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AVG Secure VPN Review

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Thinking about signing up for AVG Secure VPN? Before making your decision, read this review to see if it’s worth your money.

AVG Secure VPN is just one of the many internet tools you can use to keep yourself safe while you have connected to a public Wi-Fi connection.

Expect slightly slower speeds along with the inability to watch Netflix content.

Currently, AVG Secure VPN only offers customized apps for major operating systems and platforms.

That may be fine for some users, while others may be using operating systems that are not yet mainstream.

We have also come to know that AVG Secure VPN lacks a good number of configuration settings that you would normally find with other good VPN service providers.

And there is no way for the user to manually work around problems related to the installation of AVG Secure VPN on their Wi-Fi router.

With that out of the way, let’s get into the details of what makes AVG Secure VPN a decent VPN option.

Features

All packages come with the same basic set of features.

Servers

AVG Secure VPN currently offers users VPN servers located in 36 countries and over 55 cities. It also offers a total of 55 IP addresses for the user to choose from.

It’s worth noting here that AVG Secure VPN’s server network is well below the industry average. It covers just 36 countries, so this is definitely not suitable for users who want to block streaming services in different countries around the world.

One other unfortunate fact about AVG Secure VPN’s website is that it does not list the company’s server network. This makes it very difficult for anyone to quickly check if AVG Secure VPN offers VPN servers in their preferred countries.

Moreover, AVG doesn’t directly disclose the number of VPN servers or even IP addresses that it offers.

Our experience tells us that the numbers are nothing major. Otherwise, AVG Secure VPN would take the time out to mention them.

Not having a high number of servers leads to an unusually high amount of traffic on a given VPN server. And when such congestion takes place, users have to suffer because of low connection speeds.

AVG Secure VPN covers Europe and North America pretty well. Across the U.S., it offers servers in over 15 different regions.

This puts AVG right up there with the current best VPNs for the U.S.

AVG Secure VPN also offers city-level servers for countries including:

  • The U.K.
  • Spain
  • Russia
  • Germany
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • Malaysia
  • Taiwan
  • China
  • Brazil
  • Venezuela
  • South Africa

If AVG Secure VPN needs some inspiration on how to expand its server network, it could look to HideMyAss.

HideMyAss offers a broad range of coverage, with servers in nearly 300 locations in over 190 countries around the world.

Interestingly, AVG owns HideMyAss. We’re not sure why AVG is offering VPN products after acquiring HideMyAss, but if a user trusts AVG, then they may trust HideMyAss as well.

Encryption

AVG Secure VPN makes use of the AES-256 cipher, which is strong enough.

Kill Switch

This VPN service does not offer a kill switch feature.

P2P Sharing

AVG Secure VPN offers users optimized servers for torrenting and other P2P file-sharing activities.

However, because of the fact that AVG Secure VPN is not exactly reliable when it comes to upload speeds, that may put off P2P users.

Performance

While AVG Secure VPN is by no means the fastest VPN in the world, you should expect decent download speeds.

You shouldn’t have any problems streaming HD content or downloading files quickly with AVG Secure VPN.

Of course, your actual performance metrics will depend on your own internet connection as well as your physical location and the physical VPN server that you connect to.

We think that AVG Secure VPN will impress you with the speed that some of its Europe-based VPN servers offer.

Even if you connect to a server that is located in Australia, you should get good VPN speeds.

Again, AVG Secure VPN may not be the fastest VPN service in the world at the moment, but it can definitely hang in there with top-level VPN competitors.

Just don’t expect AVG Secure VPN to be as consistent in providing you with good upload speeds as it is with providing download speeds.

As for latency rates, expect them to be high. Rather, unacceptably high. And that will probably hold true even if you have formed a connection with a server within your own city.

This will likely push gamers away from AVG Secure VPN as they usually sign up for VPN service providers that offer low latency rates and high upload/download speeds.

One test showed that AVG Secure VPN had a latency rate of 16ms.

Compare that to high-end VPN service providers that offer close to 1-2ms on packages that cost less than AVG Secure VPN on a monthly basis.

