As cyberthreats become more sophisticated by the day, protecting your digital life with as many measures as possible is essential. Of these, antivirus and VPN services are the most vital to implement. The former protects against various forms of malware and spyware, while the latter encrypts data in transit to keep your online activity private.
Fortunately, you can have the best of both worlds, as several antivirus providers have started including a VPN in their software.
However, not all are secure enough to keep you safe. Some lack advanced features, while others reduce connection speed. To find a solution that best meets your needs, it’s important to consider and compare the different aspects each provider offers.
Internet security is becoming an increasingly important part of everyone’s lives, as we spend more time online, and new threats to our property, identity, and safety are developed each day. Fortunately, for every threat that’s being engineered, there are at least a dozen other people working to counteract it. Such is the case with Surfshark, a company founded in 2018 that currently operates out of the British Virgin Islands. Surfshark’s current offerings – which are all part of the Surfshark One suite – include a VPN, antivirus, search engine, as well as a monitoring tool that keeps an eye out for any data breaches. While it’s not the most feature-packed suite ever seen, what’s included should be more than enough for the average user. It’s worth mentioning that even though Surfshark One is a subscription-based package available across a multitude of platforms – such as Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and many more – certain features are only available on a select few operating systems.
When it comes to providing total antivirus protection, it’s certainly better to already have access to the tools to do just that. This is what British brand SS Protect has done with TotalAV, which produces other privacy and computer optimization software such as the VPN solution Scanguard and a registry cleaner. While these programs are entirely separate from each other, TotalAV adds the extra benefits of these into a versatile security suite that provides a great level of protection against all sort of menaces. Even better, the suite is compatible with computers and mobile devices across different operating systems and is suitable for every kind of user thanks to useful preset settings and a handful of customizable details. While TotalAV does come in different shapes and sizes price-wise, the company does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee and the first scan is on the house, too.
Bitdefender was born in the millennial generation, but this Romanian company actually shows such great maturity when dealing with online security that over 500 million users worldwide already rely on its services. Bitdefender Internet Security is one of the most complete and popular choices given its attractive interface, ease of use, and solid defense against all kinds of menaces. Though it’s exclusive to Windows, the extensive antivirus protection and numerous privacy tools are the highlights of a suite that can not only be complemented with extra services but can also be fully customized to fulfil the personal needs of each user. But Bitdefender Internet Security's greatest asset, however, is that it has one of the best quality-to-price ratios, all available for testing with a 30-day free trial.
Antivirus software aims to monitor, scan, block, and remove all forms of malware. It’s all about internet security, and its features are designed to protect users’ devices from being attacked. Some providers may offer other services like advanced firewall and antiphishing protection.
On the other hand, VPNs protect users’ online data by encrypting their network and replacing their IP address with a new one. They’re also useful for accessing geo-restricted content and using P2P services anonymously.
Both services run in the device’s background, so they don’t get in the way of users browsing the web or accessing apps.
In other words, antivirus software is needed to shield your devices against cyberthreats, while VPNs are vital to safeguard your data and identity. Therefore, they make a powerful combination for navigating the web safely.
As antiviruses secure your devices and VPN services protect your data, they obviously complement each other, and both should be used while surfing the web.
But with the improvement of these services throughout the years, you no longer need to have two separate subscriptions. Here’s why getting an antivirus with VPN is more beneficial:
Although antivirus software with VPN may seem like the holy grail of security, there can be some downsides to going for the combined package. Unfortunately, some providers end up being a Jack of all trades, master of none, impacting your online security.
Firstly, the VPN network may have fewer servers, limiting the locations you can connect to or even preventing you from choosing a specific server.
Secondly, running antivirus and VPN tools simultaneously can impact the system’s performance, as both demand significant amounts of resources. This can lead to slower connection speeds or even crashes.
Thirdly, the VPN may lack important security features, such as a kill switch, tunneling protocol changes, or encryption protocol adjustments.
Essentially, it’s crucial to look carefully when choosing the right antivirus with a built-in VPN. The perfect option is one that provides top-notch security features, while providing a secure VPN with varied server locations, steady connection speeds, and several encryption protocols to choose from.
Once you’ve chosen the antivirus with VPN that best suits your needs – which is the hardest part – using it is normally as easy as pie. For example, if you decide to go with Surfshark One, do the following:
After completing these simple steps, you can go ahead and surf the web anonymously and with your device protected from being infected.
All things considered, enhancing your online security should always be a work in progress. Other ways to stay safe while browsing the web are:
All in all, there’s no way to be 100% safe from online criminal activities. However, taking all these measures will give you peace of mind knowing you’ve done everything possible to stay protected.
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