. Granted, this is not an overly impressive server network, especially when compared with some of the biggest names in the world of VPNs. However, it is more than enough if you do not have any overly technical expectations.

The available servers are clearly marked in the client, so you should not have any problems identifying the optimal choice for streaming or torrenting from your current location. You can also filter them by continent for easier access. Note that server switching does pause your VPN connection and will interrupt any downloads you might have going at the moment.

If you are not sure about the optimal server for your location, the software will pick one automatically. You can always switch to manual choosing in case you want to target a specific geo-restricted service.

Avast VPN provides its users with unlimited bandwidth and server switching. When it comes to speed, Avast VPN servers have a theoretical output of 2 Gb/s, but the company admits that you usually get somewhere between 400 and 500 Mb/s, even during server overloads.

Lastly, you can use your Avast SecureLine VPN on up to 5 devices at the same time, which is more than enough to cover your entire household without any potential overlaps.

Safety & Security

Avast SecureLine VPN uses OpenVPN connection protocol on Windows and Android devices and IPsec on macOS and iOS. OpenVPN runs over UDP, which allows for a bit more speed when streaming and/or torrenting. The macOS and iOS apps are built on Apple’s proprietary stacks for the ultimate performance and compatibility.

When it comes to encryption, Avast uses AES-256 cipher, which is by far the best and most secure option out there. When you see terms like “military-grade” or “bank-grade” encryption, they are referring to AES-256. It is extremely efficient and literally unbreakable by any computer we have today.

During our tests for this Avast SecureLine VPN review, we did not experience any DNS or IP leaks, so you do not have to worry about Avast VPN leaking your sensitive information or revealing your true location or IP address.

The software also comes with a reliable killswitch feature that will end your Internet connection the moment your VPN gets interrupted or sabotaged.

Logging & Privacy

Avast is a GDPR-compliant company headquartered in the Czech Republic, which is not a part of any international spy network but DOES have friendly relations with the Five Eyes organization.

With that in mind, let us go over the information collected by Avast:

• Personal data – Name, phone number, email address, marketing preferences, login password, IP address, payment card number, and social media accounts.
• Billing data – Name, personal address, credit card number, and your name and billing address.
• Account data – Name, email address, physical address, phone number, date of birth, gender, photo, and interests.
• Device data – Hardware, operating system, city/country, browser, error logs, networks, and apps running on your device.
• Service data – Referral page, visited URLs, product events, and error logs.

Note that your IP address is only collected when you download the software and the company never stores it in order to connect your traffic with your device. If you download a free mobile version of any Avast software, your IP will be recorded to connect targeted ads with your account. Avast also uses cookies, analytics, and crash reporting tools.

Avast will only disclose your data with its partners, third-party service providers, and public authorities when requested to do so by law. The company implements numerous cutting-edge technical, physical, and administrative safeguards to protect your personal data from any unauthorized access and/or abuse.

When it comes to data retention, Avast’s privacy policy states that the company will keep your billing data to comply with any legal obligations and serve its legitimate interests. All other data will be deleted the moment it fills its purpose.

When it comes to your rights, you can access and rectify your information but also object to the processing of your data in certain cases. Under circumstances stipulated by applicable laws, you also have the right “to be forgotten” and request that Avast deletes all your personal information.

Bottom line, even though Avast collects a bit more data than we are comfortable with, it does not keep any activity logs, which is definitely good news.

Streaming

Avast SecureLine VPN was not too big on geo-spoofing restricted streaming services in the past but has recently decided to allow its users to access Netflix US outside its country of origin. In other words, during our tests, we were able to access the US version of Netflix from Europe without any problems. We also managed to stream Netflix Germany, but Canada, France, and Japan served us with the well-known proxy error.

Apart from Netflix US and Germany, we were also successful with Crunchyroll, but Hulu recognized our VPN traffic and blocked us from accessing any content.

Torrenting

Avast SecureLine VPN does allow P2P filesharing and torrenting on some of its locations. These servers are clearly marked in the client for easier access and include the following locations:

• Prague
• Frankfurt
• Amsterdam
• New York City
• Miami
• Seattle
• London
• Paris

In other words, if torrenting is your main reason for purchasing a VPN, Avast has you covered pretty much anywhere in the world thanks to its strategic server positioning.

Plans & Pricing

Avast offers  1/2/3-year subscription options for the supported platforms. The prices go as follows:

• 1 Year – 10 Devices – $8.33 per month – 1-year subscription $99.99 / Our special Avast SecureLine VPN Coupon – $4.59 per month – 1-year subscription $55.08
• 2 Years – 10 Devices – $8.12 per month – 2-year subscription $194.99 / Our special Avast SecureLine VPN Coupon – $4.39 per month – 1-year subscription $105.36
• 3 Years – 10 Devices – $8.19 per month – 3-year subscription $294.99 / Our special Avast SecureLine VPN Coupon – $4.39 per month – 1-year subscription $158.04

If you want to test Avast VPN before purchasing, you have a 60-day free trial at your disposal. After that, the company provides its users with a 30-day money-back guarantee, which is more than enough time to check if the software works for you. The accepted payment methods include credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) and PayPal.

Support

Apart from its FAQ section and knowledge base, Avast provides customer support through its ticket system. There is also a phone number you can call for a free diagnosis. You can access the community forum to share your experiences, ask questions, and learn more about the service and VPNs in general. Lastly, you can send direct messages on Avast social media and try and get some help that way.

Having said that, we would still prefer a live chat implemented on the official website and we certainly hope Avast will offer this functionality in the future. When we contacted the company, the support staff was very professional and friendly and managed to answer all of our questions.

Avast SecureLine VPN Pros & Cons

As we wrap up this Avast Secureline VPN review, here’s a quick overview of the features that wowed us and the aspects of the service that could use some improvement.