Avast Secureline Vpn For Mac Review

  

Last Updated on

Avast SecureLine VPN Review Avast SecureLine VPN is but one of Avast's many security products. As VPNs go, it's pretty decent as it gets you into Netflix and uses good encryption, but for the. Avast secureline review: decent vpn, doesn’, Avast secureline does things a little differently from most vpns. For a start, there’s no monthly subscription – the company only offers annual licences, covering either a single pc or mac, a. Avast Secureline VPN has two types of VPNs. They have plans for a single device and plans for multi-devices (which allow up to five simultaneous connections). For a single device, one month is $7.99, one year is $47.99 ($4/month), and two years in $109.99 ($4.58/month).

Their renowned VPN is called the “Avast Secureline VPN” and this service offers blazingly fast, high-end encryption for total online privacy and security.

Vpn

It 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 Avast SecureLine VPN review…

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.

Making Any Internet Connection Secure

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!

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.

They have outlined four key ways that people can get access to your data and what they might do with it in the graphic shown below:

Secure Line VPN from Avast works with just one click and offers the following:-

  • 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

Avast offers 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.

Avast Secureline VPN is 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.

Control What You See Online

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.

Avast Prague Headquarters

Avast works out of their Prague headquarters, a strategically placed office in “a center of excellence for engineering and computer science”. They attract some of the most talented and experienced security engineers to work in their offices. Their team is dedicated to wanting to win and “beat the bad guys.” Their team has some impressive credentials, such as being educated at Stanford, MIT, Oxford, and even NASA!

Avast Products & Benefits

For the individual or “home” user, Avast offers solutions in 3 key areas: Security, Privacy and Performance. The Security solutions offered for the home user are further split into 4 products (and a comparison chart to let you overview their suite of products). Below I have outlined the 4 Security Products that Avast offers the Home user.

  • Free Antivirus – Block viruses, malware, detects viruses, ransomware, and other threats in real-time, scans for Wi-Fi security weaknesses, exposes intruders and security weaknesses in your network, secure your passwords (You can lock your passwords in the vault and log in to sites with 1 click).
  • Internet Security – Offers all of the benefits of their free antivirus software and also allows you to avoid fake sites for safer shopping to stop criminals from stealing your sensitive info, safely run suspicious apps without affecting your device, block hackers with advanced firewall, block spam, junk mail and phishing emails, an extra layer of ransomware security to keep personal photos and files safe.
  • Premier – Offers all of the features and benefits of their “Internet Security” product. Additionally, the Premier solution allows you to: Stop webcam spying, people can access your webcam and spy on you unknowingly. This is frightening, however, the Premier package from Avast protects you from being exposed to such a threat. You can also permanently shred sensitive files – so that no one recovers them. Automatically update apps to reduce security risks.
  • Ultimate – With the Ultimate Solution from Avast you get all of the benefits of Premier and also get Avast Cleanup Premium to remove hidden junk, free up disk space, and speed up your computer. You also get Avast SecureLine VPN that encrypts your Internet connection for safer, anonymous browsing. Finally, you get Avast Passwords Premium which warns you of leaked passwords and logs in to websites.

Avast offers end-to-end security, cleanup and protection for your device.

  • Avast Cleanup Premium – Next generation tuneup and cleanup software for your PC to preserve your device and make it run faster for longer.

For the Business User

Avast has a variety of tools and solutions available for the business user. This includes a free management console which allows you to manage and protect all your devices from one place at no extra cost.

I will outline two of these solutions below:

  • CloudCare – Is a cloud-based security portal which allows you to monitor threats and deliver rapid support in real time.
  • Managed Workplace RMM – A dashboard that offers tools and insights to deliver high-quality remote security and support services to clients. These tools reduce operational costs, free up time and offer real-time security assessments.

All in All

Avast offers a seriously impressive suite of security products to protect users when online. They have put a great deal of thought into all areas of cyber security including offering a password vault and defending attacks at every level from the cloud.

Their AI is leaps and bounds ahead of the majority of solutions out there, as it works at both the cloud level and also the device level – monitoring behaviors to ensure that they don’t go rogue at any point.

For the business users, Avast has provided both software and a comprehensive portal to manage every area of security from one location. Avast is a company to check out if you are thinking about upping your cybersecurity.

Avast VPN has 256-bit encryption and is best suited for P2P, Kodi, and hiding your browsing history. For the price of $6.66/month, it is a touch expensive but manages to secure 3.5 stars.

