Avast SecureLine VPN Review

Taking a Look at What SecureLine Has to Offer

Now that we’ve taken more of a broad view of Avast SecureLine, let’s get down to some of the specifics of the VPN and see what it has to offer.

• Server Selection: One thing that impressed us about SecureLine was their server selection interface. Of course, many VPNs offer a way to choose which country’s servers we’d like to adopt for our IP address, but we found their display simple and easy to navigate. Using the VPN in Brooklyn, New York, SecureLine displayed the recommended location to give us the fastest service, which made the whole process a breeze.
• Torrent Capabilities: Torrenting is always a dicey proposition, and there’s nothing more nerve-racking than receiving a DMCA notice from your Internet Service Provider. Obviously we can’t advocate illegal torrenting, but legal torrenting is a nice feature that SecureLine supports; it enables secure file sharing for legitimate purposes. On a more technical level, the VPN offers Bittorrent coverage as well as peer-to-peer connections through data centers in these locations:
  • Prague, Czech Republic
  • Frankfurt, Germany
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • New York City, New York
  • Miami, Florida
  • Seattle, Washington
  • London, United Kingdom
  • Paris, France
• Customizable Settings: One thing we really liked about SecureLine was how we were able to go into the settings and create scenarios that would engage the VPN. We set the service to begin when our PC booted up, but we were also given the option to engage the VPN when we went on public Wi-Fi or other unrecognized networks.
• Kill Switch: SecureLine VPN also offers a kill switch, which automatically terminated our online activity when it sensed our connection was about to drop. We tested this VPN in Brooklyn on a notoriously unreliable, spotty Internet service (namely, the one at our apartment), and sure enough, SecureLine shut down activity when our connection was inevitably lost.

A Bit About SecureLine’s Encryption and Privacy

One of the aspects of SecureLine we were sold on was their level of encryption. SecureLine is built on the OpenVPN open-source protocol, which is the industry standard. Their level of encryption is AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 256, which is the best in the business; banks and military institutions commonly use this level of encryption to protect data. Overall, we’re impressed with how they guarded our vital information.

Their privacy standards, however, are a bit more of a gray area. One of the things we appreciated about Avast was their dedication to transparency. The company goes to great lengths to provide their customers with details about how their data is used. However, SecureLine does have some slight issues when it comes to privacy.

In order to create an account, there are a couple identifying pieces of information like our email address and username which the company stores. Of course, this information is standard when creating most accounts, so no huge fault to Avast on this one.

As far as actual activity, SecureLine logged a portion of our IP address, the IP address of the VPN server we connected to, the amount of data we used with the VPN, and the timestamps of our usage. Avast claims that all of this data is collected to track server maintenance as well as gauge server capacity. However, privacy-conscious users should be aware that Avast has faced scrutiny in the past regarding data practices, though not specifically related to their VPN service.

Though the service does admit to this relatively low-level logging, they are expressly opposed to logging any websites we visited, apps we used, or content we viewed. Overall that’s about as much as we’ve come to expect from VPNs. While Avast SecureLine isn’t perfect with privacy, they’re certainly not the most egregious when it comes to handling customer data.

Looking at SecureLine’s Leak Potential

Since we’re on the topic of privacy and security or the lack thereof, let’s take a quick look at how Avast SecureLine handled DNS and WebRTC leak tests.

DNS Leak

DNS, or domain name server, is a more generalized way of organizing IP addresses, and if your VPN isn’t covering DNS data, it can reveal IP or location information which renders the entire service less effective overall.

Thankfully, we found that Avast’s claim that the SecureLine VPN “keeps your real IP under wraps over IPv4 and blocks IPv6 requests” to be true, and we discovered no leaks.

WebRTC Leak

WebRTC is a system of technologies that computers use to enable browsers to communicate directly with one another, say during a video chat. Like DNS, WebRTC leaks can expose your private IP address without you even realizing it.

We didn’t find any vulnerabilities in our testing when the service was running, so a bonus point there.

Testing Avast SecureLine VPN’s Speed

Since VPNs route our activity to a separate server, in almost all cases we expect some slowdown in our service. Of course, speed tests are always a bit of a crapshoot, as the devices and Internet connections we use for our tests can vary wildly from what any other user might have in their homes. Let’s examine how SecureLine performed in our latest testing.

Here are our test results on a Mac without the VPN running.

And here are results with the VPN turned on.

And here is what we got with a Windows PC without the VPN running.

And here are our speed results with SecureLine operating.

These tests show that our download speeds increased by 15 percent on Mac devices with the VPN active. However, upload speeds decreased by about 54 percent. This unusual improvement in download speeds could be due to various factors including ISP throttling prevention.

On Windows machines, the results were different. We experienced a more significant impact with download speeds decreasing by roughly 57 percent and ping times increasing substantially. This disparity between platforms is something potential users should consider based on their primary device.

Avast SecureLine Pricing

SecureLine offers a straightforward pricing structure with options for different subscription lengths. The service works across all major platforms including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Here’s the current pricing breakdown:

As far as prices go, SecureLine isn’t among the most affordable VPNs out there, but we wouldn’t say the costs are outrageous. For a similar price, though, you can pick up a VPN that might have a few more features. Read our review of TunnelBear for another option at a similar price point with more features.

Recap

Overall, does Avast SecureLine rank among the best VPNs out there? No, it does not. Yet, there is something to be said for those who want a trusted name in the antivirus and security industry behind the products they use. SecureLine offers the basics we’d want out of a VPN, and it’s easy to use. While speed tests may reveal some lag, especially on Windows, the convenience of the service manages to keep SecureLine in play as a solid middle of the pack VPN.

VPNs are a great way to protect your security online, but they can be costly. Check out our TunnelBear review if you’re in the market for a free VPN option.