Speed & Performance
Pricing
Features
Customer Support
Inside This Article...
Avast offers a seriously impressive suite of security products to protect users when online.From their headquarters in Prague in the EU, their team of dedicated cybersecurity research experts works tirelessly to improve internet security.
Overview
Their renowned VPN is called the “Avast Secureline VPN” and this service offers blazingly fast, high-end encryption for total online privacy and security.
I wanted to test these claims out for myself, so I signed up to their FREE 7-day trial. I monitored my speed and performance, tested ease of use, customer support, and all of their features.
Avast’s VPN offers bank-grade encryption at the click of a button. Everywhere we access the internet without encryption, our information becomes readable by hackers who can then track everything that you do online.
But is it any good?
I’ll guide you through the pros and cons in this honest Avast SecureLine VPN review…
Does Avast SecureLine VPN Sound Right For You?
Features
Avast understands all too well the dangers that lurk around the corner when using the internet. We often don’t think about how exposed we are online, and for this reason, using a service by a dedicated internet privacy and security company like Avast is super important.
Secure Line VPN from Avast works with just one click and offers the following features:
Open-source privacy protection
No logs
256-bit AES encryption
Single shared IP
Secures any Wi-Fi or network
DNS leak protection
Stream & gaming capabilities
Access content around the world
P2P support
55 locations over 34 countries
The servers used by Avast are both private and secure, but also they are blazingly fast. The company is continually adding int new servers to enhance the performance of their services. You can use the service for up to 5 devices and even stream, game and download large files!
Speed & Performance
After signing up to Avast’s free 7-day trial (which is very generous), I monitored my internet performance when connected to their VPN. I also tested my download/upload speed without using a VPN as a baseline to work from.
Without a VPN, my internet connection’s ping was 15ms, my download speed was 45.44 Mbps and my upload speed was 17.29 Mbps.
When I connected to the best recommended U.K. VPN connection, I received a ping of 12ms, download speed of 42.06 Mbps and upload speed of 16.44 Mbps. Certainly nothing to complain about so far.
Finally I connected to a U.S. server. My ping shot up to 81 ms, and my download speed dropped to 27.65 Mbps along with an upload speed of 16.50 Mbps.
Whilst my upload speed didn’t vary too much, my ping was massively increased with a U.S. connection, as was my download speed. In fact, the increase in download speed was just over 41%.
Does Avast SecureLine VPN Sound Right For You?
Ease of Use
Signing up to Avast’s SecureLine VPN was actually very simple. They offer a free 7-day trial for all new users which is easily located on their website. Their installation process is beginner friendly.
Once you download the desktop app, simply follow the instructions to install the software. Again, this was very simple to do and any type of user can achieve this.
When you open Avast SecureLine VPN for the first time, it will ask you whether you want to start a FREE TRIAL or buy now from £1.39 per month. For the purpose of this review, I signed up to their free trial to show you how easy it is to do!
Connecting to a server is dead simple too. Just toggle the on/off button to on and the interface will display that you’re connected. It shows your current IP, virtual IP, and the length of your connection duration.
Changing location is as simple as clicking a button (literally). When you click on change location you’ll be taken to a screen with a list of locations. You can scroll through, select from the side, or search for your location.
One of my favourite features on their app is that you can easily select the best P2P or streaming servers from the left side panel.
This makes life a hell of a lot easier! You can also adjust your settings in the menu. Although this is easy to do, I did notice there were a lot less settings compared to the likes of ExpressVPN and NordVPN’s desktop app.
Does Avast SecureLine VPN Sound Right For You?
Customer Support
Avast have quite a few options when it comes to customer support. Whilst they don’t offer a live chat service (which is disappointing), there’s plenty of other resources to get your hands on.
Their support center is nicely laid out. There’s a few categories you can choose to begin with, or if you know what you want to find, you can use the search box.
If you need to contact their tech support for any of their products, there’s a freephone number you can call. This will go through the process of setting up a free telephone consultation.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for and don’t fancy contacting their telephone support, you can request help from them online.