Based inCzech Republic
Price$6.66/mo
Servers55 (34 Countries)
LogsNo Logs
Multi LoginUpto 10 Devices
Refund30 Days Money Back
RecommendedYes
WebsiteAvast.com

Avast Secureline VPN uses a military-grade encryption and supports all good protocols (OpenVPN, IPSec, & IKEv2). It offers a 7-days free trial and connects up to 10 VPN devices.

It has 8 P2P torrenting servers out of 55 servers in total.

Their server speed is just about average, but it isn’t the cheapest VPN around like Surfshark or NordVPN.

But that depends a lot on the features they are offering. Is Avast VPN good? Is it really the most expensive VPN available?

Let’s check it out in this Avast Secureline VPN review.

For a similar VPN, have a look at our VPN Reviews 2019.

Rating Criteria

To review Avast Secureline VPN, I had to test and give my verdict based on these 8 factors. Let’s have a look at them:

  • Pricing – How much does Avast VPN cost?
  • Security – Encryption & features
  • Jurisdiction –Is it located in a 5-eyes country?
  • Speed – How fast is Avast Secureline VPN?
  • Streaming –Does it work with Netflix?
  • Leaks – Does it leak IP, DNS & WebRTC?
  • Trustworthiness – Logs, Transparency, Customer Support
  • Compatibility – App Interface and Supported Devices

Pricing – How much does Avast VPN cost?

Avast VPN is an expensive brand in the industry. The good thing is, it has a different pricing for PC, Android, and iOS devices.

Let’s have a look at these pricing:

  • $79.99 a year for All VPN devices (up to 5 devices)
  • $59.99 a year for PC/Mac
  • $19.99 a year for Android/iOS

But that’s not it, these prices are extended to 3 years plan, which might be a touch cheaper than its 1 year plan.

For example, Avast VPN 3 year plan costs at $159.99. That means $4.44/month.

The reason why I say its expensive because when you compare these prices with Surfshark which is the best cheap VPN, or with PureVPN’s 1-2 year pricing plans, you will get to know why.

Avast VPN prices also vary with the increase of multi-logins (10 Max multi-logins).

For example, if connected to 1 PC it will charge $59.99/year as previously discussed. But if connected to 10 PCs it will charge $99.99.

See the difference?

That is why, Avast in not a cool choice for users who happen to use it on multiple devices.

Payment Methods

Here is a list of payments options accepted by Avast Secureline VPN:

  • PayPal
  • Wire Transfer
  • VISA
  • MasterCard
  • Discover
  • American Express

NO Bitcoins accepted. After all, the crypto currency is the favorite for any online privacy advocate.

Hopefully, the provider will add this option in the near future.

Refund Policy

While writing this review, I learned that the VPN offers 30 days money back guarantee. Through this amazing benefit, you can use and experience the impacts of true online anonymity without any hassle.

If you are not satisfied with the level of service, you can claim for the refund within 30 working days from anywhere.

A good refund policy refund window in addition to the free trial, make this VPN more accessible to the people on the internet.

7-Days Free Trial

Avast Secureline VPN offers a 7-days free trial.

With this trial, you can test the VPN for 7 Days without any restrictions on servers or sessions.

It gets better.

Avast Secureline Vpn For Mac Review

The free trial requires absolutely no credit card information or anything else. Just download the VPN and start its trial straightaway from the client.

Security – Encryption & features

In our Avast VPN review 2019, I learnt that Avast VPN uses a military-grade encryption. This protocol is reinforced with a 256-bit military grade encryption, which is the work of NSA’s engineers.

It is used by everyone from giant corporations to small banks to secure confidential information.

This VPN has multiple protocol options. However, you won’t need to look further than Avast’s OpenVPN UDP and IKEv2 with AES 256-bit encryption for guaranteed privacy.

OpenVPN is the best tunneling protocol in the market. Its Open Source nature allows for constant upgrades, making it more advanced than any of its alternatives.

Meanwhile, Mac users can also use IPsec protocol. A less powerful but still capable cousin of OpenVPN.

Kill Switch

It is quite often the most ignored feature of a VPN. Some even consider it an overkill. However, an efficient kill switch can do your online privacy a world of good.

When I checked for Kill Switch feature in our review of Avast VPN, I found that it does have this feature.

Quite simply, kill switch protects your IP address in an unlikely scenario where your VPN connection drops. Now, a few seconds of exposed IP address may not be enough for cyber thugs to latch onto your connection. But you can never be too careful.

Hence, I have put kill switch in the pros section.

