Avira Phantom VPN is the brainchild of same team who developed a renowned Avira antivirus software. The service typically aims at those internet users who wish to secure their online activities. Moreover, the service targets those netizens who do not want to spend much on their privacy. We analyze the best VPN services by unveiling their features, privacy policy and other aspects. We plan to do the same in this Avira Phantom VPN Review. We were pleased to know that the service proudly offers a list of compelling features to its subscriber. We will explain these features in details.
We refer to our guide to discover the best VPN provider for your online freedom. Cons.
Flint in particular (“chert” is a avira phantom vpn for 1 last update 2019/01/09 mac broader church) seems to form as a avira phantom vpn for 1 last update 2019/01/09 mac seabed gel (under what conditions, for 1 last update 2019/01/09 what reasons? Now there is a avira phantom vpn for 1 last update 2019/01/09 mac damned good question.) which has at least some mobility (it frequently.
Offers limited server locations. Expensive pricing for the subscribers.
Slow Speed. No Customer Support Free VPN Review According to our Avira Phantom VPN review, the service offers an exclusive free plan. You can avail this plan without any subscription. Furthermore, you do not need to register to start using the service. Through the free VPN plan, you can use 500 MB data on monthly basis.
You can use the Avira free VPN plan on different platforms like Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. The plan also offers features like anonymous surfing, traffic encryption, DNS leak prevention and Auto-connect features for Wi-Fi network. Premium Plans Review The Avira review indicates that the service provides three types of pricing plans to its subscribers. These pricing plans include monthly plan, annual plan, and monthly plan for mobile users only. You can get the monthly plan at the cost of $9.99/ month. Likewise, you can avail annual plan after paying just $62.39 based on yearly billing. Hence, you are able to obtain a lucrative 50% discount.
Moreover, the iOS and android users both can avail mobile plan by paying $ 5.99 on monthly basis. Features Review Our Avira Phantom VPN review disclosed that the service offers a list of compelling features. Here is the list of features that includes:. Offers 36 servers.
Provides secure encryption. Unblocks your favorite content. Strictly follows no- logging policy.
Provides kill switch feature as a “Fail Safe” After reviewing these features, the future of the provider looks quite optimistic. Since, the service is relatively new in the VPN industry. Therefore, 36 server in different countries is a huge advantage for the subscribers. Apart from this, the service is making sure that the users must avail 256-bit encryption. Interestingly, the service also provides kill switch feature that does not expose your data to the internet service providers (ISPs). Payment Methods According to our Avira Phantom VPN review, the provider offers a list of online payment methods. Despite being a new entrant in the VPN industry, this is quite an encouraging sign that suggests service is moving in the right direction.
These online payment methods include:. PayPal. Amex. Visa.
MasterCard. JCB Unfortunately, the service does not accept Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency for that matter.
This means users have no way of anonymously paying for this service. Server Locations We have analyzed in this Avira Phantom VPN review that the service is currently offering 36 servers from different locations worldwide. Hence, you can connect to any server of your choice available in below mentioned countries. We were impressed to observe that the service is trying its level best to increase the server locations.
Through Avira Phantom VPN, you can access your favorite content like Hulu Plus, HBO Now, Showtime, Crackle and others. Despite being a novel VPN service in the industry, the service has presence in all the major countries of the world.
VPN Compatibility Review Our Avira Phantom review indicates that the service is compatible with leading platforms like Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. However, Avira Phantom VPN presently does not work with Linux and routers. We expect that the service will start supporting these devices in near future.
Apps Review The availability of apps for both Android and iOS users makes Avira Phantom VPN standout from the other VPN services. The Avira Phantom VPN Pro APK app is available on Google Playstore while Avira Phantom VPN iOS app can be downloaded from iTunes. Hence, we tried to download the free app on our Android device to experience the service practically.
The process of downloading and installation was straightforward. The provider only needs your email address and password to start using the service.
We were able to secure our connection and started web surfing anonymously. After providing email address and password, you can consume 1 GB data every month on your Android device. Protocols and Encryption We tried our level best to evaluate each section of the official website. Still, we were not able to find any information about tunneling protocols. The website should have provided such basic information about protocols.
However, it is a difficult task for subscribers to know how many protocols the provider offers. According to our Avira Phantom review, the provider uses OpenVPN for Mac, Windows and Android Apps. This is if you download the apps from their website.