This takes you through a few options and some forms that you’ll need to fill out. Your request will be submitted to Avast for them to review. If you’re using a free product and need technical help, you’ll be redirected to their forums.
Although they don’t provide live chat, I feel that Avast have plenty of options when it comes to seeking support.
Does Avast SecureLine VPN Sound Right For You?
Security
The Avast SecureLine VPN makes every internet connection secure, even when browsing the internet via public wifi. Furthermore, you can access any website that you want, from all locations without having to worry about blocked sites.
When using Avast SecureLine VPN you can access any content that you like, avoiding censorship issues. Avast (quite rightly) believe that:
Privacy is a right, not a privilege
The servers used by Avast are both private and secure, but also they are blazingly fast. The company is continually adding int new servers to enhance the performance of their services. You can use the service for up to 5 devices and even stream, game and download large files!
When we talk about hackers, in relation to VPN services, we are referring to the malicious hacking attempts that are used to install malware or steal data (for someone else’s benefit).
Avast believes that you should never have to worry about people peeking in on your content or data and are of the opinion that you should be able to secure your online activities, simply – with the click of a button.
Believe it or not, there are freely available scripts that anyone can download and begin to hack into your data. All a person needs is the time and motivation to work with the software to begin the process of intercepting the data and manipulating it.
This means that you are left vulnerable to your data being stolen, viruses, worms, ransomware, browser hijacks, rootkits, and DDoS attacks. Security is especially important when we are on public wifi networks.
Military Grade Protection
For many years now banks, government bodies and the military have been using VPNs to protect their data. This is the level of security that you can now obtain through Avast. Avast use various advanced methods to secure you when online such as masking your IP address by using one of theirs.
Additionally, they believe that it is:
It’s easier to get lost in a crowd
Therefore with Avast Secureline VPN, they offer a shared IP address’ so that people cannot track you down. They also use other sophisticated methods to protect you when browsing the web on your phone, such as disabling IPv6 requests.
Does Avast SecureLine VPN Sound Right For You?
Approved By Apple
Another thing that it is impressive about Avast Secureline VPN is that it uses the Internet Protocol Security (IPsec). This protocol authenticates data as it is transported throughout networks. Using hyper-secure cryptographic keys to provide world-class data protection from host-to-host, network-to-network, and network-to-host.
When using apple devices, Avast Secureline implements Apple’s proprietary stacks that further ensure robust and compatible VPN performance.
Their goal is to:
Get the handshake on the connection to last under a second
Thwarting The Doppelganger
There are many ways that our phones try to save us time and effort, however, these very same features are often used by hackers to take control of our phone. For example, a hacker can get your cookie and thus access to your accounts via packet sniffing.
When travelling around town our phones love to connect to networks as we pass by. This feature again can be hijacked by hackers and they can create a doppelganger to fool your phone. It is also possible to create a fake hotspot. This allows attackers to access your phone, while you think that you are connected to a known hotspot.
Furthermore, people can get in between you and your trusted websites, and even change what you see. This can be done by hackers and also by marketers who want to redirect your attention and entice you to buy a product.
For all of these reasons Avast have created their software so that it offers:
Security that can take on the universe
Avast Secureline VPN uses a 256-bit advanced encryption standard (AES) to create a VPN tunnel that is impossible to penetrate.
Avast believe in offering a transparent VPN service that has not nasty bits of code that will be able to manipulate your data. The use the OpenVPN protocol with OpenSSL libraries over super-fast UDP ports to offer the highest level of speed, transparency and security on the market.
Privacy
When you are online, you must broadcast your IP to access anything. This then gives external parties the ability to censor what you see and even allows advertisers to charge you higher prices where they see fit.
There are so many ways that people can place limitations on what you see for their benefit, and that is obviously of no use to you.
You will get around things like price discrimination via demographic with the Avast Secureline VPN. It is not uncommon for companies to charge different prices in various locations.