Servers

As of July 2019, Avast has 55 servers in 34 countries. This include servers in China and Russia, but does not include any Middle East countries except for Israel.

The server count isn’t something close to impressive. PureVPN has a server count in thousands.

Have a look at the VPNs that has obfuscated servers that tends to work in countries with strict internet regulations.

Jurisdiction –Is it located in a 5-eyes country?

Avast Secureline VPN operates from Czech Republic that does NOT fall under 5-eyes country.

Czech Republic may not be considered as a member of a five eyes VPN alliance, but it does collaborate with them.

This fact would raise a few eyebrows. But it is not something that would make me turn away from this VPN.

Many people asking me ‘is Avast VPN good to use?’ I always say them, if it doesn’t fall under these countries then it’s perfectly safe to use.

Still, I like my VPNs outside the dirty claws of the American and British intelligence agencies.

Speed – How fast is Avast Secureline VPN?

Avast VPN speed performance was average in my speed test. The download speed was recorded 17.65 Mbps and upload speed of 14.25 Mbps.

The speed test was performed with a base connection of 30 Mbps.

Here are the test results when I checked for Avast Secureline VPN speed for US server:

Speed declined by: 41%

Now we tested Avast VPN speed in UK server:

Download Speed: 15.95 Mbps

Upload Speed: 13.69 Mbps

Speed decline by: 47%

Streaming –Does it work with Netflix?

Avast Secureline VPN does NOT unblock US Netflix. Although it does offer streaming servers, but when we tested, it did not unblock.

This could be due to less number of streaming servers. Avast lists down its best servers when comes to streaming.

Netflix can easily identifies when a massive number of users try the same server to unblock its website.

It easily blacklists those IP address and you are never going to access any Netflix website with it.

Avast VPN does offer P2P server for Torrenting. Here is a list of servers you need to connect when downloading torrents:

Other than P2P server,users now can access tons of Live TV channels on Kodi, a free media player. Avast and Kodi compliments each other very well.

Apart from that, there’s a complete list of VPNs that works well with Kodi. Learn how to install a VPN on Kodi and stream channels from around the world.

Leaks – Does it leak IP, DNS & WebRTC?

Avast VPN did NOT leaked IP and DNS. It passed the WebRTC test as well.

I connected to an Israel server of Avast VPN and visited IPLeak website to check for any leaks.

Here is the screenshot:

If you see the IP address in the leak test, it is the same Virtual IP given to me by Avast VPN as you can see in the picture below:

The Virtual IP and the IP mentioned in the leak test website must be same. Otherwise, it may be leaking.

You can have a look at our IP Leak Test guide to see which VPNs passes leak test.

Trustworthiness – Logs, Transparency, Customer Support

After a thorough review of Avast VPN, I learnt that it does NOT keep usage logs, but it does keeps connection logs.

Other than that, they collect personal information for the purpose of making their security product better.

Here is a list of personal information they collect:

  • IP address
  • Name
  • City/Country
  • Billing Data

They know your original IP address for the first 60 days. After that, they replace it with your City or Country, or they hash it.

Here is their statement:

“We collect your IP Address to provision your product or service. We also use the IP Address with mobile products to serve ads.”

Avast VPN clearly mentions that whenever you visit its website, it collects some server logs.

These server logs information include:

  • Your region
  • Length of visit
  • Webpages you request
  • Websites you visited prior to visiting on their website
  • IP address
  • Cookies

Avast uses this information to:

“We use this information to fulfil our legitimate interests, which are to analyse overall trends, administer our webpages, track users’ use of the webpages, help us improve our website(s)”

Have a look at the VPN logging policies of the entire VPN brands.

Virus Test

In this Avast Secure line VPN review, I checked for any viruses in its download file. It did NOT contain any viruses.

This test was performed using VirusTotal that alert users if there’s a virus in a file.

Here are the results:

There were NO engines detected in this file.

If you would like to make changes to the default setup click Change Install Location or Customize. How to install avast for mac. • Type your administrator User Name with Password and click Install Software. • Click Install.

Customer Support

The provider’s website maintains a comprehensive knowledge base filled with step-by-step guides and FAQs.

In our Avast Secure VPN review, I found out that it gets better.

Avast Secureline also helps the users with a ticketing system and a live call option.

Unfortunately, there is NO Live Chat option available but the call line is the next best option available. Some would even categorize it as better than live chat as chats are a less personal experience.

Thankfully, the call option really is 24/7 and the service agents are well-informed about the product.

You can also reach Avast via Facebook and Twitter. They are extremely active on Twitter in particular.