Compatibility

Currently, AVG Secure VPN offers users custom apps for platforms such as:

  • Android
  • iOS
  • macOS
  • Windows

With just a single account, users have the option of connecting up to five simultaneous devices.

As mentioned before, there is no way for the user to come up with a manual method of making AVG Secure VPN work with some platforms and devices such as Linux or Amazon Fire TV Stick.

If you do not have access to platforms out of the four mentioned at the top, then you’re better off using another VPN service provider.

AVG Secure VPN does not work with Wi-Fi routers, so there goes that option. The company does not offer pre-configured routers either.

If you want to protect all of your devices, you’ll have to check whether AVG Secure VPN has an app for it and then take the time to install that VPN app on each given device.

On that note, we should also mention that AVG Secure VPN does not offer users any VPN extensions for web browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari or Google Chrome.

AVG Secure VPN also does not work with streaming devices or gaming consoles.

And since you cannot install it on a Wi-Fi router, your only bet is to use it for devices running on Android, iOS, macOS and Windows.

Customer Support

The lack of live chat and other such options means that AVG Secure VPN does not have an expansive customer support department.

Even though it is a well-established security firm, it has an awfully laid out support section on its website.

Users will have to spend a lot of time in finding answers to their questions. The FAQ section is basic and the community forums are not terribly active.

There is no way to contact the company via its email address either. All you are left with is a support agent that you can access through the website’s support form.

If you don’t have a subscription, you will not get a response from a human.

Let that sink in as well.

Installation

You can sign up on AVG Secure VPN’s website and then open up the confirmation email to download the VPN app.

Then, select your preferred language and follow the instructions given to you by the installation wizard. Just keep clicking “Next” until the installation process is complete.

After this, you’ll have to restart your device. Make sure you save anything sensitive and important before finishing the installation process.

After the restart, you will have to launch the app again and then input your password and username.

User Interface

The desktop VPN apps are user-friendly and have a decent layout, but they are very basic. You will only see stripped black on the main screen and the only information it displays is the user’s server location and a toggle switch that turns green when you’ve connected to a server.

The user interface is a bit too large and takes up almost all of the screen.

Users can click the Change Location button to access the VPN server list. The app will then open up a new window. This is a neat way of showing users all available servers.

AVG Secure VPN also shows users the entire VPN server list by continent. This makes it easy for them to scroll through it quickly.

It doesn’t provide users with the ability to save their favorite VPN servers though.

But the biggest problem with AVG Secure VPN’s app is that it doesn’t have configurable settings.

If you click the icon in the shape of a cog in the top right corner of the screen, it will show you the general settings menu. Here, you can check the automatic connection option and Wi-Fi security option.

Security and Privacy

AVG Secure VPN is a good choice for keeping you protected when using public Wi-Fi networks. That said, people who want stringent privacy should look elsewhere.

By default, all AVG apps make use of the industry-standard OpenVPN protocol, which does a good job of balancing speed and security.

Of course, this is not something that AVG explicitly tells you if you do not get in touch with their customer support team.

As a VPN service, it does not offer any advanced security features. There isn’t even a kill switch feature. AVG does protect you against IP and DNS leaks though.

As for privacy, the company’s logging policy document is long and complicated.

The main thing you need to know is that AVG does collect information on its users.

The company keeps information about the total data that a user has transmitted during a given session. It also stores the user’s original IP address and the IP address of the VPN server they’ve used.

Along with that, it keeps a timestamp of when a user connected to and then disconnected from a given VPN server.

All of this considered, we can conclude that AVG Secure VPN keeps an unnecessary amount of data on its users.

The VPN service is located in the Czech Republic, which is not the friendliest country on earth when it comes to intrusive data retention laws. Apparently, the country is committed to multiple intelligence-sharing agreements with Europe to keep eyes on various online activities of its users.

If that was not enough already, then AVG Secure VPN also clearly mentions in its policy document that it will share the user’s personal information with third parties under specific circumstances. These can include anything from a government-issued request to a third-party subpoena or a legal letter from a court.

These are things that no privacy-conscious user wants to hear from a VPN service.

