Avast Secureline VPN is a subsidiary of the Avast company famous for its antivirus software. With such a background many users believe that the service is the tops for their security and anonymity. But is Avast Secureline VPN safe in fact? Spoiler alert: there are lots of things the provider should work on.
Avast VPN Jurisdiction and Logging Policy
Avast Secureline VPN’s home country is the Czech Republic. This Eastern European state is not a part of intelligence treaties but it cooperates with some members of the 14 Eyes. This is an alarming fact for privacy-conscious people, especially considering their logging strategy.
Avast Secureline VPN proclaims itself a log-free service. However, their privacy policy proves the otherwise. The service stores connection logsthat include a duration of your session, a time when you hook up to their servers and terminate a connection, as well as the amount of data used. Sounds pretty innocent, ha? Don’t jump to conclusions. Just read what they say further:” If we receive a complaint about misuse … we will investigate and take action if the complaint is correct.” If the company can investigate and detect a violator then they know more than they want to show. How would they figure out which clients abuse the service without information about users IP addresses and IPs of servers they accessed?
To make things worse, the service provides some information to the third parties, mainly to advertisers. Those companies inject software development kits to their ads, which allow collecting data about Avast Secureline’s users.
The last but not least, if you are using the avast VPN servers that are located in Russian Federation, the service will save logs of all your online activity in compliance with the local data laws. Therefore, connecting and using the Russian servers is simply dangerous.
Security Features
Avast VPN offers a standard set of security features. Popular encryption protocol IPSec reliably protects devices runningMac OS and iOS while military grade OpenVPN with AES 256-bit encryption secures Windows and Android-powered gadgets.
Your traffic stays secured all the time even if VPN connection fails thanks to the in-built kill switch. Avast Secureline VPN also offers a DNS leak protection. In general, security features don’t astonish. I even noticed occasional WebRTC leak. The company is aware of this nuisance and they are working hard to fix it.
Another thing that disappointed me is the absence of anonymous payment methods. You are not able to pay with Bitcoin, any other cryptocurrency or gift certificates.
If you still require more details about the provider, please check this comprehensive Avast Secureline VPN review.
Avast Secureline VPN Alternatives for Better Privacy
So, you already know that Avast Secureline VPN is not the best option for your privacy and in some cases, it may be even dangerous. If you want to keep your online activity safe from prying eyes, you should find another provider. NordVPN is a choice number one if security is your main priority. Its vast anonymity-enhancing features and outstanding zero-logging policy tick all the boxes users hope for. You don’t have to compromise on your safety with dubious services when you can have the best from the best.
Conclusion
Avast Secureline VPN doesn’t stand out from the crowd even despite the big name of its parent company. Their security facilities are average and require some fine-tuning. The biggest concern is their privacy policy with invasive log retention which, in addition, allows third-parties software to collect user data.