Compatibility – App Interface and Supported Devices

Secureline is only accessible on four operating systems, which are Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

As I have mentioned before, the Windows client is user-friendliness personified. However, the mac does not lag far behind. It is also armed with some nifty features to thwart online bandits.

Meanwhile, the apps for Android and iOS provide incredible online privacy with just a single tap. These two apps are optimized for user-experience and come with the server library of the VPN.

In case, if you’re not interested in Avast then you should read our detailed guide on best Android VPNs 2019 to disclose more VPNs.

Avast Secure Line Vpn For Mac

App Experience

To check for the friendliness of the app, I managed to review Avast VPN with first-hand experience.

Using Secureline’s Windows client is a pleasant experience. At first glance, the app has an attractive design and an intuitive interface.

It is familiar to the famous Anti-virus software, sporting the typical Avast purple design.

You can change the location with a single click and get an IP from a comprehensive list of servers.

Here, the P2P and streaming servers are segregated quite clearly. This eases the process of selecting servers for a particular task.

Moreover, the burger menu on the top right of the clients navigates you towards ‘Settings’. This is where you can toggle options such as Auto-start.

Avast VPN Review Reddit

However, you should have a look at some of the recent reviews of Avast Secureline VPN Reddit:

A user was complaining on Reddit that he uninstalled Avast app due to endless pop-ups with DLC missing

However, in the same thread, the same user re-installed the app and it started working.

There’s another Avast Secureline VPN review Reddit where he says that the bottom pop-up annoys him so much:

That is indeed a problem. You cannot mute the pop-ups.

Here you can have a look at the best VPN service by Reddit users.

Avast Secureline VPN Reviews on Play Store

Here are the 5 recent reviews on Avast VPN:

Users keep suggesting Avast to stop with the popups that keeps begging them to rate the app.

If you prefer, you can set a list of files and/or directories that you would like to exclude from scanning. https://golluna.netlify.app/avast-for-mac-web-shield-not-running.html.

Once user mentions that it is easier to setup and use.

Comparison between PureVPN & Avast VPN

Have a look at the comparison between PureVPN and Avast Secureline VPN and check out their key difference.

FeaturesPureVPNAvast VPN
Price$2.95/mo$6.66/mo
Servers2000+ in 140 Countries55 in 34 Countries
CompatibilityAll DevicesWindows, Mac, Android, & iOS
JurisdictionHong KongCzech Republic
Logging PolicyZero LogZero Log
Customer SupportLive Chat & Email SupportLive Call & Ticket
Trust Pilot Score9.54.9
WebsitePUREVPNAVAST VPN

Alternatives

Looking for an alternative to Avast VPN? I have a list combined just for you. Here is a list that you need to consider:

FAQs

Avast Secureline VPN is another online privacy service striving hard to become one of the major players in the industry. It uses 256-bit military grade encryption level to secure users’ crucial data. However, it stores some kind of connection logs.

Avast SecureLine is an app that enables users to connect to the internet through secure servers. These servers use encrypted tunnels that safeguard your online tasks to another level.

Avast SecureLine offers different pricing plans to its users. You can avail Avast VPN pricing plan at the cost of $ 59.99 per year. Similarly, you can get the Mac plan at the same price of PC pricing plan. You can pay $19.99 for both Android and iOS on yearly basis.

To cancel subscription, go to Menu option on its app and select My Licenses. Click on Cancel Subscription. If you need to uninstall Avast Secureline VPN, simply go to Control Panel, then select Uninstall a Program. Find Avast VPN from the list and press Uninstall.

Yes, you can get Avast mobile security free for only 7 days. After that you will need to pay for its subscription.

Yes, Avast VPN is definitely worth buying because of its strong encryption and its dedicated P2P servers. It is also works best with Kodi media player.

Do I Recommend Avast Secureline VPN?

Yes, I do recommend Avast Secureline VPN.

Avast Secure Line Vpn For Android

It’s particularly a good VPN when it comes to encryption and protocols. But its price is too much when compared to Surfshark or PureVPN.

Avast Vpn Secureline License Key

The speed performance is average, but it does not leak IP or DNS. It has a simple-to-use app interface, compatible with major operating systems, and does not keep usage logs.

But when it comes to unblocking Netflix or looking towards a larger server network, then Avast VPN isn’t for you.

Vpn For Mac Free Download

Lastly, it is a good choice to buy this VPN, but it not the best one.

Download Avast Secure Line Vpn For Pc

I strongly recommend Avast secure line due to its great security feature.