If you download from the App Store you get IPsec. For iOS apps, the service uses Ikev2. As for encryption, Avira Phantom offers AES 256-bit cipher that is the most advanced level of encryption available.
In fact, this encryption was developed by NSA to secure its top-secret data. Even now, banks use this encryption to secure their sensitive information. Customer Support The provider only offers FAQs section as a form of customer support feature.
The service must offer features like 24/7 live chat, tickets, email and a dedicated knowledgebase section. If you want to contact the service for any reason, you should send an email through Avira website. Avira Phantom VPN must also develop an extensive support network to grab the attention of potential and current users. Without doing this, it would be cumbersome for the provider to retain its customer base for longer period. Logging Policy According to our review, the service does not track the websites users visit.
Avira Phantom VPN does not record your IP address however; the provider records the amount of data you consume. Furthermore, diagnostic data is also record but it is optional since you can switch off this tracking within the product interface. Still, not all the things are rosy. Since, Avira Phantom VPN keeps minimum connection logs therefore the service does not follow zero logging policy. Privacy Policy After performing this review in detail, we found the provider’s privacy policy bit obnoxious. According to the VPN, the service may record your personal identifiable information (PII). This personal identifiable information includes your name, address, email, phone number, credit card information and others.
The provider may also record your location along with IP address. Moreover, Avira Phantom VPN may use your device brand, modem operating system version and other information. Hence, it becomes difficult for the users to understand the privacy policy. If you live in Canada or US, the headquarter of Avira Phantom VPN is Avira, Inc., 330 Primrose Avenue, Suite 610, Burlingame, CA 94010, USA. Surprisingly, if you live in countries other than US and Canada, the address of Avira Phantom VPN is Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG, Kaplaneiweg 1, 88069 Tettnang, Germany.
The above scenario suggests that the Canadian and the US users will have to follow US jurisdiction in true letter and spirit. The situation does not favor both the US and the Canadian users to select Avira Phantom VPN services. Hence, the users must think twice before selecting Avira Phantom VPN as their preferred privacy provider. If you still decide to opt for the service, you will have to compromise on your online privacy and protection.
Avira Phantom VPN Torrenting Review Different VPNs apply different policies for torrenting and other P2P activities. Some have dedicated server for P2P while other suspend the users for downloading copyrighted content. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing which side of the fence Avira Phantom VPN stands on.
There is no official policy statement on this issue on provider’s website. Technically, you can download torrents on this service. We used this service for torrenting on few occasion and we are yet to receive any warning. Still, our Avira Phantom review for torrenting advices you to be careful while using this service for torrents.
Performance Review Our Avira Phantom VPN Pro review categorizes the performance of this service as below average. The biggest issue we faced while using this service was that it kept disconnecting after small intervals of time. While the VPN service was connected, it provided only 65% of our normal connection speed.
According to our experience, this makes this VPN service one of the slowest ones around. As expected, video streaming on this service was extremely frustrating. We struggled to watch a 480p video on YouTube with the VPN connected. Alternatives of Avira Phantom VPN Avira Phantom deserves credit for its generous free package and other services it provides. Nevertheless, we still believe that there are better VPN services in the market. If you agree with us than you would not mind checking out the following VPN reviews.
Avira Phantom VPN Reddit Review Avira VPN has lot to do to enhance its reputation among Reddit users. There are users those who experienced the service but did not like it at all. Hence, they prefer Reddit VPN instead of Avira VPN to secure their online privacy to the next level.
Here is the response of one Redditor who does not endorse the use of Avira VPN. Avira Phantom does not have a large number of servers at its disposable. At present, it offers just 36 servers, which is a small number when compared to some of the top dogs of the VPN market. However, when we ran our test on the service for Netflix US, we were surprised to learn that Avira Phantom has the capability to unblock the popular streaming service. The only catch is that it does not provide the greatest of speeds on the streaming site. But when you stop to consider how many VPN services fail the big ‘Netflix test’, you realize that this service is achieving something extraordinary.
Just bear in mind that Netflix has a tendency to upgrade its VPN detectors every now and then. Therefore, you never know how long this will last.