When using Avast you can switch location and book the cheaper deal. Furthermore, Avast allows Peer to Peer P2P networking in some of their server locations.
They have gone the extra mile and clearly marked these out for your convenience.
When you are at school, college or at your office your employer or person in charge can decide what you can and cannot view.
When using Avast Secureline VPN you can use social networks and browse prohibited content at your convenience. Stopping others from imposing their will upon what you can and cannot do. This means that you can then use social media networks at your leisure.
Hi-Definition Streaming
Perhaps the best feature offered by Avast Secureline VPN is their hi-definition streaming. Avast use UDP (User Datagram Protocol) which ensures that streaming happens without lag time – offering real-time streaming that is second to none.
Blazingly Fast Internet
Avast believes that there is no point in securing your internet connection if it lags or takes ages to load. For this reason, they are continually improving their server speeds to ensure that you get the best online experience, further enhanced by their security features.
Avast Saves The Day
In 2016 Brazil decided to outlaw Whatsapp. Meaning that nobody in Brazil could use the service (because it is an encrypted communications channel). Even the Brazilian government were not allowed to use the service.
At the time there were 100 million people using Whatsapp in Brazil – all looking for a way to avoid the ban.
During this time Avast came to the rescue and they got 5 times the amount of business overnight. Avast has their hardware optimized for this sort of spike in requirements by impressive load balancing. This phase shone the light on their mantra:
Expect the best, and plan for the worst
They continually increase their servers so that they never reach maximum capacity. Additionally, they have worldwide partners on hand in situations like the one that happened in Brazil.
Pricing
| MULTIPLE | PC | MAC | ANDROID | IPHONE/IPAD | |
| DEVICES | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| PRICE | £64.99/yr | £49.99/yr | £49.99/yr | £14.99/yr |
Avast’s pricing is very simple, and actually quite well thought out. If you want to use up to 5 devices (including desktop, phone, etc.) then you’re better off signing up for £64.99 per year. This will grant you access to their SecureLine VPN across 5 devices.
Alternatively, if you only want to use your VPN on one device, like your iPhone, then their individual prices are competitively priced. For example, you’ll pay £14.99 per year on an Android or iPhone.
If you’re considering protecting your PC or Mac with a VPN, their £49.99 per year price is pretty hefty considering you can cover multiple devices for only £15 more. I’d recommend going for this option if I were you.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Great speeds (check out my speed and performance review)
P2P and streaming servers
Wide choice of locations and countries
Simple and easy to use
Competitive pricing (options to choose just one device)
Cons
U.K. to U.S. connection was 41% slower
Not recommended for advanced users (not enough options on their app)
Summary
When I signed up to Avast’s SecureLine VPN, I wasn’t sure how things would go. I always knew Avast for their anti-virus and online protection, but never really considered them for a VPN.
However, their speed and performance through a VPN really surprised me. When I connected to a U.K. server, the speeds were almost identical, with a great ping and download/upload ratio. It was easy to switch location and the connection only took a matter of seconds.
Their customer support, whilst not offering live chat, provided plenty of resources. I’m confident if you had an issue with their services, you could find the answer online. Alternatively, their freephone technical support is available too.
Although Avast was very easy to use, I didn’t feel it offered much for advanced users. It’s worth giving their 7-day free trial a go to find out for yourselves though. If you’re looking for fast connections to the U.S., from the U.K., I’m not sure I could recommend Avast. My download speeds dropped by 41% and my ping shot up to 80ms.
Overall, I suggest signing up to Avast for FREE today. Give them a whirl and see if you like their VPN. For beginners and basic use, I’d definitely recommend them.
Does Avast SecureLine VPN Sound Right For You?
User Reviews
Avast SecureLine Pros:
- Multiple device use
- Servers are geographically diverse
- Ease of use
- Minimal interface phone
- Phone customer support
Avast SecureLine Cons:
- Multiple device use
