AVG Secure VPN Review: Is it worth a try in 2023?

Looking for a reliable VPN service, you may found thousands of VPN providers on the Internet. However, how to know for sure which of them are worth using?

To help you with that, I am going to provide information about AVG Secure VPN. The parent company of the VPN is Avast Software S.R.O. The VPN offers 5 multi-logins, several torrent-friendly servers, and a 7-day free trial.

But does the VPN worth paying for? Keep reading to learn this.

AVG Secure VPN pros and cons

Servers and speed

How many servers does AVG Secure provide?

According to the information on avg.com, the VPN offers its customers servers in 36+ locations, among them, there are 16 servers in the USA. This information is taken from their official website:

• South Africa (Johannesburg);
• Asia Pacific (Australia, China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan);
• Europe (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK);
• Middle East (Israel, Turkey);
• North America (Canada, Mexico, USA);
• South America (Brazil, Venezuela).

Read testing the VPN for IP leaks to know if there are any IP leaks.

Speed test

No matter what you need the VPN for, decent speeds are crucial. Having a stable and fast VPN connection allows using a VPN for torrenting, watching high-quality videos, and enjoy safe gaming. The server network of AVG VPN is not so wide, that’s why I didn’t expect to see impressive speed test results. I was right. Here are my speeds before turning AVG Secure VPN on:

In the table below you may see my results with AVG servers in different parts of the world:

I was not satisfied with the speeds. The fastest results were also not favorable - 23.88 Mbps is not the speed I want my VPN runs with.

However, it was possible to stream Netflix with the VPN even with 9.25 Mbps download speed. By the way, what about AVG VPN with this streaming service?

AVG Secure VPN for streaming

The VPN offers four servers for streaming: in Miami, New York, and two secret places in the USA- Gotham City, and the UK – Wonderland. I used an IP leak test to found out that they are located in New York and England respectively.

I checked all of them and found out that they work except for the server in the UK. Netflix is able to detect if one tries to stream videos by using VPNs or proxies. It successfully identified the AVG VPN server in the UK. The following error occurred: “You’ll need to turn these services off and try again to download content. For more info, visit netflix.com/proxy”.

However, American servers were managed to deal with the task. Below you may see that the server in New York works with Netflix.

The AVG Secure VPN offers specifically designed streaming locations. You can find them when clicking “Change location” in the AVG Secure VPN app.

AVG Secure VPN for torrenting

AVG Secure VPN is a user-friendly provider. It supports peer-to-peer connections. However, the choice of the servers that support such kind of connection is limited. You can use torrent trackers with the servers in the following countries:

• The Czech Republic – Prague;
• France – Paris;
• Germany – Frankfurt;
• The Netherlands – Amsterdam;
• The UK – London;
• The USA – Miami;
• The USA – New York;
• The USA – Seattle.

However, for downloading files a VPN should not only support peer-to-peer connection but also provide its users with fast download speed. Keep reading the review in order to know how fast AVG Secure or go to Speed test for AVG Secure.

How to get AVG Secure VPN for free?

AVG is not a free VPN, but it offers its customers a free trial for PC, Mac, Android, and iOS users. It’s super easy to download the VPN free of charge on your device. You don’t even have to create “my AVG account”. However, I recommend you to do this in case you are going to connect their customer team. So, to get the VPN for free, I went to the official website of the VPN and clicked “Download free trial for PC” (you can use another platform).

The free trial version is limited in a period of time (one week only) and a number of simultaneous connections (can be used on one device). So, if you need a VPN for a short period of time, this free trial may be useful for you.Though on the avg.com, it’s noted that you have to enter your payment details in order to activate the free trial. I was managed to download free software for my Windows PC without giving this information.

1. As I have already mentioned early. To get the VPN trial, I went to the official website and clicked the button “Download free trial for PC”. The downloading process started automatically. It took me about a minute to get Secure AVG VPN on my Windows. As soon as it finished, I launched AVG Secure VPN on my PC.
2. The software is simple and intuitive. You will see a big button in the main interface of the application, adjust it in order to start using the Windows software.
3. As soon as you turn your VPN on for safe browsing, the software will offer you two options: to start the 7-day trial or buy it for $$3.75 per month (the price if pay for two years in advance).
4. I chose “Start 7-day trial” and that’s it, the VPN was ready to go. I clicked “Get started” in order to start using the software.
5. In the left bottom corner of the app, you can find the information when your free trial expires. You can pay for the VPN by clicking the button “Buy now” in the right bottom corner of the app.

Apps and devices

Platforms supported by AVG Secure

As I mentioned earlier, the VPN software runs on the following operating systems: Android, Windows PC, Mac, and iOS.

It’s, of course, nice that the VPN can be installed on mobile devices, in particular on smartphones as they are extremely vulnerable. Using them in public places like cafes, airports, hotels, we put our data at risk. That’s why a VPN on your smartphone is a must in case you regular use insecure public Wi-Fi hotspots.

However, the VPN is not compatible with rarer operating systems.

How to use AVG Secure VPN?