Price

AVG Secure VPN offers multiple plans with different prices.

Users have the option of selecting a plan which lasts anywhere from a relatively short 12-month period to a more concrete three-year subscription package. Naturally, the longer your subscription is, the better the discount.

However, AVG Secure VPN does not offer a simple monthly plan—another factor that differs from the top VPN service providers on the market.

AVG Secure VPN’s most expensive package is the one that lasts 12 months, which you can get for just $6.66 per month. If you sign up with AVG Secure VPN for a period of three years, you only have to pay $6.11 per month.

The company offers a 30-day free trial in addition to a 30-day official money-back guarantee.

The best thing about the free trial is that the user doesn’t have to give up any personal information in order to use it. All they need to do is download the VPN app on their chosen internet-enabled device and they’re good to go.

AVG Secure VPN even supplies the user with a helpful timer that shows the amount of time left before the free trial ends.

One important thing we would like to mention here about the free trial is that during the free trial period, you only have permission to use the VPN on a single device.

Once you have consumed your 30 days, the app will not provide you with any service.

As for the money-back guarantee, you can use it to ask for a refund even after you have used the VPN service for a period of 30 days.

Of course, the devil is always in the details. More specifically, the 30-day money-back guarantee is subject to a rather limited 10 GB data consumption limit.

If you have consumed more than the allotted 10 GB of data within your first 30 days, then AVG Secure VPN will not refund you your money.

Moreover, if you have connected to AVG Secure VPN more than 100 times, then you automatically disqualify yourself from the refund.

This is a pretty harsh money-back guarantee policy, as most other top VPN service providers offer users a no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.

Now, assuming that you do qualify for a full refund, what you need to do is simply contact the customer support department at AVG.

Users on the iOS platform will have to directly go to the Apple App Store.

Payment Options

Currently, you can only pay for an AVG Secure VPN plan via PayPal or credit card.

Again, such a limited number of payment methods puts AVG Secure VPN way behind its competitors in the industry.

AVG Secure VPN needs to start offering more diverse payment methods such as cryptocurrencies and coupons, along with international payment methods such as WorldPay and/or AliPay.

User Reviews

AVG has a rating of 3/5 stars on Trustpilot. More than 2,400 users have reviewed the product.

This tells us that it is popular enough to merit attention from the community.

Around 86% of users who left reviews about AVG said that the company offers “excellent” service, while another 10% gave it a “great” rating.

One user mentioned that AVG is trustworthy and reliable, which automatically made AVG Secure VPN a good service.

Another user gave AVG 1/5 stars because the software stopped working on their laptop and ruined the operating system.

AVG currently has a rating of A+ on Better Business Bureau, but its ratings vary by office location.

Alternatives

Okay, so maybe you want something more substantial.

Here are some AVG Secure VPN alternatives you may want to check out:

Pros and Cons

ProsCons
Local download speeds are fastBad customer support
Apps are user-friendly especially for beginner VPN usersStores information about the original IP address of the user for 30 days
Does work with BBC iPlayerLack of advanced security features such as VPN kill switch
Has optimized servers for P2P and torrentingA low number of individual VPN servers
VPN servers in 36 countries

 

Conclusion

AVG Secure VPN is not a bad VPN service, but we would not want to call it anything above “okay.”

It can protect you while you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network but do not use it for sensitive tasks.

AVG Secure VPN permits P2P and torrenting on its servers, but the fact that these servers have slow upload speeds and a shady logging policy means that torrenters would not want to use this VPN service.

AVG Secure VPN also does not work with Netflix. You may unblock BBC iPlayer with its U.K. servers though.

As for encryption, AVG VPN is pretty robust, making use of OpenVPN as its default protocol.

But the fact that it doesn’t offer any advanced privacy features means that overall it is a disappointing VPN service. With no kill switch and intrusive logging policies, AVG Secure VPN will find it hard to get new customers in masses. On that note, this VPN service is not available in China.

The app itself is mostly well-designed and fairly user-friendly. However, it doesn’t offer any advanced settings.

As for customer support, AVG definitely does not excel in that department.

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