Final Verdict We were impressed with all the features and other offerings of the service until we found the privacy policy. As soon as we explored the privacy policy, it literally spoiled our fun. It does not matter how many servers and pricing plans a VPN service offers to its subscribers. As long as the provider does not have a clear-cut privacy policy, the reputation of the service remains doubtful. Considering its dual policy for US, Canada and other countries’ users, we will recommend the subscriber to opt for other VPN service.
Moreover, as our Avira Phantom review explains, the service does not provide strong customer support feature. We believe that good customer support is necessary for every successful VPN provider. Related Articles.
Is among the because of its unrivaled feature set and low price point. It even manages good lab results and a user-friendly interface. The support system is lacking, though. In this Avira review, we’re going to cover the pros and cons of the service so you can see if it’s the right antivirus for you. We’ll discuss features, pricing, user-friendliness, protection and support before giving our verdict. We can’t find many reasons not to recommend Avira. It has an excellent lineup of plans with a free option, to boot.
Customer support is the Achilles’ heel of this provider, which is a con that you might be able to overlook given how much else it has to offer. Avira offers many security and privacy products, which could be considered features depending on the package you purchase.
Paid products are built around, Avira’s base subscription plan. It includes some features, but most are focused on security and privacy to make the antivirus more secure. That includes ransomware, network, download and email protection. Other notable features on the base plan are Avira’a Intelligent Repair System, which repairs damage caused by malware, and Self-Defense, which prevents malware from altering or disabling your antivirus protection. Antivirus Pro and all other plans can use Avira’s suite of free tools. Some, such as the and password manager, are limited versions of paid products.
Even so, there are plenty of tools that are free of charge. Two of our favorites are Privacy Pal and Home Guard. Privacy Pal gives you a new way of handling Windows privacy settings. It controls how your browser and operating system tracks and stores your data. For example, you can disable location sharing, Cortana and Microsoft Store app access. Home Guard lets you see all devices on your network. Avira gives you the name, type and status of each, as well as details such as the IP address.
You can click the “security check” button in the Home Guard user interface to scan the devices on your network for suspicious behavior. Prime Features Privacy Pal and Home Guard are included with Avira Prime, the most expensive plan, along with nine other apps, some free and some premium.
Prime includes unlimited use of Phantom VPN, which is better than other bundled VPNs we’ve seen. It has a good spread of locations, support for unlimited connections and a no-logs policy. Phantom VPN is excellent for bypassing the. That said, since it lacks information on security and protocol options, you’ll probably do better with one of our providers, such as ExpressVPN (read our ). Our favorite Prime feature is System Speedup Pro. It gives your system scores in disk performance, overall performance and privacy and informs you of actions you can take to improve those areas.
When we started, we had a three in disk performance, a 59 in system performance and a 56 in privacy, all out of 100. Those are “bad” scores, according to Avira, with disk performance stooping to “critical” territory. We ran a scan and allowed Avira to resolve it found automatically, if possible. It cleaned 4GB off our test machine and increased our score to 100 in each category. System Speedup Pro has manual settings, too, including system restore options, disk optimization settings and a network traffic manager. Phantom VPN and System Speedup Pro are only two of the products included with Prime. Each of the other products has its own range of features and all can be accessed from the main interface.
Even the most feature-dense antiviruses on the market can’t go toe-to-toe with Avira here. Not only does Avira have all the features we want and more, they are high quality. There are other options that have the same features, such as Avast’s premium security package, but they don’t feel nearly as good as Avira Prime’s do. Avira is on par with other providers, but prices are for a single device. While not as expensive as Avast (read our ), the price increases with each device you add to your plan, which is the same model ESET uses (read our ). Even so, the price isn’t bad.
In fact, considering the features Avira offers, the rate is good. The free plan is impressive, too. It’s best described as “Avira lite” and includes limited versions of the VPN and password manager. The VPN, for example, is capped at 1GB per month. That’s generous compared to most free VPNs, but you can get 10GB or more with Windscribe for free, too (read our ). $ 99 99 yearly Details Real-time protection, Adblock Up to five PCs & Macs, Support Password manager, Ransomware protection Free access to future products, VPN, Premium mobile applications Antivirus Pro is, essentially, the free plan with priority.
You can purchase protection for multiple PCs and Macs, access the support phone number and download updates faster. It’s a strange intermediate plan that doesn’t look impressive against the rest of the lineup. Internet Security isn’t much more, but it comes with enough features to justify an upgrade from the free plan. The core protection is the same, including web-based protections against ransomware and phishing (read our guide). Internet Security is Antivirus Pro with two more premium products bundled in.