To use the VPN, you should first download the software on your device from the official website. Step-by-step installation is described in how to get AVG Secure VPN for free. There are two options:

• You can first pay for the VPN, download the app, enter your credentials, and use the app.
• Or you can use the free trial and when it expires pay for a subscription. However, bear in mind that AVG Secure VPN free is not multi-device. Have a look at the pricing of AVG Secure VPN for various plans:

The VPN app for a computer is simple to use and download. In My AVG, you can see all the products of the company. As the VPN doesn’t provide advanced security features, the network settings allow ticking only: “Automatically turn on the VPN when connected to the Internet”, “Ask to turn the VPN when connected to the Internet”, or “Exclude trusted networks”.

I can’t say that the VPN has a beautifully-designed interface. Though, everything is simple and clear in the app. The big button in the main interface is quite convenient. The app allows selecting between numerous languages as well.

Security and privacy

What encryption methods are applied?

As for the encryption method, the VPN adheres to the industry-standard AES-256-bit encryption key. It is, of course, a piece of good news! Such kind of encryption is able to protect you on the Internet and hide the most sensitive information from prying eyes. AVG Secure VPN also uses Open SSL and certificate authentication.

What protocols are used by AVG Secure?

AVG Secure VPN’s protocols are also robust. For Windows, the VPN uses OpenVPN/UDP, for Mac - IPSec. Both of these protocols use AES-256.

IPsec is quite a stable protocol, especially for switching networks or reconnecting to it. Its main disadvantage is that can be easily blocked by restrictive firewalls. It also greatly reduces connection speed.

As for OpenVPN, it is considered to be the most stable and secure. It is also able to provide a VPN user with fast speed across long distances and even on connections with high latency.

Despite AVG Secure uses robust protocols, the service does not provide users with the choice. You cannot set up the preferable protocol either in the app or manually. So, if you are going to use the VPN on your Windows PC, only OpenVPN is available for you.

IP Leak Test for AVG Secure VPN

Well, it happens sometimes that VPN providers lie about their real server locations. Why do they do that? – to save money, of course! Today the VPN market is highly competitive and using fake servers allows reducing costs.

That’s why I conducted IP leak tests for several AVG servers. Luckily, there were not any IP and DNS leaks.

Here is the result of IP leak test for the server in Belgium:

What’s AVG Secure VPN logging policy?

Honestly speaking, the privacy policy of AVG secure VPN does not inspire confidence. In the 8 paragraph, it is noted that: “We store information that we collect on our servers or on the servers of our subsidiaries, affiliates, contractors, representatives, contractors, agents, or resellers who are working on our behalf”.

It is clearly said there that the VPN COLLECTS and STORES users’ information. This is the first fact that bothers me a lot. The information is stored not only on their own servers but also on the servers of other third-parties. Moreover, it goes further that those third parties undertake maintenance of AVG users’ personal information. Despite the fact that third-parties must agree to observe the privacy of your data, it is still unreliable.

I also want to pay your attention that the data is kept not only when you purchase the product, but also when you use the service.

OK, now let’s have a look what exact data the VPN collects:

• IP address;
• Service data (your use of AVG Secure websites, products, services);
• Website log files;Device and network information.
• Device and network information.

They use analytical tools, including third-party analytical tools. So, can I trust the provider? Probably not! They save too much information, including your IP address. In this regard, AVG Secure VPN is far from being trustworthy in terms of privacy. Let’s go further.

Favorable jurisdiction

As we have already known, the privacy policy of the VPN leaves much to be desired. It saves too much data. Moreover, as wired.co.uk claims the VPN can even sell your browsing and search history to advertisers.

Despite all these factors, the company is headquartered in the Czech Republic. Such location is favorable as the country is out of the 14 Eyes alliance.

Conclusion

To conclude I want to state that AVG Secure VPN uses up-to-date protocols and robust encryption. The VPN software is easy to use and the jurisdiction of the service is outside 14-Eyes counties. It is easy to get the VPN for free as no payment information is needed. 3 customized servers out of 4 were managed to unblock Netflix. There are also servers that allow downloading torrent files safely. No IP or DNS leaks were detected while using the VPN.

Do I recommend to use the service? Despite all the advantages that were mentioned below, their suspicious privacy policy and low speeds are the main reasons to avoid the provider. After all, the first reason for getting the VPN is security and anonymity on the Web.

Is AVG VPN secure? Its shady privacy policy leaves the question unanswered. Besides, the VPN belongs to Avast company. This company also owns HideMyAss VPN. Taking into consideration that this VPN handed information about its user, it may be assumed that AVG VPN is not safe as well.

Top 3 alternatives to AVG Secure VPN

I understand if the disadvantages of AVG Secure VPN worry you. In this regard, I’m glad to offer other VPN services that are truly robust and reliable. Among them are:

• NordVPN: In comparison to AVG Secure NordVPN owns more than 5800 servers all around the world. It boasts 24/7 friendly customer support, strict no-logging policy, and up-to-date protocols. With the help of NordVPN, you can easily unblock streaming services and enjoy safe browsing.
• ExpressVPN: Being located in the British Virgin Islands, the VPN provides customers with a super strict no-logging policy, strong encryption method, and wide server network. Read my ExpressVPN review in order to know how to get this VPN for free.
• CyberGhost VPN: Another trustworthy provider with a user-friendly app on various platforms. Internet connection speeds are faster than with AVG Secure. It is possible to use CyberGhost VPN for free as well.