Software Updater Pro and Password Manager Pro cost year on their own. Software Updater Pro, while not sexy, is an important security tool. It gives you a single place to download drivers, hotfixes and updates. Keeping your applications and operating system up to date is a critical safeguard against. Internet Security and Antivirus Pro are available for one to five Macs, PCs or a combination of the two for one to three years.
Each plan has a monthly rate, too, with no commitment required. You’ll spend more, but not by much. For example, a monthly Antivirus Pro plan will cost $15 more after one year.
The top of the line, Avira Prime, is available for five or unlimited devices.Prime is the only true multi-device plan, as it gives you access to Avira’s premium antivirus on Android and iOS. Like all the others in the lineup, it can be purchased monthly, annually, biennially or triennially. The core protection is the same, though. Prime is Antivirus Pro plus all of Avira’s premium products.
That includes Phantom VPN, System Speedup Pro and Identity Scanner Pro. We’d like to note that Prime includes all premium products on all devices, so those for specific operating systems, such as AppLock+ on Android, are available, too. For around $10 a month, Prime is a steal, but the “unlimited” device plan isn’t actually unlimited. Avira has a fair-use policy that allows 25 devices per household. Still, that is far and above what the competition offers, even at higher price points. Avira’s interface changes depending on which product you have.
Internet Security and Prime users will have a home screen that shows all products included with their plan. Since Antivirus Pro is just one of the products in those bundles, you won’t open directly to your protection interface.
Prime’s main screen has three tabs: “this computer,” “my devices” and “licenses.” The first and default tab shows you all of the products included with your plan, so Prime users will see everything. It is where you can open the protection window. There are actions you can take from this screen, though. For example, Antivirus Pro can run a quick scan and Phantom VPN Pro can connect you through a secure line. Next to those actions, you’ll find a button to open each application.
The Antivirus Pro Interface For the remainder of this section, we’re going to focus on the Antivirus Pro interface. Additional products included with Prime and Internet Security have their own, though. The Antivirus Pro interface is excellent. The main screen shows you what core protections you have enabled, including ransomware and phishing protection. There’s also a large button to run a quick scan. You can find more scan options in the “scan” tab in the left-side menu.
Avira has three main scan types: full, quick and custom. Custom scans include several presets, though. For example, there are active process and rootkit scans. You can create as many custom scans as you like and store them in the application. That is one of the best features Avira has to offer. If you’re trying to pinpoint a problem on your machine without scanning everything, a custom scan can accommodate you. The presets make it easier than ever to do so, too.
The scan menu also has a scheduler that can hold as many custom scan schedules as you want. There are three tabs below that manage your protection modules, show quarantined files and give you a log of the application’s activity. The most you can tweak is in the modules area, where you can turn different protections on or off. You can find more advance d settings by clicking the gear icon in the bottom left of the interface, which is where you can control all aspects of Avira. For example, there’s a “threat categories” section where you can specify the types of applications it should look for. For instance, you can set it up to detect joke applications, which aren’t dangerous but can be unsettling. Avira’s segregation of settings makes it powerful and usable.
You don’t have to mess with them, though, and most people won’t. That said, if you want to configure how the antivirus responds on a deeper level, it gives you the control to do so. Avira Connect There’s a web-based management tool called Avira Connect, too. It gives you an overview of your account and the devices you have protected. It has other useful features not offered in the Antivirus Pro interface, as well. The first is your digital health. Avira will generate a score for the protection of all of your devices.
The overall score you’re given is based on the security, privacy and performance ratings you have. You can access Family Locator and Identity Scanner, too. Family Locator will allow you to track devices that have the Avira app installed on them and notifies you if certain criteria are met. It’s an optional feature. Is excellent. You can enter your email address and Avira will search the surface and for traces of your personal data. It’s a small sample of the paid version of Identity Scanner, which will perform the same actions for credit cards, passports and more.
We use hands-on testing and lab results to assess the protection of an antivirus. We lean more on lab results as they use more samples and stricter testing conditions. Our hands-on testing uses established testing tools as a way for us to see the antivirus perform. Starting with the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization’s feature settings check for desktop antiviruses, Avira passed five of the six tests, failing the phishing test. It allowed a drive-by download and cloud download to occur, but removed the files before they were run.
The other tests were blocked before downloading. We tested live phishing URLs from OpenPhish. Of the 10 tested, Avira blocked eight.
Chrome’s built-in protection nabbed the other two. It isn’t perfect protection, but it’s still good. We used the 13 malicious payloads offered by Wicar for the next tests. Three were not compatible with our software configuration, meaning nothing happened to our test machine or Avira. The 10 that were compatible were blocked immediately.
Avira earned perfect marks in AV-Test’s. It was 100 percent effective against 275 zero-day malware samples and 99.9 percent effective against 19,747 widespread malware samples. The industry average at the time for both was 100 percent, though. It’s had good results overall, but there isn’t a high level of consistency. In, for example, it was 100 percent effective against zero-day malware and 99.8 percent effective against widespread malware, compared to a 99.5 percent and 99.9 percent industry average, respectively. The previous test, ran between, had subpar results, though.
It was 99 percent effective against zero-day malware against the 99.6 percent industry average. While it was 100 percent effective against widespread malware in February, it was only 98.7 percent effective in January.
That said, the performance results aren’t inconsistent. AV-Test gave it a perfect score in August, April and February. In all tests, Avira was on par or better than the industry average. In the speed test for launching popular websites, it was 9 percent faster. AV-Comparatives got excellent results.
During its, it found Avira 100 percent effective, with only one false positive returned. While only 193 samples of malware were reported in the final data, AV-Comparatives tests tens of thousands, some of which must be discarded. With 100 percent blockage, Avira is in a class with only a few other antiviruses for this test. Bitdefender and Kaspersky were 100 percent effective with no false positives (read our and ). Norton was also 100 percent effective but suffered from four false positives (read our ). The most recent performance data, from, is good, but Avira has performed better in the past.
It was awarded an advanced rating, which is the second highest tier. In tests dating back to March 2015, though, it earned advanced+, the highest tier. MRG Effitas returned impressive results. Avira was one of only two antiviruses to earn a Level 1 certification in its and analyses. Kaspersky was the other. A Level 1 certification means that all threats were detected on first exposure or blocked through behavior monitoring. Depending on the lab you consult, it’s easy to think that Avira has inconsistent performance.
That said, given the data from the labs we reference, the protection is excellent. Avira dropped the ball in a few AV-Test results, but, overall, the data shows that it’s among the on the market. Avira has a good support section that’s made up of a and YouTube channel, with direct contact options over email and phone.
Direct support is only available for paying customers, though, so free users are restricted to the static resources. The knowledgebase is good, overall. Avira uses a single article to explain a topic on multiple operating systems, each with step-by-step instructions. There’s no way to navigate topics, though.
You can search for your question and browse the list of commonly searched questions, but nothing else. The video tutorials have the same inconsistency. Avira provides a long list of videos, both for educational topics and tutorials. Some of the videos are dated, but still provide a wealth of information.
Avira mixes multiple languages in the same spot, though. Browsing the YouTube channel is a nightmare because of the three or so copies of each video, each in a different language. Even worse is that there isn’t duplicates for every video. For example, there’s a video discussing phishing exclusively in German and a password manager overview that’s only in English.
You can learn more about phishing in our guide. The dedication to multiple languages is good, but there’s no way to filter out what’s relevant to you on YouTube or Avira’s website. Avira provides you with a bulk of support resources and asks you to make sense of it. Direct support is good, though.
While restricted to paying customers, Avira offers email and phone support in six languages. The only annoyance is verifying that you’re a premium user before contacting support. Even if you’re logged in to Avira Connect, you need to enter that information. All of the pieces for an excellent support system are there.
Avira has a long list of video tutorials, a helpful knowledgebase and multiple contact options. The infrastructure surrounding those resources needs some attention, though.
Is an antivirus with good lab results, despite a few inconsistencies. It’s strongest selling point is support for multiple devices at a low price point and an unrivaled list of features. It’s also easy to use and light on system resources. Overall, there are few reasons not to consider it, especially if you can afford Prime.
It offers affordable, high-quality security and privacy features for multiple users. The only blemish is the support system. If Prime is too expensive, or you just want to shop around more, make sure to read our other. What do you think of Avira? Let us know in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.